Pomegranate meringues

 

When C first sent me the recipe for pomegranate meringues, I was doubtful if I could find nice, large pomegranates in Singapore. I actually have a pomegranate tree right outside my house (my Dad frequently calls the shrub/tree 红花 because of its vermillion-red flowers) - but have never tried harvesting the pomegranates from my tree as the species we grow in Singapore produces rather tiny pomegranates. 

From my experience - the pomegranate leaf seem to be more useful the fruit, as many Chinese seem to believe that they can be used to ward away bad luck after attending funerals. Since I was a child, the SOP after attending funerals was to sprinkle water droplets from a pomegranate branch on myself before entering the house. Anyway, I digress ;)

Recently, I spotted rather large pomegranates at NTUC - and decided to buy one for this recipe last week. The one I got (slightly larger than a tennis ball) was from Egypt, and cost me about $2.50. I wasn't really looking forward to extracting the seeds - having been led to think that it would be a rather troublesome process. However, after coming across a Martha Stewart tip on extracting pomegranate seeds, I decided to give it a try.

It may sound incredulous, but I've NEVER cut open a pomegranate in my life - so this was a somewhat curious experiment for me. But it turned out to be a very pleasant one. A pomegranate looks pretty boring on the outside, but when you look more closely at its interior you realise that it's quite a gorgeous fruit with beautifully arranged seeds. The red seeds/ flesh were neatly arranged and gently attached to the fibrous non-edible portions and as I tugged the seeds I felt like I was extracting little rubies. Maybe you think I am crazy, but you have to try extracting one yourself one day to appreciate the fruit's beauty!

I was also really lucky to get a sweet pomegranate; and the burst of fresh, sweet juice from the seeds was SO good.

The meringue-making part was actually less interesting than the first-time pomegranate extraction; and for some reason I just have no luck with meringue-ish desserts. This time round the form was fine but the colour was off - they went into the oven white but came out a uniform light brown!

My spartan version of the pomegranate meringue - without the red food colouring swirls nor the whipped cream and pomegranate syrup. and unintentionally BROWN! :( Oh well - the pomegranate appreciation/ awareness-raising portion of the dessert-making process still made the attempt worthwhile though.