Dear Barbara: I am really interested in pomegranates and pomegranate  juice. It is suppose to be loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C and other important things. Pomegranates are so messy to eat, and they stain whatever they touch. I was going to buy pomegranate juice at the health food store, but I thought it was quite expensive. My neighbor said to just buy grenadine at the liquor store and that it was just that; pomegranate juice. Is that true? — Holly from Lodi

Dear Holly: Your neighbor is partially right. Originally grenadine syrup that is used in mixed drinks was actually made from pomegranate juice. Of course, you can see the degree of difficulty they would have in extracting the juice from all those seeds and still keep the price reasonable. Today, with everything so high tech, it still tastes like pomegranate juice, but a lot of companies make it from fruit flavors, sugars, and red food coloring. Some even contain liquor. You can check with the local liquor stores, and they would be able to tell you if there are any brands that still use pomegranate, but remember that grenadine is syrup, not juice. Supermarkets are carrying more pomegranate juices, so the prices are dropping. It would pay to do a little comparison shopping. Ask if you could taste a sample. I am sure they would be more than willing to do that for you!