POM Wonderfully Whipped - Part Nostalgia, Part Molecular Gastronomy

Last month I was contacted by the folks at POM Wonderful. As it turns out, as they were cruising the blogosphere, they stumbled upon The Sensitive Epicure and since they liked my blog so much they generously offered some POM pomegranate juice to sample and familiarize myself with. I felt it was necessary to develop a recipe with it. It took a while, needing Spring to inspire me. I knew I wanted to make some type of POM gelatin recipe that was light, clean, simple, and of course gluten free and milk free. This recipe is also egg free, too. My POM Wonderfully Whipped Gelatin recipe is light, fresh, slightly sweet, with a touch of tartness. Color was another consideration of my recipe. I wanted to the appearance to match my vision of what the flavor and texture should be - light pink. One of my favorite food blogs, Khymos.org, inspired me in finalizing this recipe. My first attempt was a straight-forward gelatin, but it was a bit heavy and the color was too dark. Then I saw this molecular gastronomy foam posting by fellow chemist Martin Lersch (linked in Khymos, above). I knew I had to whip the gelatin for the recipe I wanted to create for the light results I was looking for in flavor, texture, and color. Some may look at this as new, modern "foam" but I see it as recreating something similar to what my grandmother made many years ago. Makes 10 x 1/2 cup servings.

POM Wonderfully Whipped Gelatin

Ingredients:
8 oz POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
8 oz Water
1/4 oz Gelatin (1 envelope of Knox unflavored gelatin)
1/4 cup Sugar
1 Pink Grapefruit, sectioned and cut for garnish

Procedure:

1. In a small/medium saucepan, combine the POM juice with the water over medium-low heat. Add in the gelatin with stirring. Simmer until dissolved, about 5 minutes.
2. Place into a bowl and chill until very thick. Then beat with rotary beater or electric mixer until fluffy and thick – about double in volume results in the best eating and quality flavor.
3. Portion into ramekins, custard cups, or whatever little cups/containers you have.
4. Place in fridge and allow to set slightly (so the garnish will not sink).
5. Garnish the top with slices of sectioned pink grapefruit in a cute design.
6. Cool in fridge covered for at least 4 hours before serving for best results.

-Erin Swing
The Sensitive Epicure