Pomegranate

Image via citrusimpex.com

A few weeks ago while grocery shopping, our oldest girl spotted pomegranate arils*. They were marked down to what I considered more affordable, so we bought some to try. She ended up loving them! Unfortunately, pomegranate is pretty expensive and I haven't seen those little containers of arils at our store since. We did splurge a buy a whole fruit last time we shopped, and broke it open yesterday.

We followed the simple steps from a brochure provided next to the display of pomegranates. Basically, you lop off the top and bottom, then score the skin along the four wedges. Underwater, gently break apart the sections and pop the arils out. They will sink to the bottom while the pith surrounding them floats to the top. Once you clear out all the arils, scoop the pith out of the water, strain, and serve!

The girls enjoyed them sprinkled on little bowls of cottage cheese. This morning, I added a handful to the granola bars I made - using them just as I would have raisins if raisins weren't gross.

*arils -- juice sacs found inside the pomegranate

The POM Council has a pretty comprehensive website on the fruit, including history, folklore, and recipes.