It has been quite some time since I have had a Pom Wonderful juice - since before I started this site, in fact. I had actually sort of forgotten what it tasted like in that five year interim, so trying it again last week was almost like a new experience all over again. I also decided to pick up one of Pom Wonderful's newer "Lite" versions to discuss in conjunction with the original juice.
For those unfamiliar with the brand, Pom Wonderful is actually a fairly straightforward beverage. The 100% Pomegranate juice is exactly what it claims to be: just pomegranate juice. I like pomegranate a good bit, and I find the juice to be quite tasty, but I often find that I have to take Pom Wonderful in more than one sitting. Although the juice is sweet, fruity, and tangy, it is also fairly tart, and I reached my limit at about halfway through the bottle. But I don't think that this is really a bad thing, as I got to enjoy it again later, rather than drinking it all in one go. But if you are like me and have a relatively low "tartness limit," then I wouldn't recommend drinking this one anywhere where you won't be able to adequately refrigerate the portion that you don't want. If you like all-natural, unsweetened fruit juices, then this is definitely one to check out.
The Lite Pom, on the other hand, is a lot easier to drink just as an "everyday" sort of beverage. Pom's line of "Lite" beverages are pomegranate juice cocktails that contain only about 50% pomegranate juice, with the rest being substituted by water and other natural fruit flavors. I tried the blackcurrant version, and I have to say that I really like it a lot. Although the pomegranate taste is less pronounced and overall less flavorful, it is also less tart and much easier to drink, and the added blackcurrant flavor gives the drink a feeling of medley that is both pleasant and refreshing. The Lite beverages are also significantly less expensive than their less derivative counterpart, so if you are just looking for a quick and tasty natural fruit beverage, Lite Pom is a great alternative.
Overall, they are both excellent choices, and I would definitely recommend them to all natural juice connoisseurs. And, as an added note, I absolutely love the unique shape of the bottle. Although I do miss the days when these were bottled in glass...
Verdict: Recommended
Purchased: Bi-Lo [Greenwood, SC]
Size: 16 fl. oz. [473mL]
Price: $3.99 [Pom Wonderful] and $2.69 [Lite Pom]
You should check whether the juice is from concentrate - I think that it is - because if it's from concentrate, then you may as well be drinking sugar water.
ReplyDeleteActually, Anonymous, you're right: Pom Wonderful is 100% juice from concentrate.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the fact that it is from concentrate has nothing to do with its nutritional value. In fact, juices from concentrate have the exact same nutrient content as a fresh squeezed juice of the same fruit.
Concentration is simply a process by which the water is removed from a juice. Many companies that produce mass amounts of fruit-based juices use juice concentrates because they are easier to preserve, store, and transport. Heat treatments are sometimes used to ensure that the concentrations are preserved properly, but it is not typical that other ingredients are added to the concentrate. Once the concentrate reaches its destination and is ready to be packaged for consumer purchase, it is simply re-diluted back to its original state and bottled.
Juices from concentrate may taste a bit different, or even less fresh than their "fresh squeezed" counterparts simply because they have been through a process. But like I said above, they are nutritionally identical to their fresh counterparts. In fact, the FDA has fairly strict rules about what can and can not be called a "juice" in the public market. Only unaltered, fresh-squeezed juices or concentrates that have been re-diluted to the same state as the initial juice may be referred to as "100% Juice." Any drink that has had ingredients added (such as sugar, extra water, other flavorings, etc.), or a concentrate that is diluted to more or less than 100% of the initial value must be labeled as a "juice cocktail" or "juice drink" or one of several other acceptable names.
Anyway, I hope that that clears some things up for you. It would definitely be a real shame for you to miss out on tasting Pom Wonderful because of misconceptions about the concentrate system. And besides, regularly consuming anything related to fruit will just naturally result in a higher sugar intake. I have been keeping track of my daily caloric and nutrient intake for a while now, and I get almost half of my body's daily recommended value of sugar just from eating a small grapefruit!