One of the happy gems that appear around this time of the year is the precious pomegranate. The ritual of removing its seeds is a fabled process, and every time I try something different, promised to be the easiest and best method, and I have yet to find any that works consistently. I’ve culled them underwater, I’ve scored the outer rind in all sorts of geometric madness, and I’ve hexed them with all kinds of incantations – all to no avail.
In the end, I resort to messily and painstakingly removing the seeds with my fingers, plucking the fruit in groups, pulling out bits of the papery membrane that separate the compartments of jewels. Sometimes I find joy and peace in the process, slipping into a Zen-like trance as I methodically work toward a bowl filled with the purest extraction of the gems from their torn and ravaged carriage.
Sometimes it’s just a pain.
