Scott Hawkins
If you love the taste of pomegranate but find the process too fussy, try these.
WHO PomLife, in the heart of Victoria’s Goulburn Valley, is Australia’s largest pomegranate grower. The 110-hectare farm was established in 2008 by a group of nine investors, including PomLife’s general manager, Joshua Reveuni. “Coming from the Middle East, I grew up on this fruit,” he says. “It’s like apples where I come from, but eight years ago it was hardly available here in Australia.” Reveuni and his team bought the land, dug the holes and put the plants in themselves, and the fruits of their labour flourished.
HOW “There’s quite a lot of labour involved,” says Reveuni. “There’s no machine to pick the fruit. We do everything by hand so the fruit is not bumped or bruised.” The orchard currently has 75,000 trees, and each one yields around 100 of the antioxidant-rich fruit per season (early March until September).
WHY “Pomegranate is a really unique fruit – the way you grow it, the texture of it, the fact that it’s very leathery and delicate,” says Reveuni. “But people think they’re a lot of hard work.” The PomLife team pack the sweet and tangy arils into small, ready-to-go packages, meaning you can toss them on cereal or salads in a flash.
WHAT PomLife’s range extends beyond supplying whole fruit and arils to include all-natural cold-pressed juices and a naturally fermented sparkling pomegranate wine. The company also sells the fruit in bulk to restaurants and bars, including Melbourne’s Hellenic Republic, where the arils are used in dishes like their Cypriot grain salad. “It’s the sort of fruit that adds uniqueness to a meal,” says Reveuni.
WHERE PomLife products are available at various grocery stores, supermarkets and fresh food markets. For a full list of stockists see pomlife.com.au.
