Monday, November 05, 2007

Adventures in Pomegranate

Recently I read in the Fitness magazine which gets delivered to my home every month, that while you can get some of the nutritional benefits from drinking pomegranate juice -- there really is no substitute for eating the fruit itself. The short article was accompanied by a delicious looking split open pomegranate, which singlehandedly inspired me to grab a $2 pomegranate I noticed on a produce display while stopping by the grocery store on my way home from work earlier this evening.

Biggest two dollar mistake ever. As I tentatively approached the fruit, it suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea what the hell to do with it. I tried cutting it in half and eating it with a spoon like a grapefruit. Delicious, yes. However I soon realized, one white t-shirt later, that what the article had failed to mention was that one attempting to eat pomegranate ought to wear some sort of smock or protective clothing much like an eight year old attending elementary school art class. I ended up cutting it like an orange, juice squirting out like a geyser, and eating it over the sink with reddish-purple juice dripping down my face and hands onto a -- now completely stained -- pair of Victoria's Secret flannel pajamas. And that was only half it. I conceded defeat and put the other half back into the refrigerator, presumably where it will stay for the next two or three weeks until I throw the rotting carcass into the trash.

So yeah, while the fruit itself is undeniably tasty, from now on I'll enjoy pomegranate the way God intended -- in a $3 per 8 ounce glass bottle, thankyouverymuch.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tee-hee. I made the same mistake when I was working at Trader Joe's. I cracked one of those babies open in the break room and most of me was red for the rest of my shift. I still have no idea about the correct way to eat one of those suckers.

Anonymous said...

The non-messy way to eat a pomegranate:

1. Score the top half of the pomegranate with a knife in the shape of an X. You want to cut through the thick skin, but not cut any further than that.

2. Place the pomegranate in a large bowl, and fill the bowl with water.

3. Rip open the pomegranate underwater. This ensures that the juice (which stains everything you can possibly imagine), does not squirt everywhere.

4. Use your fingers to detach all the pomegranate seeds (still underwater!).

5. Put pomegranate seeds in a separate bowl and eat them. I have used them successfully on ice cream, as a dressing for pork, and in mixed drinks (squish the seed a bit after you put it in to release the flavour.) I also eat them by themselves- mmm, nutty and juicy at the same time...

Girl With Curious Hair said...

The previous comment was much more concise than mine could ever be. would just add that as you're following those steps, wear a disposable shirt to be on the safe side. But don't give up on the Pom. I think they are one of the most beautiful fruits in the world, and delicious to boot. You can also get them pre-seeded at Costco.

litelysalted said...

Brilliant! This is all great advice. Those things should come with an instruction manual on them. Thanks for nothing, mother nature.

Meech said...

I deeply score the bastard so I can tear it in half, and then rough quarters. I then bury my teeth in the deep trenches of seeds, gobbling by the mouthful. I get a few thin flakes of the white separator membranes, but for the most part it's a less-mess success. But yes, I still dangle my face over the sink; it's sure no snuggle-in-your-jammies snack, unless you get them pre-seeded. But I've never seen them sold that way.