17 October, 2013

Pomegranate Frenzy: How to make Pomegranate Brown Sugar.

Hello!
It's time again for another how to for you all! This one is going to be insanely easy to do.
We're going to be making Pomegranate Brown Sugar using some of the Pomegranate Molasses you've made! (I bet you didn't guess that we were doing that from the title or anything)
So pretty...

To be fair, this is actually more like Pomegranate Pink Sugar because of the color, but eh...You get the point.

This is a fun way to change up the taste of your tea, coffee, baked goods, ETC in just a slight manner. I also admit to occasionally eating about ½ tsp of it straight up! (Bad, I know, but it's so tasty...)

The brown sugar recipe that I use and referenced for making Pomegranate Brown Sugar can be found here.

You will need:
1 Cup White Cane Sugar
1 ½ TBSP Pomegranate Molasses for Light Brown Sugar or 3 TBSP for Dark Brown Sugar (Click here for how to make Pomegranate Molasses)
Bowl
Fork or Small Whisk
Container for storage

This seriously needs to be one step! ;)
Step One:
Measure out and pour your sugar into a bowl.











Step Two:
Add in your pomegranate molasses and begin to stir thoroughly. The molasses will get clumpy and be a pain initially, but it soon spreads out and you'll find that you coat all the sugar very nicely. This will take a few minutes.





Step Three:
Transfer into your storage container and enjoy!
You'll need to store this in the freezer due to the juice used in the pomegranate molasses, but it should keep very nicely for awhile.









Wasn't that an insanely quick how to? Ha!
Until next time...







01 October, 2013

Pomegranate Frenzy: Lightly Exfoliating Pomegranate Glycerin Soap

Remember that few tablespoons I told you to put aside in my peeling and juicing pomegranates post? (Located in this post) We're going to use that today! Woohoo!

We're going to be making soap!

Soap is something that is really customizable based off of the creator's (or recipient’s) desires, so feel free to play around and experiment!

Pulp, fresh fruit, ETC does work better with cold process soap, but due to household restrictions for me and for the sake of simplicity for others, we're going to be doing a glycerin soap.

The first step to making this soap is going to be to dry out the pulp itself, otherwise you'll risk having moldy soap in a few days as the moist pulp begins to decay and rot (yuck). So, unless you're going to use the soap up in a few days and store it in the fridge, you need to dry the pulp out.

To dry out your pomegranate pulp, you will need:
Pomegranate Pulp
Spoon
Oven
Cookie sheet
Butcher paper/wax paper

Optional:
Cookie cooling rack
Aluminum Foil

Step one:
Heat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.


Step two:
If you have a cookie cooling rack, place it on top of your cookie sheet to elevate the pulp. If you have foil too, use it to line the cookie sheet and place the wax paper onto the cooling rack.

If you are not using the cookie cooling rack, line your cookie sheet with wax paper.


Step three:
Using your spoon, evenly spread the pulp over the wax paper, making it as thin as possible, and place the cookie sheet into the oven. Remove when the pulp has been dried out. (The small amount you see me using took a little over 4 hours to be finished.)

Alright, now that our pulp is dried out and ready, let's get to work making that soap!

You will need:
1 LBS of glycerin melt and pour soap.
Dried Pomegranate Pulp
Coffee Grinder (or something you can grind with)
Cheese Grater (or knife)
Heat resistant bowl
Pot with water or microwave
Spoon or spatula (silicone spatula recommended)
Mold of some kind (muffin pan, bread pan, stepping stone mold, cup, ETC. Get creative)

Optional (all measurements are for 1 LBS of soap):
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, Honey, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil, Oatmeal or whatever else you like.
15 to 30 drops of essential oil of your choosing
Soap dye
Ladle
Anything else you fancy in soap.

Step one:
Use your coffee grinder (or whatever you're using to grind) to grind up your pomegranate pulp. You need to grind up the pulp into a finer consistency because it will be too rough for your skin as is.

I accidentally burned this batch of pulp when drying it a bit :( Oh well...
Note: This dried pulp will not add any sort of a fragrance to the soap and may add only minimal color, if any. It will solely be serving as a light exfoliating touch to your soap and a way to use up more of your pomegranates.

PJ time! <3
Step two:
Using the cheese grater, grate up your melt and pour soap so it will melt more evenly. If you do not have a cheese grater (or don't want to use yours), you can chop up the soap into smaller chunks.







Step three:
Two options:
You can melt down your soap inside your microwave, doing it in 30 second intervals and stirring between each until completely melted.

Or you can place your pot with water on your stove and place your heat resistant bowl over it to create a make shift double boiler to melt down your soap (you could also use a pot instead, I prefer the bowl since I have my grater soap in there anyway). I prefer this method because it allows me to take more time with adding ingredients into my soap without the soap starting to cool.

Step four:
Once your soap is melted, add in 1 tablespoons of your ground up pomegranate pulp and anything else you'd like to add. Mix well.
(I chose to add a few drops of red soap dye, about 20 drops of rose essential oil, and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to my soap.)

Step five:
My mold is a silicone muffin tray!
Once you've added everything you wanted in your soap and mixed well, go ahead and pour it into your mold. How many bars you get will depend on the mold you use and how you cut it (if cutting is required) later.
Allow it to cool and set. This can take about an hour, but may take longer for larger batches.

Tip: Sometimes the pomegranate pulp will all settle to the bottom. If it does this, pour your soap in layers instead. Pour one layer, wait 30 seconds to 1 min, sprinkle some extra pulp over it, pour the next layer, wait, and so on.

Step six:
Once cooled and set, remove from molds and wrap or store however you like.


Enjoy!

30 September, 2013

Pomegranate Frenzy: How to Make Pomegranate Jelly, Syrup, and Molasses.

All right! Remember that post I just did on peeling and juicing pomegranates? (I certainly hope you do, it was yesterday!) Well, today we're going to use that juice to make some Jelly, Syrup, and Molasses! Woohooo!

Now, Pomegranate Jelly is one of my favorites, I will say, but the flavor reminds me a lot of Cherry Jelly, with just a hint of a different taste. That's the best way I can think of to describe it. It also tends to be runnier than other jellies because pomegranates are high in acidity and low in natural pectin, so it doesn't quite come out that same.

That being said, let's get into my Pomegranate Jelly recipe! (This recipe makes 6 half pint jars with some extra)

You will need:
Juice from 2 medium lemons (about 4 to 6 tablespoons of juice)
4 Cups Pomegranate Juice (How to juice pomegranates here: Click!)
5 Cups White Sugar
7 Tablespoons Pectin
½ Cup Apple Juice or Grape Juice (or other neutral juice)
6 to 7 Half Pint Jars (and rims & lids)
Large pot
Oven mit
Straining/slotted spoon
Spoon (I prefer wooden)
Damp cloth
Tongs/Jar Tongs or a plastic bag and oven mit (Yep)

Optional (but recommended if available):
Large stock pot or very large pot
Ladle

Step one:
Clean and dry your jars, rims, and lids. (I usually wash mine in soap and water and then submerge them in a boiling water bath for a few minutes.)

Step two:
Over a medium heat, pour your pomegranate juice, lemon juice, apple juice, and pectin into your pot. Stir until all clumps of pectin are gone and pectin is fully dissolved. Bring the juice mixture to a full rolling boil.





Boiling!
Step three:
Once your juice mixture has reached a full rolling boil, allow for it to boil for 1 to 2 minutes. (I like to let mine boil for 2 minutes, but I've been told 1 is enough).





Step four:
After your 1 to 2 minutes is up, begin adding your sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved completely. (I add mine ½ cup at a time and would not recommend adding more than 1 cup at a time.) Allow for mixture to return to a full boil for 1 minute.




Step five:
After your minute is up, skim off any foam and then take your warmed jars (you can warm the jars by placing them in a hot water bath either on the stove or fill your sink with hot water) and begin pouring into your jars. Fill jars, leaving about 1/4th an inch of space at the top.
With your damp cloth, wipe any excess jelly off the top and rim so you don't have a glued shut-sticky mess later and put the lid and rims on tightly and evenly.

Checking Jelly
Tip: If you want to check to see if your jelly is ready, put a plate in the freezer for a few minutes (I do this before step four). When the plate has cooled, remove it and drop a spoonful of jelly onto the plate. It will cool rapidly and show you what it'll be like when it's set. If you're happy with it, then you're good to go!
Tip: Wear an oven mit on the hand that will be holding the jars. The jelly is very HOT and will heat the jars quickly.




Step six:
Two options here. If you have a large stock pot/canner/large pot, place your can inside and cover them with at least an inch of boiling water. Do not let the cans touch and allow them to boil for 10 minutes (15 if you live about 6000 feet).

If you do not have a large stock pot/large pot/canner, place your jars upside down onto a towel and let them sit there for 24 hours. They should seal just fine. This will mean that extra space will be on the bottom of the jar when it's set, but you can take a cupcake wrapper and some twine and cover the bottom so no one will know! :)
Left - Jars in stock pot. Right - half full jar doing flipped method of sealing.

Step seven:
If you used the large stock pot route, after 10 (or 15) minutes, remove the jars from the water and let rest on the counter. You should start hearing the jars' lids popping as they seal within 10 minutes, but some can take as long as 2 hours. Let them rest on the counter for at least 24 hours without being disturbed. Be aware that the jelly can take up to 48 hours to set.
Tip: I'm fancy like that.
Tip: If you don't have jar tongs or tongs that can grip your jars, you can totally stick an oven mit in a 1 gallon plastic bag to remove your jars from the water. That's how I do it, ha!

If you turned your jars upside down, well, you're already done. Give them at least 48 hours for the jelly to set up and you should be fine! :)

Remember: Pomegranate jelly tends to be runnier than other jellies, so keep that in mind if the consistency isn't 100% perfect, but it should not be like preserves!




Okay! Jelly is done, let's move on to making some Pomegranate Syrup and Molasses.


These two things use the exact same recipe, the only difference between them is actually just a length of time. (This recipe makes about 3 half pint jars of syrup with some extra and about 2 half pint jars of molasses)


You will need:
4 Cups of Pomegranate Juice (How to juice pomegranates here: Click!)
½ to 1 Cup White Sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
Juice from 1 small lemon (about 1-2 tablespoons)
Large pot
2 to 4 half pint jars with rims and lids or other container with lid.
Spoon
Straining/slotted spoon.
Oven Mit
Jar tongs/tongs or an oven mit and plastic bag

Optional (but recommended if available):
Large Stock pot or very large pot
Ladle


Step one:
If canning, wash and dry your jars, rims, and lids.
Over a medium heat, mix together pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Bring to a boil.





Reducing
Step two:
Once the mixture has reached a boil, reduce heat to a low or medium-low. (I prefer low).
To make syrup: Allow mixture to reduce for 50 to 70 minutes. Stir occasionally. At 40 minutes, begin checking regularly for a heated syrup like appearance. Once the mixture behaves like heated syrup, it's done.

To make molasses: Allow mixture to reduce for 70 to 90 minutes. Stir occasionally and make sure to supervise it so you do not end up with pomegranate hard candy instead. Mixture is done when it feels thicker and stickier while stirring than syrup.

A note if it's not thickening up properly: Sometimes the syrup/molasses does not thicken properly because of the juice used. If it is not starting to feel like syrup around 45 minutes, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar more and stir until dissolved completely. That should fix it.

Step three:
If not canning, skim the foam, pour your syrup or molasses into your container with lid, and store in the fridge.

If canning, follow steps five to seven from my Pomegranate Jelly recipe above. (Summary of those steps: Skim foam, pour into warm jars, leaving 1/4th inch of space at the top. Wipe tops and rims off with a damp cloth to remove spills and put on lid & rims securely. If using a stock pot, place jars, not touching, into the stock pot and cover with at least 1 inch of boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove from pot and let rest for at least 24 hours. Alternatively, fill jars, clean with cloth, put on lids, and then flip jars upside on a towel and do not touch them for 24 hours. They should seal fine).
Syrup and molasses, when properly sealed, should last for up to 8 months (maybe a year, I haven't had it last that long!). After opening, store in the fridge.
 
Canning Method

There you go! Jelly, syrup, and molasses! I'll have something else pomegranate related for you all soon!
Take care until then! <3



29 September, 2013

Pomegranate Frenzy: How to Peel & Juice Pomegranates.

I don't know about you, but I have a TON of pomegranates right now. My poor little tree went crazy this year and she's weighing herself down with all the fruit she has!

Every year I make jelly, syrup, and maybe one or two things more using the fruit, but this year, since she gave me so much extra, I'm making everything and then some and I wanted to share all my adventures with you!

That being said, let's start with the obvious first step: getting those peels off the pomegranate and freeing up those gorgeous and deliciously tart seeds.

There are a few different ways of doing this, but the way I know best is the one I'll show you today. I find this method allows me to get the most of the fruit/juice out of each pomegranate, but it can also be the most time consuming.

To do this, you will need:
Pomegranates (Duh! ;))
A knife
Two large bowls, one filled 1/3rd of the way up with water.
A straining spoon/slotted spoon
A trashcan or bag
Some free time and a lot of patience.

Optional (but highly recommended as the juice sometimes splatters and will stain):
An apron or other type of protective clothing
A junky towel, newspaper, tarp, or something of that sort
Gloves
A large mesh strainer/sieve

This is what my work space looks like (I also wear an apron).
Step one (after you washed your pomegranates, of course! I like to wash mine in a mixture of warm water and vinegar):
If you haven't already, fill one of your bowls 1/3rd of the way up with water.
Around the top of the flower of the pomegranate, you are going to use your knife to cut a square or circle through the rind. Be careful not to cut too deep, you don't want to damage the insides, just release the rind.


Step two:
After your cut has been made, firmly grip the flower and gently begin tugging in one direction (don't just pull up, pull to a side!). You'll need to snap it free of the structuring inside, but that should break very easily. If your rind wasn't cut enough, do a few quick slices in the spots that need it. The whole thing should come up very nicely. If there are any seeds stuck to the top that you removed, go ahead and brush them off into your bowl with water. Discard the top into your trashcan or bag (or trash bowl, whatever you're using).


Step three:
Look at the inside, you'll note the cream colored webbing that runs from the center to the sides. Gently slice into the rind using the webbing as your spot to slice. Again, do not slice too deep, you do not want to puncture the seeds. There is usually 3 to 8 visible webbing areas you'll need to cut depending on the size of the fruit. Technically, you do not need to cut into all of the areas, just 3, at least, but I like to cut them all because it makes it easier.

Step four:
Once you've cut the areas, place your thumbs on opposite sides along the new sections you've created and gently pull back. This should snap all the webbing “cages” around the seeds and free up each section. Do this over your bowl of water as some of the seeds will become loose and fall out.

Step five:
Using your thumb, gently glide it along the base of each seed in the sections. This should knock them loose and they'll fall right into your bowl with water. Repeat this until all seeds have been removed from the rind. Discard the rind and webbing. The seeds will sink and any small bits of rind, webbing, ETC will float.





Step six:
Repeat steps one through five with all your fruit or until your bowl is about 3/4ths full, in that case, proceed to steps seven and eight and then come back to step one. (This can take awhile depending on how many pomegranates you have, so get a movie, TV series, or a book on tape. I had 50 LBS worth of pomegranates and it took me a little over 9 hours to peel them all! Ouch :( )


Step seven:
Using your slotted spoon, go ahead and scoop out all the random pieces of webbing and rind that fell into your bowl (that's why we used a bowl with water! :)). Discard those bits.






Step eight:
Drain your pomegranates from the water and transfer into a clean bowl. You can use either a large mesh strainer and just dump them in or use your slotted spoon and transfer them into the new bowl. I personally like to rinse mine after, so I use the large strainer. (Technically, you don't need a new bowl, but if you're having to keep repeating steps one through five because your bowl keeps filling, a second bowl is needed)

Step nine:
Now you have just the fruit! If that's all you wanted, then yay! You're done! Now, go ahead and sprinkle them on a salad, toss them into some vanilla ice cream, eat them plain, or put them in a glass of water and take pretty pictures!






Okay! On to making those pretty little crystals into juice!

I don't own a juicer, but I do have an awesome blender (okay, it's nothing fancy, but I love it anyway), so I make my juice using it instead. It may be a little messier, but I also find it to be more fun (maybe because I like making messes...)

So, to do things with my method, you will need:
Pomegranates
Blender
Large bowl, pitcher, or something you can put your juice in.
Mesh strainer/sieve
Spoon
Straining spoon/slotted spoon

Optional equipment:
An apron or some sort of protective clothing.

Step one:
Fill your blend ½ to 3/4ths full with your pomegranates. If you have less than that, go ahead and put whatever you have in there.
Side note: If you have less then 1/3rd of the blender filled, sometimes some of the seeds will go untouched and you will need to break them yourself. I do this by just pressing them against the side of the blender with a spoon.





Step two:
Blend your seeds. I typically do this by pressing the pulse for 20 to 30 seconds and then doing 2 to 3 bursts of pulsing for 5 to 15 seconds until everything has been blended. You don't want to over blend or you'll start grinding up some of the seeds.












Step three:
With your strainer over your bowl (or pitcher, ETC), pour the juice-pulp-seed mixture into it. It will slowly begin draining the juice into the bowl. During this time, go rinse your blender and lid if you have to grind up more pomegranates so you don't start grinding seeds and end up with those in your juice. If not, go wash it anyway so you don't have to deal with it later. :)



 
Step four:
Due to the seeds and pulp, they start to block the strainer and the juice can't get through anymore. Take your spoon and start stirring and mixing it around until all you have left is pulp and seeds. This should take about 2 minutes.



Step five:
Once you only have pulp and seeds left, start pressing them to get any excess juice out and then go ahead and discard. (Alternatively, you could save a few tablespoons for another project I'll be posting soon, just store covered in the fridge.)
Left - Just the seeds and pulp. Right - Pressing for excess juice.


Step six:
Repeat steps one through five until you are out of pomegranates.



 

Step seven:
Taking your slotted spoon, go ahead and skim off the foam. Discard.



Step eight:
Now, if you're just making jelly or syrup, then your juice is all set. However, if you want to drink it (and don't like pulp/sediment in your juice) or if you don't want any pulp in your juice for jelly, syrup, or anything else, then you will need to run it through a strainer 2 or 3 more times, with one time being through something finer, like cheese cloth. I recommend first letting everything settle for a few hours, the pulp/sediment and juice will separate from each other.
Juice in varying states of settling.

That's it!
Next post and I'll do will be on making Pomegranate jelly, syrup, and molasses!
Take care until then! :)