Add gravitas to ice cream sundae

Pomegranate is a heavy fruit.

In ancient tale andtradition, it’s a stand-in for fertility (count those seeds!), power (check out that crown) and demise (taste the tannins). That’s a lot of ground to cover, for a berry.

It’s also a standout in delicious:

Fresh, the brilliant seeds add crunch to salad or snack.

Dried, they make fine hiking companions.

Juiced, they’re all refreshment.

Slowly simmered into syrup, the fruit concentrates into compelling: very sweet and very tart, at once.

Drizzle this sauce (also called molasses or grenadine) over vanilla ice cream for a bowl of contrast: light and dark, creamy and sharp, hot and cold. The dish pays tribute to the original pomegranate fan, Persephone, who downed a few seeds while captive in the underworld, resulting (long story) in summer and winter. How’s that for heavy?

Pomegranate Sundaes

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

Makes: 4 servings

4 cups pure pomegranate juice

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 pint high-quality vanilla ice cream

Seeds from 1 pomegranate

Boil: Pour pomegranate and lemon juice into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until syrupy and reduced to 1 cup, about 1 hour. As the syrup thickens, watch closely and lower heat to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Serve: Scoop ice cream into bowls. Drizzle on warm syrup. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Dig in.