Sacramento Digs Gardening: Pomegranates can add Mediterranean touch year-round

Pomegranates are in season now. Making molasses from the juice saves their wonderful flavor for months.
(Photos: Debbie Arrington)

In Northern California, this is pomegranate season and, judging by my tree, this could be a bountiful year.

I have a single Wonderful pomegranate tree, a variety that repeatedly lives up to its name. And this year, it yielded dozens of softball-size fruit. The birds and squirrels took a large share, but I still managed to harvest about 30 pounds.

At home in our Mediterranean climate, pomegranates are a popular late fall-winter addition to local menus, brightening meals with bursts of flavor.

Fresh arils – the juice-packed seed sacs – get sprinkled in salads and over entrees. Like little rubies, they decorate desserts.

But how do you enjoy that pomegranate flavor long after the season has gone?

Pomegranate molasses preserves that intense flavor and makes it easy to augment all sorts of dishes. Use it as a glaze on pork or chicken. Add a tablespoon to vinaigrette or other dressings. It’s a must for Mediterranean cooking.

The molasses is basically concentrated pomegranate juice. It will keep refrigerated for months.

On average, a pomegranate yields about 1/2 cup juice. This recipe used 6 pomegranates to make 1 cup molasses.

To produce juice, removed arils and then put them through a food mill. (While deseeding the fruit, wear old clothing that you won’t mind getting stained.)

Or simply cut the pomegranate in half, and juice with a citrus juice reamer. (It’s messy but fast.)

This molasses recipe can be scaled down as needed; it will reduce faster but watch closely.

Pomegranate molasses

Arils from six pomegranates, enough for 3 cups juice.

Makes 1 cup to 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients:

3 cups pomegranate juice

Juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup sugar

Instructions:

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine pomegranate juice, lemon juice and sugar. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and let simmer uncovered, stirring often, until desired consistency. This takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

The final result: Very thick and sticky.

When finished, the juice will be reduced by half to two-thirds, depending on desired thickness. The molasses will cover the back of a spoon like a thick syrup.

Store covered in the refrigerator.

RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipes recipe Mediterranean climate gardening preserving Sacramento cooking backyard produce produce management DIY pomegranates fall fruit

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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