A quart of this pomegranate sorbet will set you back $12 in San Francisco, $22 ($15 on sale) in New York & Houston, £15 in Scotland, €10 in Tuscany and $35 in Iowa, but a pint of Ben&Jerry’s costs almost 13$ here in Istanbul, so I guess we’re even.
Seriously, if you happen to come across pomegranates on sale, or if you’re lucky to have a pomegranate tree in your back yard, don’t even think twice and start churning. I can not tell you how much the guests at the New Year’s Eve dinner party appreciated this icy-cold, tangy sorbet after two full plates of turkey and side dishes. You might think a sorbet should be the last dessert on a winter dinner table, but think of all the hearty stews you eat and how you crave something refreshing after such a meal. This, dear reader, is the perfect dessert for winter. Period.
POMEGRANATE SORBET RECIPE
Yield: 1 quart
Ingredients
- 4 cups freshly-squeezed pomegranate juice – from 7 large pomegranates
- 1+1/4 cups (250g) sugar
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp Grenadine – pomegranate syrup, optional
Method
- Juice the pomegranates by hand. I advise not to use a juice press as the liquid from the seeds and membrane would result in a bitter taste. Here’s how I do it: Place a large bowl under the sink (for easy wash up), cut the pomegranates in half and while squeezing the pomegranate with one hand, press with your fingers inside the pomegranate with the other hand (the cut side will face the bowl) and extract as much juice as possible. Pass it through a strainer and you’re done.
- Stir 2 cups of pomegranate juice and sugar over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Take off heat and combine with the remaining pomegranate juice. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice and Grenadine (if you’re using) and stir to combine. Taste and see if the mixture needs more acidity. Depending on the sweetness of your pomegranates, you might want to add another tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Chill the mixture thoroughly (3 hours in the freezer works for me), then freeze it in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t have one, here’s how you make ice cream without a machine.
ilk defa böyle bi?iy gördüm, duydum ettim neyin ..mükemmel görünüyor…finallerim bitince hemen üretime geçiyorum, ellerine sa?l?k :))
The color… killing me softly!!!
Yum! I would like a dish, please….even tho it is only 2 degrees Far. here! Beautiful color!
Oh wow. This is just beautiful (and delicious, too, I’ll bet)! Well done!
+Jessie
a.k.a. The Hungry Mouse
I love pomegranate naturally. I’m sure I’d love pomegranate sorbet as well. Besides that looks so beautiful!
Hi Cenk!
Stunning and delicious color it seems so easy to do it! Keep up with the refreshing treats 🙂
Gera .:. sweetsfoods
Hah! Even when it’s snowing outside I can’t stop eating ice cream either. We don’t ever get Pom juice back at home, and we only recently started getting verrrry expensive Pom fruits. At least here in new Jersey I can get some juice, yay! That looks beautiful!
the colour is amazing! not quite in season here as yet but soon will be so will give it a try 🙂
Simply gorgeous. Thank you for the recipe!
Been waiting for this recipe 🙂 One question though, how would you juice a pomegranate?
* Fahad
Bizbiz ve Bitbit Bir Hayat Hikayesi – ?imdiden afiyet olsun.
Banu (BaL) – 🙂 Glad you liked it.
Ghille – Thank you! Wish I could send a scoop 🙂
Jessie, Kian, Gera, MsGourmet, Heidi – Thank you! Glad you all enjoyed it.
Manggy – Hope you like the recipe.
Fahad – It’s explained in the method section of the recipe.
gorgeous!! i love pomegranates and recently created a little coconut couscous dish using them.
thanks for the link on how to make ice cream without a machine 🙂 i still haven’t gotten around to investing in one.
I was just wondering if I could use pure pomegranate juice instead of hand juicing 7 pomegranates? The “Pure” juice has only just come out, so it might be a bit of a trek to find it, but it’d be less messy and even easier.
Here’s the link, for any of you guys in the UK.
http://www.pomegreat.com/pure.asp
brilliant photos! and that scoop is perfectly…scooped. i used to work at a fancy overpriced Argentinian gelato so i’m a scoop perfectionist 🙂
…pomegranate tree eh, hmm i wish i had a mango tree in my backyard. but pomegranate is great in oatmeal porridge too.
Beautiful photos!
Great pics and recipes !
In Canada, we recently had a serving of pomegranate sorbet as a palate cleanser between courses in a restaurant…
But we never thought of making it at home 🙂
Thanks for sharing,
Suleyman Ve Ben
As pomegranate isn’t grown here, and they have only started importing it recently, I am still flush with the discovery of this enticing fruit! And you make it look all the more enchanting with your recipes 🙂
Hey,
I have a pomegranate recipe for you – it is a Persian dish using pomegranate juice! I like to buy this fruit in the South of France where it is cheaper – bring them back to Switerland, juice them (like your tequnique by the way) & freez for later use.
Sorbet looks fabulous! Great post.
Erika
Just found you through Stumble Upon. Beautiful photos!
The only Pomegranate and juice I can accessed were in 1 litre boxes by Dimes! It’s horror for me 🙁
Only pomegranates I ever held in my hands and ate them was from my great-great-grandparents’ house. I think it’s a local species but the little red rubies tasted so sweet. The highest branches were reachable from the balcony where my room was. How I wished Pomegranate is easily available like Persimmons! Thank yo for the gorgeous pictures and recipes!
What a gorgeous color that produces.
Beautiful color… this looks so good. I must try!
I am going to have this. Pomegranates are not in season here now, but i cannot wait. I will use the 100% POM. Looks irresistible.
Hi there… It’s my first time in this blog and I just wanna say that the pictures are beautifully taken…
You are AMAZING!
How is it that you write so incredibly well in English??? (aside from all the rest)???
Oh, and:
POMEGRANATES ARE MY LIFE
i just had to add that.
adnil – Thanks. I don’t think I write incredibly well, but if it is any good I owe it to endless editing 🙂
My mouth is watering!!! Wonderful! Thank you so much for this recipe! I just posted a pear salad with pomegranate on my blog. I love how refreshing pomegranate is!
http://www.bloggingfoods.com/2012/01/pear-celery-and-blue-cheese-salad-two.html
Okay, I’m a silly little girl from Texas who just bought her first house back in October, and low and behold, we have a pomegranate tree in the back yard… I know – a little weird for Texas (we also have a grapevine and possibly a pear tree (not really sure)). I’m completely intimidated by the pomegranate so I’m so glad I found your blog!!! I can’t wait to try your recipes out once they ripen!
We have several pomegranate trees. Have had the pomegranate punch that is made & served in Mexico, (very good). I was making mango sorbet one day & a friend asked me if there was a way to make pomegranate sorbet. Told friend I didn’t know but would try to fined out. So glad I stumbled upon your blog. Can’t wait to try to make this sorbet soon.
I like to juice pomegranates by cutting it in half, and break apart the seeds and the membrane under water in a bowl. The seeds sink, and the membrane floats, plus it doesn’t make a mess from when the seeds pop! Then I whirl it in a blender and strain it. Fresh pomegranate juice doesn’t compare to POM!!
Tried this recipe and it is absolute perfection. I can see myself making it every week for the rest of my life.
Looks delicious! I want to try with the pomegranate syrup but I wonder how easy it is to find that?