How to Open a Pomegranate
By Maralyn Hill and Brenda Hill
‘The Tandem Tasters’

We were fortunate a week ago to attend Craze Arizona. One of the displays was from POM Wonderful. Now, we've always called it POM but we noticed the name is really POM Wonderful. It is wonderful and they demonstrated how to open a pomegranate with the largest pomegranates we've ever seen.

Since pomegranates are in season, this seemed a good tip to pass along:

1. Cut--With a sharp paring knife, cut off the top about a 1/2 inch below the crown.

2. Score--Once the top is off, you'll see four to six sections. With your knife point, score the skin at each section.

3. Open--Separate the pomegranate at each score, so that you have individual sections.

4. Loosen--Over a bowl of water, use you fingers to loosen the "arils" (the flesh-covered seeds) and drop them into the bowl. The arils will sink to the bottom.

5. Scoop--Use a spoon to scoop out the pieces of white membrane that have floated to the top.

6. Strain--Pour the remaining liquid through a strainer. Place the arils in your favorite dish and enjoy!

We can't really take credit for this tip as POM Wonderful spelled it out. What we can add is what Chef Neil Clooney of the Dragon Fly in Ashland, Oregon showed us: When you get to step 5, if you hit the skin side of the pomegranate with a wooden spoon and the seeds will come out more quickly.

Enjoy pomegranate season--the seeds add wonderful color for holiday dishes and they are healthy. They even taste delicious with cream sauces.