I hate to say, but no, it's not really blood. It's pomegranate molasses. Fra Luigi popped over the other night with a big bag of pomegranates from his tree and it got me thinking. Time To Make a SERIOUS mess.
So I broke them open by hand, squeezed big hunks into a stockpot. And yes, I got splashes of what looked like blood everywhere. Then just cooked it down with a few tablespoons of unrefined sugar and a vanilla pod. Very low simmer for about 3 hours.
And in the morning, this lovely, tart, nutty sweet, blood-like super-thick syrup was in the pot. I need not tell you how difficult this was to get into the jar! Nor that about a dozen or more pomegranates cooked down to this. But it is essential in Middle Eastern stews, and let me tell you, a little in tomato sauce is heavenly. Best of all, it never goes bad, completely shelf-stable forever. (Incidentally this can be done with grapes, for sapa.)
And just in case you don't have a costume for Halloween, go as your favorite saint, dripping blood from some missing body part. This would be great for Lucy. Though I'm thinking now of Oedipus. Anyone have a crown I can borrow?
Hmm, just gathered more prickly pear tunas than I can deal with... maybe make molasses out of those too?
ReplyDeleteYES, absolutely! Actually that's very traditional. Believe it or not, I advised someone's master's thesis on that very topic, and I still have a tiny vial of it she sent me. You can buy it commercially too.
ReplyDeleteYou are a very lucky man to get those pomegranates to make the molasses... what a gorgeous syrup!!! I love it in so many things... like putting it in the bottom of a champagne glass...MMMMMMM. Happy Halloween!
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ReplyDeleteMade the syrup with just 2 pomegranates (not lucky enough to have an entire bag!) and it turned out fantastic! I created quite the sticky mess, but it was still worth it. Thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteChildren in famine, victims tortured RS Gold by oppressors, helpless old people a hated RS GP burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make Runescape Gold a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.
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