POM Wonderful Juice

Am I the best person to taste test POM Wonderful juice?

Pomegranates are my favorite fruit. I think it's genetic, because pomegranates are a hallmark of Armenia. Maybe it's because of their tough skin. Once you get past the nearly impregnable skin there are the bright red, juicy seeds shining like jewels. The pomegranate has been a symbol of fecundity since ancient times and in my lexicon creativity.

I get really excited in the fall when pomegranates start to appear in the stores. I'd love to take a whole crate home. A few years ago, I made up a refreshing pomegranate and grapefruit salad that appears in the Spatulatta Cookbook. When pomegranates are in season, I eat the salad for breakfast and dessert.

Their crisp refreshing flavor is something I hunger for year round so I was glad to see POM Wonderful appear in the refrigerated cases at the grocery store. Seeing the bottles refrigerated, rather than sitting on the shelf with the other juice, signaled that there were no preservatives.

Plus, I've been hearing wonderful things about the ability of pomegranate juice to reduce accumulations of plaque on artery walls. Big issue in my family.

Okay, so I was really looking forward to my first taste.

Zingy!

Then I detected a slight undertaste from the white membrane that surrounds the bright red seeds. It was hard for me to overlook and it never diminished as I continued to sip.

I wound up pouring soda water into the POM Wonderful and squeezing in a bit of lime. Yum!

So I tried POM Wonderful out on other people. I started with Joe, the 9-year old taste tester from Spatulatta. Joe's immediate reaction was a scrunched up face. "It's tart!" And then after another sip he said, "And sweet!" After the initial shock (he was expecting it to be like cranberry juice) he did indeed drink the whole 6-ounce bottle.

Next taster was Farrah, a visiting peace advocate from Iraq. Pomegranates are a favorite fruit in Iraq and Iran. Farrah took a sip and decided to add soda water as well. Likewise, my film editor friend, Jan who is a connoisseur of non-alchoholic beverages.

The last taste tester was my 14-year old nephew Max who was visiting from Japan. Max loved the POM Wonderful. He sucked down every drop he could get his hands on.

So my analysis? It was tasty. Not a flavor you come across everyday. My adult friends found it lovely in a mixed non-alcoholic drink, kids who like tart things really get into it, and hide it from your teenagers!