The Fruit Explorer Pounces on a Pomegranate

To All,

Six months ago Mei-Mei sent around a video, which many of you have watched, on how to de-seed a pomegranate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=084ABt9q1n0. In essence, this video says to cut the pomegranate in half and then beat the outside of each half with a wooden spoon to knock out the seeds. I had never eaten a pomegranate, so this video constituted my sole knowledge of pomegranates. Wanting to put this knowledge into practice, I picked up a pomegranate at Market Basket.

Ready to prepare my pomegranate, I rewatched the video. This lead me to a number of other pomegranate videos. The first thing I learned from this video review is that you eat the seeds. I had gotten the idea that you wanted to remove the seeds so you could eat the pulp. Wrong. I guess I was influenced by Greek mythology, in which the story of Persephone had taught me that bad things happen if you eat a pomegranate seed. The sure sign of a a pomegranate neophyte is that you throw away the seeds after carefully removing them. (I had seen pomegranate seeds for sale at Trader Joe's and had been wondering why they were selling the bad part of the pomegranate.)

Next, I learned that the dark side of pomegranates is that they cause a fearsome stain. The video stars go into convulsions as they warn you about these stains. If you do get stained, Show Me the Curry recommends that you treat it by pouring boiling water on the fabric. Anticipating staining, I changed into my pink shirt, which was not only the color of pomegranate juice but also pre-stained from ice cream that I had dripped on it while visiting Mark and Robin..

Once I got past these areas of agreement, I learned that controversy rages on YouTube over how to de-seed a pomegranate. Every video star is adamant that his/her technique is the  technique. The Produce Guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14E-zsg5w0I&src_vid=wiZDK1MEReM&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_271142 wanted me to submerge the pomegranate in a mixing bowl full of water and de-seed it by hand under the water. This method was designed to contain the stain. I infer that the Produce Guy once had a bad experience with a pomegranate stain. Others hooted at the complexity of this method. If you are a student of pomegranate science, you can quickly watch a lot of these videos. My favorite video came from Show Me the Curry in India: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUsfw-KppCU. This featured a video-in-a-video that showed a professional pomegranate de-seeder at work in a Bangkok market. His work was like ballet.

For my first time, I decided not to follow Mei-Mei's video but rather a hybrid of some of the others. The essence is to cut off the ends. Make half-a dozen scores from end to end. Break the pomegranate apart along the scores. Hold each segment over a bowl and beat the back of it with a wooden spoon. The seeds fall into the bowl, no muss, no fuss. At least, that's how it happens according to the videos. 

Here's what really happens. One video says that you are supposed to score the pomegranate along the ridges since this is where it naturally breaks into segments. After careful visual and tactile inspection of my pomegranate, I could find no ridges, despite the assurance that they would be obvious. No problem. Another video says that once you have cut the ends off, you will be able to see the membranes that run from end to end and divide the pomegranate into sections, and you score along the membranes; see attached picture. Again, I could see no membranes. Consequently, I scored my pomegranate at random and found that it broke apart easily. No problem. Next I beat the outer side of each segment with a metal tablespoon. I found that I needed more mass, so I switched to a heavy duty wooden spoon and beat some more. Very few seeds were jarred loosed. Becoming impatient, I really let loose and swung the wooden spoon with considerable force. This did the trick. Seeds started raining down into the bowl. I only had to pick a few out with my fingers. Success.

I am now sitting in front of a bowl of freshly liberated pomegranate seeds. I am surprised at how many seeds there are. This fruit really produces. The seeds look like a cross between two childhood candies: red hots and candy corn; see attached picture. I am about to have my first taste ever. The spoon is digging into the pile of seeds. The spoon is approaching my mouth. The spoon is passing through my lips. The spoon is unloading the seeds in my mouth. I am chewing. The sensation is ... delightful. Pleasing, crunchy texture, tart, refreshing taste. I have just finished my first pomegranate and can't wait for more. 

Verdict: This fruit is worth it. Plus, it's fun to prepare.

Mission accomplished. No new stains. (There is a small stain on my cutting board, but I am leaving it as a badge of honor.)

Here is your party idea. Give each of your guests a pomegranate. Then show a number of Internet videos. Each guest picks a de-seeding technique from a video. Once a champion for each technique has been chosen, everyone de-seeds his/her pomegranates using the chosen technique. Everyone eats their pomegranate seeds while the judges score the contestants on speed, precision (i.e., a perfect score is all seeds and no pulp), and staining. The winner is worshiped by everyone else for three days.

Rick

P.S. I wonder what instrument the ancient Greeks used to de-seed pomegranates. Whatever it is, I would like to have one for my envisioned collection. I would put it beside my Roman garlic press.

    

The Fruit Explorer Encounters an Asian Pear

To All,

This week the horn of plenty otherwise known as Market Basket presented me with an Asian Pear. (The sticker on this fruit calls it an apple pear.) The most notable thing about this fruit is that it comes wrapped in a little mesh sock. This fruit is better dressed than I am. The reason for its wrapper is apparently that it is easily bruised, so it needs a shock absorber. Don't let the wind blow this fruit off your window sill. It is shaped very much like a large apple, but with a few little bulges and a slightly pebbled outer texture. The tip-off that it is not an apple is that it a golden brown. See attached pictures.

This fruit seems to be in every way a cross between an apple and a pear, so you can eat it as you would an apple or pear. (Full disclosure: I prefer pears over apples.) The inner texture is more pear-like and not crunchy like an apple. While quite juicy, unlike with a pear, the juice is not released to run down your chin and make a mess in your beard. The flavor is pleasing.

As for storage and handling, this is a very forgiving fruit. It lasts for a week in the open and for several weeks in the fridge. It ripens as it sits, so you can buy one that isn't quite ripe.

The verdict: A very nice alternative to apples and standard pears, but watch the price. Mine cost $1.50. Also, remember that this fragile fruit needs to be cosseted.

Here's how I recommend that you serve the Asian pear. Next time you have a party, after everyone has had a couple of drinks, hand out Asian pears. Each guest can remove the protective sock, and put it on his or her hand to make a sock puppet. Then you can have an impromptu group puppet show. Perhaps act out one of the classic Seinfeld episodes. People will be talking about your party for years.

Watch these e-mails for more party planning tips.

Rick

   

Fruit Explorer Miscellany

To All,

This e-mail contains follow-ups and some small topics that are not worth an entire e-mail.

The big winner among the fruits so far is the kiwi. Including the one reported on, I have purchased 81 of them. They are easy to prepare, have a highly pleasing taste, are visually appealing, and don't need to be washed. Moreover, they will keep for weeks in the fridge and for a week outside the fridge.

You have read about my first, unsatisfactory encounter with an ataulfo mango. I had my second encounter when I had dinner at Mei-Ling and Rik's. For dessert, I first had three pieces of Mei-Ling's chocolate ganache pie. I then cleared my palate with a glass of water and had an ataulfo mango. Unfortunately, I found that my palate had not been cleared; it was still ringing with the glories of the chocolate ganache. The ataulfo mango never had a chance. Another unsatisfactory encounter. I will have to try again.

Influenced by Corey, who is adamant and insists on using fresh garlic, I have returned to the first of my five garlic strategies. You will recall that the drawback to the fresh garlic strategy was that it took too long to peel a clove of garlic. Thanks to Corey, I now see how quick it is to peel a clove after crushing it beneath a knife. We will see if in the next year and a half I again cycle through my five garlic strategies. 

A few weeks ago I got my first garlic press, and it turns out that I have a natural affinity for this appliance. I can see myself becoming a collector, with my specimens ranging from colonial times to the space age. My starter garlic press is from Target; my fantasy is to obtain a replica of a garlic press used in ancient Rome. I imagine someone coming over, and I proudly display my collection of garlic presses.  I would demonstrate three or four ways to press garlic, including one of my own invention. Then we would get silly and unnecessarily press a lot of garlic. Good times.

Don't make the mistake of getting a craving for bananas and racing to the store to get some. All you will find are green bananas. It is a constant annoyance that I cannot get a ripe banana when I want one. You have to plan your banana eating strategy for a week in advance and buy accordingly. I think I will start an NGO called "Bananas Now!".

I have found that off-season grapes from South America tend to be sour, so I taste one in the store to see if it is edible. This always enrages Mike, who denounces me for exhibiting poor shopping citizenship. Nevertheless, I continue the practice since I claim the right to protect myself from low quality produce.

I have found that a bag of baby carrots will last for five months in the fridge. Even so, I have yet to finish one.

Rick