POM Wonderful Vs. Langer’s Pomegranate Juice
Posted on February 5, 2009 – 9:20 pm by admin
We went to Costco this afternoon. It wasn’t something we wanted to do, it was something we were forced to do. We were totally out of food.
I really hate it when that happens. We get so hungry that we eventually turn on each other. We start giving each other strange looks and odd things begin to happen. When one of us catches the other licking their lips, we get in the car. It’s terrible.
It was a good visit though. We decided that we should really start the shopping in the opposite direction of the one we usually walk. That way, we can put the heavy items in the cart first, without smushing all the delicate items, such as lettuce. We did this and it worked great…until we got to the register, where we were introduced to the opposite effect. The light items came out of the cart first and, if we didn’t do some shuffling, they would have gone back into the cart first. This means they would have gotten crushed. We shuffled some stuff and things worked out just fine.
One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Costco today was to buy some POM Wonderful pomegranate juice. Please don’t ask me what this new fascination with juice is all about. I wouldn’t have an answer for you. I think I just need to get it out of my system.
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- POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
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- Sediment at bottom of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
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- Glass of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
When we were about half way done with our shopping, we strolled through the big juice area. I asked Laura if she wanted to go ahead so I wouldn’t bore her with my POM juice hunt and she readily took me up on the offer. Once she was gone, I started looking for the pomegranate juice. For some strange reason, I couldn’t find the POM. All I couldn’t find was the Langer’s pomegranate juice. I was a little disappointed, but thought I should at least get the Langer’s because it said “100% Juice” on the label. I read the ingredients and they were: pure pomegranate juice from concentrate, water, natural flavors, etc…I think that was it. I hesitantly picked it up and walked away. I was a bit sad because I wanted to try the POM.
On my way over to the produce area, where Laura was, I saw the other big juice area. This was the expensive one. The POM juice was sitting there staring me in the face. I hustled over to it and picked it up. Now, this was the real deal. The only problem was that the juice cost $9.99 for 60 fl. oz. I thought that was a little expensive. I began to put it down when Laura walked over to me to check out the juice. She has a very nice habit of humoring me at times like this.
I started telling her that this juice cost too much and I would just get the Langer’s because it was only around $6.50 for the same amount. She said, “Well, is it the same thing?” I said, “Sure it is.” Then, I started thinking about it. Was it the same thing? They were both 100% pure pomegranate juice from concentrate and both looked the same, but why the price difference? I started looking closely at both drinks.
I remembered back a while ago when I bought a Langer’s juice in Hannaford, where we used to live. I wasn’t in love with it because I thought it was a little watered down. Then, I thought back of the time I sampled the POM juice, which is what made me want to buy this stuff in the first place. It was more syrupy.
I picked up both juice bottles and looked closely at the bottoms of them. The Langer’s was clean, but the POM had about a half inch of sediment at the bottom. To me, this was the proof. I started thinking, “They may both be pure pomegranate juice, but what is the water content of each juice?” I had a feeling that POM had a lot more pomegranate in it.
In the photo above, the sediment is being mixed up. The bottle is clear, so you can get a feel for how thick this stuff is.
When we got back to the house, I poured myself a small glass of juice. I wanted another taste of this “Chinese Apple” goodness. I took a sip and was happy to find out that I made the right choice. It was as rich as I remember. Just FYI, pomegranate juice tastes kind of tart. I like it, but if you aren’t into tart, you might not like this juice.
Okay, that was my little pomegranate juice story. I hope you liked it.
8 Responses to “POM Wonderful Vs. Langer’s Pomegranate Juice”
By Laurie on Feb 6, 2009 | Reply
That’s great! Now you’ll live forever!!
By POM Blogger on Apr 29, 2009 | Reply
What a great story. I’m glad you made the right choice. Email me your contact info and I’d be happy to send you a couple of coupons for your next visit.
Cheers,
POM Blogger
By Pomegranate Expert on Oct 7, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for sharing your story. However, there are a few things you should know. The thickness of 100% juice products or concentration factor is determined by FDA and is the same for all juice manufacturers. The sediment that you see at the bottom is due to not filtering the concentrate properly. The companies that makes the concentrated juice go through a lot of trouble and expense to filter out all the sediments to have a very clear final product (juice). So, when you see the sediment, the price of the juice must be cheaper since the concentrate goes through less filteration. The reason POM is more expensive is due to its marketing and overhead and not quality.
By admin on Oct 7, 2009 | Reply
Are you telling me I’ve been had? Are you saying that POM Wonderful and Langer’s are the same exact quality?
I must tell you that after drinking both juices, I respectfully disagree. But then again, I am not a juice expert.
By Pomegranate Expert on Oct 7, 2009 | Reply
Depending on the variety of the fruits that are used to make the concentrate, the taste can be different. Some are more sour than the others. The juice manufacturers try to achieve a consistent taste by adding the “Natural Flavors”. Different people have different tastes. I personally like a more sour taste, hence, I prefer Langers.
As far as quality, they are both the same and they both use 100% pomegranate juice concentrate. Clarity is usually one of the factors to measure the quality. In this case, I would argue that Langers has a superior quality than POM. But again, both are pasteurized with 100% juice and they both have perfectly acceptable quality.
By Ngo Won on Dec 4, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for posting the price. We received our coupon book from Costco today and it included a $2 off 60oz bottle of POM with no limit. We love the POM, but it is pricey. BTW, everyone I know prefers the POM, Langers tastes more like cranberry juice to me. Then again, all packaged juices I’ve tried are too sweet in my opinion. So I always end up cutting them in half with water. Saves money that way also.
By admin on Dec 4, 2009 | Reply
Agreed. I like POM better too. I also mix with water to make it last longer.
By Cristian on Jan 16, 2010 | Reply
ten dollers for 60oz’s…, i spent five dollers at acme for a 16oz bottle, and that one bottle has gotten me addicted to the stuff. i got hit by a car at a local tech school and at the hospital all they found was high blood pressure and recommended pom juice. I made those small bottles last me a week (college kids don’t have that much loose change) so through your story i plan to buy a crate-ful of this stuff from costco when i visit my mom.