Andrew Kay: G’day Pom

Do I believe in superfoods?

If you write regularly about food and drink it is not long before you get on the lists of people selling food and drink, from manufacturers and small producers to large and small PR companies. You would be surprised by some of the things that appear in my post and even more surprised by some of the claims that are made.

I’m not easily swayed by claims, I baulk at signs that say ‘The BEST Sunday roast in Brighton!’ or ‘The BEST Bloody Mary in town!’. By whose reckoning I ask? I reckon the best Sunday roast in town is at my place or at a friend’s place – I have had good ones in pubs and restaurants, but best? Not by my reckoning.

Much of what arrives carries similar claims; the best, the healthiest, the tastiest … the list goes on and on. It’s remarkable too how many expect you to pass on their claims without ever trying the product.

I was rather more sensible with the rest of the juice and had it with breakfast

Some of course do understand that and will happily send you a sample to try. This happened recently when a PR approached me by email with information about pomegranate drinks and nuts.

It was a timely message as pomegranates are in season right now. In fact the day before I had bought a rather large one. I took it home, cracked it open and tucked in – and to my horror it was vile, I mean really inedible, so sour that a car battery might have proved to be a sweeter snack. It went in the bin, even though I cannot abide food waste.

The PR’s promise of pomegranate juice was too hard to resist and a few days later two large bottles of Pom arrived. I immediately opened the one with the pomegranate juice mixed with pure apple juice. It was delicious, a balance of sweet and sharp that brightened up my morning. I took the 100% juice home as I had an idea that I wanted to try.

Pom is made using a variety called ‘Wonderful’ which contains vitamin C, fibre, potassium and iron. It tastes great on its own and it surely has to be good for you. That said, it is a punchy drink and one that I felt could be used in other ways. Firstly I mixed it 50/50 with sparkling mineral water. Amazingly it didn’t seem to lose any of the unique flavour but it did make it an easier drink.

That done, I moved on. If it worked that well with fizzy water, how would it fare with fizzy wine? I had a bottle of something sparkling that needed to be opened and decided to give it a whirl. This time I decided that 20% Pom to 80% sparkling wine might be the right mix – I was not wrong. The wine tasted okay on its own, not brilliant, not so good that mixing it would be sacrilege. The Pom 100% turned it into the most delicious drink; refreshing, pretty to look at and so much better than the dismal flavour of bucks fizz which is a rather dull waste of fizz.

Having done this, I then decided that a more festive angle could be given by adding a small measure of a rather pretty liqueur that has flakes of gold leaf in it. There was only a little left but my word it looked pretty when added to the fizz and the pom, like a festive snow globe, silly maybe but rather nice.

I was rather more sensible with the rest of the juice and had it with breakfast, a small glass as it is rather punchy. That said, it means it goes a long way. In addition to the juices came excellent nuts, ‘Wonderful Pistachios’ and ‘Wonderful Almonds’. Excellent and very fresh, they certainly helped make an evening in front of the TV rather special.

I’ve tried so many superfoods over the years and so many simply do not taste nice, Pom tastes great and I will certainly buy it again.

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