New Food Stuffs Tried At Whole Foods Market, #92 Pomegranate Fruit

Pomegranate juice is so delicious. So, of course, I thought I would like pomegranate fruit. But when I bit into the fruit’s seeds, my mouth puckered. Overall, the fruit demanded way to much from me– not only did I have to break through the tough skin and pry apart the pith to get to the edible seeds– the juice stained me and I had to work hard to keep a straight face! Now maybe I just picked a bad pom, but if you are going to try it, think about sweetening it up with some sugar and wearing a shirt you don’t care about dirtying. See how the rest of the fruit fares, and stay posted to Creative Delites this week for something sweeter–a Pomegranate Sangria Recipe (ha, after all this work to get the seeds, I need a drink). The rating goes 1 to 10 (10 being the best)

Pomegranate Fruit
Verdict: 2

Appearance: the skin is pinkish-red; white pith; rich red seeds

Texture: tough skin and crunchy, juicy seeds
Flavor: tart, tangy punch; if you pick them well — heavy, round, rich in color, without blemishes– they should be more sweet than tart

Cost: $2.50 for one pomegranate at WFM
Health: Pomegranates are a good source of folic acid, vitamin C, and antioxidants. The seeds are packed with fiber and low in calories. Pomegranates and pomegranate juice may promote heart health and fight certain kinds of cancer. Supposedly, it’s also supposed to increase sex drive in men and women–but that may mean eating eating a whole lot of pomegranates! Per serving, 1/2 cup: 80 calories, 12g of sugar, 5g of dietary fiber
Recommendation: I haven’t made anything with pomegranates, just yet. In fact, the sangria recipe will be my first experiment with the fruit. But Whole Foods Market has a long list of healthy recipes using the juice and seeds from the pomegranate. Refer here for recipes.
Resolution Stats: 14 new food stuffs tried, 91 more to go
Final Verdict: I gave the fruit a low rating because all of the pomegranates that I had to choose from had lots of blemishes and were not rich in color. With such a wide variety of sweet, healthy fruit options it would be ok if you didn’t taste test this one…but if you do decide to go through the trouble, definitely let me know your verdict!

Tagged as: antioxidants, Columbus Square, folic acid, fruit, healthy, pomegranates, Upper West Side, vitamin C, whole foods market