How to Open a Pomegranate

"And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;
A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses."―The Holy Bible.

Divine is the taste of the tiny, ruby red arils of the pomegranate. You can never clearly say whether a pomegranate is sweet or tangy. It's like one of those eternal dilemmas in which you can never put a finger on the correct answer. In the end, you just eat up the entire fruit and safely decide that it's delicious!

However, the complications of the pomegranate does not end there. It is extremely difficult to cut open a pomegranate without a mess, so through this article we shall try to explore some of the least messy ways of doing the same.

Given that the health benefits of this fruit are innumerable, you cannot possibly stop eating it just because it is difficult to cut open. So, let us explore a really easy solution to crack open a pomegranate with minimum havoc wrecking in the kitchen. Here's how.

• Simply take a fresh pomegranate and hold it under running water for sometime.
• Slash off the crown, say about 0.5" from the top.

• Now, gently make four rather shallow incisions on the skin of the fruit exocarp or rind of the fruit. Remember that the incisions should be equally spaced out and must run the length of the fruit from the top to the base.

• Now take a relatively large vessel, half-filled with water. Place the slit pomegranate into the water, and then divide the fruit as per the incision. This might require a little force but try to keep to the incisions.

• Now, take each section and turn them inside out by pushing in the rind. This way the beads will come out easily. Pull out the ones that don't.
• Allow the vessel to stand undisturbed for sometime and you shall notice that the beads have settled down at the base of the bowl. The light colored pith will float on the top.

• Slowly scoop out the unwanted pith from the top and then run this arrangement through a strainer to drain the water.
• Your juicy delights will be right in front of you to make nibbling a blissful experience.

Of course, pomegranate nutrition is high enough for you to have the arils as they are, or try out a few variations, like having it in a juiced form. However, I will be honest here and advise you to always use an apron while dealing with a pomegranate as some juice shall be spilt despite all thy efforts.

To make your pomegranate devouring time a little more enjoyable, here are a few amazing fun pomegranate facts for you. Enjoy as you pop these tiny crimson gems!

• The pomegranate has been rendered the fruit of the underworld according to the Grecian myth of Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and queen of the underworld. On the other hand, the Koran hails it as the fruit of jannat or paradise. A true motley of opposites!

• Legend has it that the first pomegranate tree in Britain was planted by the English monarch Henry VIII.

• A very popular Chinese wedding present to newly weds is a portrait of an open pomegranate. This is supposed to be a symbolic blessing wherein the bride goes on to bear as many children as the number of beads in the fruit. Ahem! Now we know the reason behind China's population.
• The pomegranate tree is one of the trees found in the 'Garden of Alcinous' in Homer's Odyssey in book VII.

Awesome, isn't it? That's what is known as food for thought. Now that you know how to open a pomegranate sans the muddle, reap the benefits of pomegranate to the fullest and enjoy these little droplets of love.