[Sca-cooks] Pomegranite Juice

[David Friedman]

maire wrote:

>There are a number of middle eastern/islamic recipes that use
>pomegranite.  May I suggest a "cruise" through the Anonymous Andalusian
>cookbook on His Grace's website?
>There's one, as well, in my Middle Eastern cookbook, that involves 
>cooking chicken and onions and walnuts (?) in pomegranite juice. 
>Very tasty, but don't do it in a cast iron pan, as it turns a rather 
>distinct black!
>Uhm, you could also make a pomegranite version of sekanjabin syrup, 
>using sugar and water and juice.

You don't need water. According to the anonymous Andalusian cookbook:

Take a ratl of sour pomegranates and another of sweet pomegranates, 
and add their juice to two ratls of sugar, cook all this until it 
takes the consistency of syrup, and keep until needed. Its benefits: 
it is useful for fevers, and cuts the thirst, it benefits bilious 
fevers and lightens the body gently. [end of original]

(A ratl is a weight, about a pound.)

What we usually do it to take equal parts sugar and pomegranate juice 
and cook it down to a syrup; we once juiced pomegranates ourselves 
and it wasn't very different (except a lot more work). I don't know 
if the sour and sweet pomegranates are different varieties or 
different ripeness. This is especially good as a hot sweet drink, 
mixed up somewhat thicker than we usually do sekanjabin, maybe 1:4 or 
1:6.

Elizabeth of Dendermonde/Betty Cook