How to Eat This Thing

I mentioned that Cari picked up a pomegranate fruit for me the other day. When I held it I just turned it over in my hands a few times. Then, while still examining the fruit, I asked, "What do you do with this thing?"

I carried it into my office and started setting up for a photo shoot with the pomegranate. Amanda laughed and reminded me that I should be eating it.

But how?

I did a Google search on how to open and eat one of these reddish fruits. One of the top results linked to a great little video on Youtube.

After the photo shoot and studying was complete, I carried it back to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. First I cut the top off. I didn't just straight chop it off, I cut it like taking the top off a pumpkin. When I lifted the top off, it revealed the first look of the red, juicy parts. The seeds (what you eat) were packed in there.

I next made a few cuts starting at the top and moving down the sides. Those cuts didn't go all the way through the skin, but allowed me to pull the fruit open.

It is a really unusual fruit to examine. The seeds are packed into separate chambers that reminded me of a honey comb. A white membrane creates the separation.

I plucked a few of the red pieces out and put one in my mouth. To me, it has the texture of a grape skin. I broke it in my mouth and tasted a bit of the juice. The juice is strong, but eating one seed doesn't provide that much. It must take a ton of these to make one bottle of juice. That might be why it costs a fortune compared to other juices. I would describe the taste as a more bitter and stronger grape juice. Not sure if that makes sense, but that is what it reminds me of.

Inside each red piece is a white seed. Initially, I was sucking the juice out and spitting the seed onto a plate. I later learned that it is perfectly ok to chew the seed up and swallow it. It was much easier to eat a pomegranate after learning that.