Pomegranate Sows Seeds of Popularity

Pomegranate Sows Seeds of Popularity

 

Supermarkets can't keep pomegranate juices in stock. Farmers can't grow the fruits fast enough. They are everywhere – in shampoo, on lobster dinners, in beer, even on Christmas wreathes.

 

Pomegranates are grown both for ornamentation and for the delicious edible fruit it produces. The fruit is about the size of an apple, and has a leathery, deep red to purplish red rind. When you split the hard fruit open, a mass of red seeds in a spongy white membrane is revealed. Only the seeds, with their sweet-tart flavor, are edible. The fruit is high in vitamin C and potassium, a good source of fiber and low in calories. Their juice is high in three different types antioxidants – tannins, anthocyanins, and ellagic acid – that are present in many fruits, but pomegranate juice contains particularly high amounts of all three.

 

Pomegranates have recently become a national phenomenon. Companies rolled out 450 products in 2006 featuring the ruby-seeded fruit, bringing the total to 961 products launched since 2003, according to market research firm Mintel International Group. "The pomegranate really did come out of nowhere," said Tom Vierhile, director of market research group Productscan Online. "Clearly, pomegranate has staked a claim in the market as the top superfruit of the year."

 

The pomegranate's lack of history in America has given companies the freedom to create unusual concoctions. Making the pomegranate more accessible proved to be key to whetting the American appetite. For Michael S. Moxley, owner of Common Ground Bar & Grill of Allston, pomegranate juice allowed him to offer a whole new line of drinks. Moxley's bar started carrying the juice last year after he received an increasing number of requests. "I've never seen anything grab on like that, especially when so many people never even heard of it," said Moxley who serves up pomegranate margaritas and other cocktails.

 

Pom Wonderful, which hired a mixologist to create a pomegranate martini to help generate sales, has expanded its farms over the last few years from several thousand acres of pomegranate trees in California to more than 12,000 acres. And that's still not enough. In 2005, Pom Wonderful stopped supplying pomegranate concentrate to other companies because it needed all the fruit for its own products, according to Pom spokeswoman Fiona Posell.

 

Texas A&M University is working to help farmers cultivate larger commercial pomegranate orchards to cash in on the trend. There currently are only about 10 acres of pomegranates grown commercially in Texas, but farmers in the state believe they can support more than 10,000 acres. “I get requests from people wanting to get an orchard of pomegranates started nearly every week here in Texas," said Richard Ashton, who runs Oak Creek Orchard in Brownwood, Teaxas, and is working with Texas A&M on the project.

 

The pomegranate craze has even spread to home gardeners. Dave Wilson Nursery, one of California's largest growers of fruit trees, sold about 20,000 pomegranate trees this year -- about a 300 percent increase from 2002 -- and already has orders through 2008, said Ed Laivo, the nursery's home garden sales and marketing director. To capitalize on the demand, the company this year introduced five new varieties of pomegranate trees, with such catchy names as Pink Satin, Red Silk, Kashmir Blend, and Garnet Sash. "The sky is the limit for this fruit. I've never seen such a cultural awareness and desire like this," Laivo said. "I'm not sure where it will stop."

 

Some market researchers predict that pomegranates will continue to be on the radar but will taper off in popularity with the discovery of the next “superfood.” One candidate: acai, a dark purple berry grown in the Amazon rainforest that is also loaded with antioxidants.

Source:http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/12/10/pomegranate_sows_seeds_of_popularity/

 

Ingredients:

1 medium pomegranate, seeded (about ? cup)

 

To make dressing, combine vinegar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes; whisk in oil. Toss greens with 2 ? tablespoons dressing; arrange on a serving platter. Alternate orange, papaya and kiwi slices over greens. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Serves 6.