Earthly Eating

The pomegranate has a brilliant colored red juice and the seeds, that are colored the same amazing red, can stain a lot of clothing and even your favorite apron. The tiny little sack that hold a pomegranate seed is called the aril, but most refer to it as the “seed.”

Here is a better way to get those “seeds” out without getting all juiced in the end.

First, being by scoring the pomegranate so you can easily break it into quarters. If you sink the entire fruit before breaking it into a bowl of cool water, this will help minimize the squirting of the juice. Once you have the fruit in the bowl, next begin peeling the sides of the fruit so they begin to slowly break into the quarter pieces. Then you can scrape and pull the “seeds” off the inside that looks sort of like a honeycomb around the white membrane of the fruit. When doing this the cool water in which the fruit is submerged will allow the membrane to rise and the “seeds” to sink to the bottom of the bowl.

To juice the fruit, don’t score like as above, cut the fruit in half and hold over a bowl and squeeze. I have found that if you hold the fruit over the bowl and cover the entire juicing area, even over your hands with an old t-towel you will minimize juices squirting all over. Do this squeezing method with both halves and then strain the juice and chill.

*Earthly Eating Knowledge: Do you know how to muddle (MUH-dul): Muddling is the process of crushing ingredients against the bottom of the glass to release the aromas and flavors. Bartenders use this technique to make Mojitos and the Mojitos wouldn’t taste the same without this process being done. A muddler is a pestle-like tool mode just for the job of muddling. If you don’t have a muddler then a small wooden spoon works great. Use this technique whenever you want to have a hint of flavor or aroma to a nice drink or even a dip.
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Earthly Eating Recipe

Jalapeno Chile Coleslaw
Serves: 12

In a large bowl, combine the slaw, cabbage and the chilies. In a small bowl, combine dressing and cayenne pepper. Toss the dressing with the slaw mixture. Put in a serving dish and sprinkle with cumin seeds. Let stand for about 5 minutes so the flavors blend and then serve.

Happy Eating!