Wednesday, April 28, 2010

POM Wonderful

Ryan from POM Wonderful recently sent me a free box of their juice to play with.  Like everything lately, I've been a bit behind in putting it to good use, but I have come up with some goodies!   While I'm not an avid juice drinker, the absence of added sugar and plentiful antioxidants makes POM one of my favorites.   When I got about to figure out what to do, I discovered that grenadine was originally made from pomegranate juice??  I had no idea :)  Sounds much better than that HFCS-laden syrup I recalled using way back in the day!!

Love the cute 8oz bottles!

Grenadine


1c POM juice
1/2c cane sugar
splash of orange blossom water (optional)

Heat the POM and sugar until dissolved (in the microwave or on the stove).  Remove from heat, add a splash of orange blossom water.  Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge.

I saw quite a few variations on the recipe, including some that reduced the juice by half, but I thought that seemed more like making pomegranate molasses.  You could also add in a little vodka to help preserve the grenadine if you're not planning on using it right away.


I love the tart frozen yogurt places that have opened up in Boston, and have recently been getting the pomegranate flavor with semisweet chips and raspberries.  The first thing I wanted to do when I got the juice was to try and recreate this at home!  I'm sharing the recipe that I used with what was already in my fridge, but I would make some changes as it froze very hard (evidenced by the picture, I was unable to get a good-looking scoop).  I'm not a chemist, but I think it needed either a higher percentage of fat and/or a splash of liquor to help the consistency after being frozen for a day or two.


Tart POM Yogurt w/Chips
Recipe by Shannon


The sweetness of this frozen yogurt can be adjusted according to your tastes.  Mine wasn't too sweet, and just what I was after.  If you'd like less of a tang, add a bit more sugar!

2c POM juice
1/2c grenadine (see above)
2c greek yogurt (use 2% or higher, otherwise it will be too hard)
1T pomegranate liquor or vodka
1/2c semisweet mini chips

Whisk together juice, grenadine, yogurt and liquor until well combined.  I found that I didn't need to heat this at all, but my grenadine may have been warm enough to help it come together.  Refrigerate for an hour or more, to make sure the mixture is chilled.  Churn according to manufacturers directions, adding the chips towards the end of churning!


I went for my first bike ride outside with my second cousin last weekend, so I brought him and his wife some Dark Chocolate POM Brownies.  I just made them in a 9"pan instead of making individual brownie cups and frosting them.  May have kept 1 or 2 for myself...  they didn't all fit in the container ;) Can't say the pomegranate flavor was that prominent, but they were still yummy.


I also figured I could use some of the POM juice to bake something for work.  I decided on a POM Velvet Cake w/POM Cream Cheese Frosting.  Yeah...  cream cheese frosting is right up there with peanut butter frosting in that I should not have it in the house.  At least most of it ended up on the cake ;)  Again I couldn't quite pick out the pomegranate in the chocolate cake, but it probably did add a certain dimension to the flavor.  Pomegranate definitely came out in frosting, adding a subtle tart that helped keep the frosting from becoming too sweet.    Nobody complained :)


Need more ideas?  How about caramel sauce, jello or truffles??  There are quite a few savory options out there too (especially with pomegranate molasses)!  What's your favorite way to use pomegranate juice??

Thanks again Ryan and POM Wonderful!!

17 comments:

brandi said...

ooh, the pom yogurt sounds awesome!!!

Lauren said...

Great POM creations! I have a case on the way from Ryan as well, and I'm excited about whipping up some pomegranate concoctions. You beat me to the pomegranate fro-yo... I recently made tart fro-yo and was thinking about making a version using POM juice, but I have some other ideas as well. Hopefully by the time I get the juice it will be warm enough outside to enjoy some pomegranate sangria :).

I found it tough to scoop my homemade fro-yo right out of the freezer, but when left on the counter for 1/2 hour (or warmed in the microwave for 1-2 minutes), the fro-yo loosened right up. I think it's probably best when eaten right out of the ice cream make as soft-serve; but if you discover a way to keep it soft in the freezer, I'd love to know about it!

Jess said...

I've been trying to think of ways to use the Pom juice in my fridge. I thought about using it in some kind of bar, like a lemon bar but with POM. Maybe I'll just make those brownies...

Kristen @ Change of Pace said...

Holy moly... POM HEAVEN! I'm not really a big fan of drinking the straight juice but all those recipes sound incredible!

Kelly said...

Love the diversity of your recipes Shannon. The photo of your cake is especially gorgeous.

Lisa (bakebikeblog) said...

I LOVE the look of that frozen yoghurt - so yummy!!!

Joanne said...

I should be getting some POM soon...you've got the gears turning in my mind. I'm loving that fro-yo...I may have to borrow your idea...it would save me lots of money at Pinkberry!

Esi said...

MMM. you know I love my Pom!

Anonymous said...

Wow, terrific ideas for using POM juice! I would especially love to try the yogurt with chips!

Elina said...

That's a whole lot of deliciousness coming out of someone who "hasn't been cooking much." ;)
I want that cake! Next time, save a slice for me please :)

Kelly @ Healthy Living With Kelly said...

YUM!!! All of it looks amazing!!! Thanks Shannon!

Kerstin said...

Oh wow Shannon, I don't know where to begin! I really need to break out my ice cream maker and make some froyo - and a pomegranate version just sounds so tasty! And the red velvet combo is making my mouth water!

sophia said...

What amazing ways to use POM Wonderful! I used mine mostly for savory dishes. But way to make desserts antioxidant-ful! :-)

Reeni said...

So many scrumptious POM goodies! I wish I could sample them all!

We Are Not Martha said...

Mmmm that yogurt looks wonderful! Actually, everything does :) Nice work with the POM! And it was so good seeing you tonight :)

Sues

Sagan said...

A splash of liquor ALWAYS does the trick ;) Your POM treats look lovely!

PS The POM X tea stuff tastes great mixed with vodka. Just sayin'. You didn't hear it from me. Hehe.

Maria said...

I am craving dessert now. Great POM creations!

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