Pomegranate Panna Cotta [石榴奶凍]

A time to plant and a time to harvest. Yes, It's October and it's harvest time! A friendly neighbor recently gave my family his freshly picked pomegranates from his backyard. I tried one and it is sweet and tart. Red is always my favorite, especially the ruby red of these sparkling gem-like kernels of pomegranate. When you open a pomegranate, it's almost like you are unlocking a treasure chest from a far away land. Did I also mention this is an antioxidant powerhouse? Ok, to show my appreciation of receiving this wonderful food,  I am going to make pomegranate panna cotta for my neighbor.  Pomegranate and panna cotta, there two things are like a perfect match from heaven. yum yum yum...

Ingredient: (make 6 servings. 1/2 cup each)

500ml (2 cups) 2% fat milk

250ml (1 cup) whipping cream

350ml fresh pomegranate juice

60ml honey

2 packages unflavored gelatin (1 for panna cotta & 1 for pomegranate jello)

1 Tbsp sugar

1. Sprinkle a package of unflavored gelatin to 1 cup of cold milk. Let it sit for about 5min (to bloom). Stir a little bit if it's clumped. 
2. mix the the other 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of whipping cream and honey. Heat it over medium heat. Don't boil it. Pour the mixture to the gelatin milk when starting to see steam.
3. Stir the mixture thoroughly. Pour it to 6 serving cups, that should be about half cup each.
4. Chill it in a refrigerator for about 3 to 4 hours for it to set. That's panna cotta.
5. After panna cotta is set, begin to make pomegranate jello. Sprinkle 1 package of unflavored gelatin to 100ml of pomegranate juice. Heat the remaining 250ml of juice with 1 Tbsp of sugar. Don't boil it. Pour the heated juice  to the gelatin juice and stir thoroughly. Cool it down a little bit.
6. Carefully pour the juice over panna cotta.
7. Chill for another 2 hours.

Note:

1. Panna cotta is an italian dessert. It's a gelatin cream dessert usually served with berries.
2. Most of the recipes call for large portion of whipping cream. However, I modify to a healthier recipes and replace most part with 2% fat milk. It still tastes 'creamy' and my family and guests love it.
3. For an even healthier recipe for kids & health conscious people, I would say to use 3 cups of 2% fat milk for this recipe. To myself, I claim myself as a health conscious person, but I also believe consuming in moderation. If it's a once in a while thing, I don't think it would hurt. I just think panna cotta without cream is not panna cotta, as if diet coke is not coke! yes, I never drink diet coke. I rarely drink soda (yup, it's like drinking calories. watch out if you are on diet). If I drink, I drink the 'real' ones! :P
4. Though it's made of whipping cream, its fat content is nearly the same as an equal amount (1/2cup) of Haagendazs vanilla ice-cream.
5. I used about 4 medium pomegranates to extract 1.5 cup of juice.
6. If you don't like the taste of honey, you can substitute it with sugar.
7. blooming means when the gelatin absorbs the liquid, each granule becomes enlarged. This process is to ensure the smooth texture of a finish product. Sprinkle the gelatin powder to the liquid and let it sit for about 5min. When it's mixed with another hot liquid, the gelatin will dissolve evenly.
8. If you add the gelatin to warm or hot liquid directly, the gelatin cannot soften properly.
9. If you want to save some labor work from getting the pomegranate juice, you can try a store-bought bottled juice. Though I've never tried it myself, I heard the result is still pretty good. just remember to get the ones that say "not from concentrate", which people said it would affect the texture and color of the jello.
10. Check the firmness of panna cotta before you plan to add the pomegranate jello on top. If panna cotta is not set and you pour the warm pomegranate juice on it, the red color will bleed to the white panna cotta. It won't affect the taste, but it doesn't look very nice. 
11. I think it is a very good dessert for a Thanksgiving dinner or a Christmas dinner.

A basket of freshly picked pomegranates from neighbor :)

Look at the kernels, aren't they like rubies?

This is one of the methods I found on the internet of how to seed a pomegranate. Cut a pomegranate into 4 quadrants. Hold a piece like shown above. Use a big spoon to knock on the shell. The kernels should come off easily. Check this video from youtube if you need a detail demo.

A bowl of kernels. Some membranes (the white stuff) are still mixed with the kernels.

Fill the bowl with clean water. The membranes will float to the top. Pour water and rinse a couple of times.

A bowl of washed and cleaned kernels. ready to mill.

Fortunately, I have a lot of gadgets at home, and this food mill is one of those. It works really well in extracting the juice. Some suggest you can also use a blender or a food processor to do the job. Just blend it for a few seconds. Turn it off and filter it out. However, I believe a food mill can get some clearer liquid because it didn't break the seeds. After getting the juice, filter it with a sieve to get rid of any impurities.