Pomegranates!

Here's to you old pomegranate tree.

May your branches always blow freely in the breeze.

And may you bear bushels and bushels of pomegranates with ease...

Here's to you - Great Pomegranate Tree

We don't spend very much time on the side of our house where the pomegranate tree is. That would explain why I had no idea how it had grown this summer. At first I thought the grape vines had overtaken it. The branches were so weighed down with fruit that they touched the ground. I've never appreciated the pomegranate very much. I remember when I was young, my mom being very upset with my siblings and I, the evidence of sweet pomegranate juice on our clothes. I recall breaking it open, the pretty red seeds squirting their juice everywhere. I was "never" to eat that again! And so I didn't.

I looked at that poor exhausted tree and got the idea to make pomegranate jelly. With Nikki's help we picked the biggest and most red, it was a chore but well worth it. I will definitely be doing this again next year.


Getting the seeds out to make the juice was easy but time consuming. I used about 20 pomegranates and got 9 cups of seeds. I then put the seeds in the blender and pulsed a few times to release the juice. I strained the juice through three thicknesses of cheese cloth to remove all the pulp or icky chunks. All I wanted was the clear, sweet juice.


Next I added lime juice. The recipe called for lemon juice but I had a few limes in my fridge so I used them instead. Then the pectin and sugar went in and I boiled the heck out of it for a couple of minutes.


Next I poured it into jars and sealed it, it was so easy, sweet and delicious!

These little jars of jelly are so pretty. I'm so glad I gave this a try.