Pomegranate - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 522

Juice, concentrate, and juice blends
Juice content of pomegranate varies from 45% to 65% of the
intact fruit or from 76% to 85% of the arils (Pekmezci and
Erkan, 2010). Organic acids, red color, tannin content, and
SSC, higher in the fruit picked up late in the season, seem
to be the major contributors to the quality of pomegranate
juice (Crisosto et al., 1996; Dafny-Yalin et al., 2010). Juice
quality and properties are also highly affected by aril mash
quality from aril separators from which high juice yield and
preventing oxidation are expected. The juice extraction is
carried out using a screw-type press, belt press, or bladder
press; each system has some advantages or disadvantages
in terms of yield, pulp content, mash enzymation, filtration,
antioxidant extraction, and color degradation. To produce
a clear preferable pomegranate juice, enzymatic process is
necessary for pectin breakdown pectins, and clarification is
needed to eliminate cloudiness resulting from unstable pro-
teins or protein-phenolic compounds. Thermal treatments
may also be used for reducing bacterial contamination, in-
activating enzymes responsible for color loss, and dena-
turizing flocculating proteins involved in hazing (Borgese
and Massini, 2007). If the juice is extracted from whole
fruit, excessive tannin may be precipitated out by a gelatin
process (Morton, 1987). After filtration, the juice may be
pasteurized or may be preserved by adding sodium ben-
zoate, allowed to settle for two days, then strained and
bottled (Morton, 1987).
Sediments in fruit juice may result from microbial growth
(Borgese and Massini, 2007); therefore the source of the
gaze must be clarified to get a safe pomegranate juice. Ther-
mal treatments are necessary for controlling pathogenic mi-
croorganisms for especially juice and other product types.

variety for freezing among eight most common varieties in
Turkey, followed by 'Izmir 1513,' 'Hicaznar,' and 'Izmir
1499.'

Jam
Pomegranate jams may be prepared using low or high
methoxy pectins. For 1 kg high methoxy pectin jam, 350 g
arils, 1.65 g pectin, 3 g citric acid, 0.5 g ascorbic acid and
1 g sorbic acid are mixed with a final sucrose concentra-
tion of 65 ◦ Brix, and for 1 kg low methoxy pectin jam,
7 g pectin is used; the rest of the ingredients are in the
same concentration of 65 ◦ Brix (Melgarejo et al., 2009).
High methoxy pectin yields better jam, and low temper-
ature (5 ◦ C) in darkness may provide the optimal storage
over time.

Indigenous processed products, new products
Indigenous products
A homemade grenadine syrup may be prepared by boiling 2
cups of arils and 2 cups of sugar until it reduced in volume
and seeds are removed from the final product (Crisosto
et al., 1996).
In the Middle East, pomegranate molasses may be made
by boiling down the juice of a particular type of tart
pomegranate along with some cane sugar and lemon juice,
while sumac is added in Turkey.

New products
Honey-coated arils may be seen soon on the market. A
study for extending the shelf life pomegranate arils in-
dicated that honey solution dips extended the fresh-like
quality of minimally processed arils by delaying quality
loss, microbial development, and pigment changes (Ergun
and Ergun, 2009). The positive results postulate that honey
coating may be an innovative and natural replacement for
costly chemical preservatives for some processed products
of fruits and vegetables.
Health-promoting dietary products from the rind, juice,
and seed have been marketed in the United States,
such as pomegranate extracts (containing a minimum of
40% ellagitannin) from Source Naturals R

Drying and dehydration
Very little has been reported in the literature on drying or
dehydration of pomegranate arils; however, in Turkey, arils
may be locally and traditionally sun-dried to make snacks,
and in India to make spice (Morton, 1987).

Canning
Arils may be canned using filling liquids of sucrose syrup,
a mixture of sucrose syrup and pomegranate juice (1:1,
w/w), stored at 5 ◦ C for a period of 8 months (Benli and
Fenercioglu, 2005).

,PomeGrat R

pomegranate juice (fourfold concentrated juice) from Jar-
row Formulas R

(containing
70% ellagic acid) from Pure Encapsulation R

, and Pomegranate Plus R

. Homemade
pomegranate seed oil, for nourishing and improving skin
elasticity, is marketed on a limited scale.
In southeastern Turkey, for the preparation of a pizza-
type dish called lahmacun, red pomegranate juice is used
for savoring and coloring.

Freezing
Pomegranate arils may be frozen at -40 ◦ C and stored at
− 18 ◦ C for 9 months (Bilisli and Cevik, 1999). Bilisli and

Cevik (1999) reported that 'Izmir 16' is the most suitable