Say what you will about foodie-ism being an elitist pastime, the trickle down effect doesn't take too long. The fact that you can buy three superb pomegranates, in season, in the supermarket, for R10 (a shade over US$1) can only be a good thing. Yet another wonderful ingredient that wasn't even dreamt of in retail outlets twenty years ago. Yes, South Africa is just discovering these, a year after that food fad already peaked in the US and UK. They will no doubt appear in restaurants for the next 18 months sprinkled over everything. But the best way to eat them is just like this, and still will be, long after they've joined the ranks of sun-dried tomatoes and artfully arranged star fruit or kiwi fruit slices in the annals of passé foodie fare.
I'm shopping in the wrong place again!
ReplyDeleteNot really, the butchery's gone from much better than average to far worse. On the upside they do sometimes have pomegranates, our meat consumption has dropped and Woolies profits are up slightly.
DeleteOh, and your little tree is still happy and growing steadily. In 10 years or so it won't matter if they're in the supermarket or not - thanks again(-:
DeleteI was beside myself to find them at P&P for R17/kg. I made juice, which was heavenly... and the rest: picked seed by seed and eaten while watching the Sopranos. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteYou're obviously far more well-mannered than me. I just crunched great clusters at a go. It was too pretty not to photograph first though.
DeleteI always found it odd that I grew up on Karoo pomegranates but could never buy them in SA. They are a fall fixture, here. Love them.
ReplyDeleteI know. Just a few years ago, before everyone had DSTV, and thus Jamie, Masterchef, et al and food interest really went crazy, I think both the store buyers and the vast majority of the public just didn't know what they were or what to do with them. So in that sense I think the current food obsession is a good thing, if it pushes up local crop diversity, product availability, and hopefully employment. Although much less good when it involves flying fresh produce in by plane from the northern hemisphere...
DeleteHave to admit I prefer these modern pomegranate cultivars to the homegrown ones of my memory - these have got juicier flesh, and softer seeds with a pronounced nutty flavour instead of hectic tannin. Fortunately without descending to the bland overpowering sweetness of so many modern fruits.