Pomegranate seeds are fun to eat - the bright red color, the crunchy flavor pop. We've been enjoying them on our breakfast fruit. Paired with the fabulous grapefruits we get from Jorge at the Hollywood Farmers Market, they give us a flavorful and nutritious start to the day.
I resisted pomegranates for years because of their tendency to squirt staining red juice all over me. But in recent years I've been practicing my technique, and am now pretty comfortable with them. Early in the season, I was timid in my preparation. I submerged a pomegranate in a bowl of water, then scored the skin in quarters with a paring knife, pried it apart and pulled out the seeds - all under water. The pulp fell to the bottom, the seeds floated on top. No mess.
Now, however, I'm feeling more confident, and I do it without the water. I score the pomegranate, pull it apart, and gently, with the flesh away from me, open up the sections to reveal the seeds. I gently flip these out into our bowls of fruit.
We don't drink fruit juice - except freshly-squeezed on Sunday mornings. Fresh fruit has more vitamins, bioflavanoids, enzymes, minerals and other phytonutrients than any juice or pill. I cut the grapefruit so we get some of the membranes - rich in bioflavanoids which boost the power of the vitamin C.
Plus, the seasonal variety makes morning fruit an ever-changing and interesting part of the day.
I only deal with pomegranates underwater! Where do pomegrantes come from? And when does the season end? We are paying around $2.50 on the East Coast.
ReplyDeletePomegranates originated in the Middle East but have adapted nicely to Southern California. In fact, I was so captivated by a nearby tree that looked very Christmas-y in early December with the large red fruit hanging from the almost-bare branches that I'm planning to plant one when they come bare-root into the nurseries (pretty soon apparently). The fruit generally is harvested by mid-December or it splits and rots on the trees, but I don't know how long farmers can store it. With luck, next year I will be reporting on my first-hand pomegranate experience.
ReplyDelete(I don't know how much they cost here because friends provided our fruit this year.)