MO POM :

Pomegranate panoply: A newfound fame: Glorious fruit spawns a host of imitators (REBEKAH DENN, 10/10/07, Seattle P-I)

For all but a few products, we'd recommend satisfying true pomegranate cravings either by buying the actual fruit (available in stores through January), buying the seeds that some grocery stores now sell in the fresh produce department or experimenting with pomegranate molasses, a tangy syrup made from reduced pomegranate juice, long used in Middle Eastern cooking.

Here's a sampling of our picks and pans, scored on a scale from 1 (low) to 10 (high).

Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice

$4.49/16-ounce bottle

Overall taste: 10

Pomegranate taste: 10

The Pom Wonderful company is credited with sparking the current craze over the fruit, with its clever marketing and funding for research. Its own product, refreshingly, is the real deal: The refrigerated fertility goddess of a bottle contains 100 percent pomegranate juice. It's reminiscent of pure cranberry juice in strength, but, unlike cranberry, it's sweet enough on its own to prompt a person to guzzle a big glass. If you love the flavor but dislike the crunchy seeds or the mess of seeding a pomegranate, this is a great chance to get taste sans hassle. Bonus: It can be used in recipes that call for pomegranate juice. We had similar huzzahs for Pom Wonderful's black tea sweetened with pomegranate juice, ($2.86/16 ounces); its natural taste makes it our new choice for store-bought iced tea, and we'll actually reuse the glass.

Yogi Tea green tea pomegranate

$4.69/box of 16 bags

Overall taste: 7

Pomegranate taste: 5

The tea bags, flavored by pomegranate juice powder and flavor, hold a sharp, lively smell, while the brewed tea itself has a fruity taste with an astringent bite. Greek Gods [...]

Hansen's Natural green tea pomegranate soda

$1.19/16-ounce can Overall taste: 7

Pomegranate taste: 7

The 16-ounce can contains no actual juice; the pomegranate comes entirely from "natural flavors" and extract. The first ingredient is carbonated water; the second is glucose-fructose syrup. We weren't expecting much. To our surprise, though, the soda hit the right marks -- refreshing, light and with a surprisingly authentic flavor. The green tea people have more to complain about with this one than we do.

Haagen-Dazs Reserve pomegranate and dark chocolate ice cream bars

$4.99/box of three

Overall taste: 8

Pomegranate taste: 5

It's hard to go wrong combining decent chocolate, decent ice cream and fruit. The taste is reasonably pomegranate-like, but also a bit floral. Haagen-Dazs uses elderberry juice, rather than the familiar fruits most other products use for blending.