How to Eat a Pomegranate: Spring is Here and that Means Pomegranates are Back!

I Just Had My First Pomegranates of the Season!!!

I love the winter, but it is an inexplicable sadness every time I realize when pomegranate season is over. I don't judge Persephone for being tempted by Hades' food in the underworld; I'm sure his pomegranates were delicious. Pomegranates are sweet and tangy. Those ruddy shells hide ruby red arils of goodness.
                     CC Image: Henry Siddon Mowbray "The Marriage of Persephone"

How do you eat your pomegranate?

There are many gimmicks for how to eat a pomegranate quickly, but I have found most of them don't work. I have tried opening pomegranates in water and even tapping out the arils, but it normally takes the same amount of time as the normal way & you lose a lot of juice. If you want to get the most out of your pomegranate the old fashioned way is the best. Warning: wear an apron or a shirt you don't care about getting juice on. The juice may spray & stain.

• Get a knife & a bowl. A pairing knife may work best. The bowl is to catch any juices; you can drink those later. You will be doing all your work in the bowl.
• Place you pomegranate Calyx up.
• Cut across the Calyx so that you have created an X in the "top". Go deep enough that you get through the Albido, but not so deep that you knick your Arils.
• Using you fingers separate one of the quadrants you have made in the top & pull that part separate from the rest. Continue pulling your pomegranate apart like this until it is all separated.
• Then slowly work the Arils out of the membrane with your fingers & into the bowl. Most of the Arils should be exposed now that you have quartered the pomegranate.
• If you need to, you can cut the skin in other places and pull the quarters into smaller pieces.
• Compost your peels and enjoy!

                                                      CC Image by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

I enjoy eating my pomegranates from the bowl with a spoon. I eat it seeds and all. I find that the seeds give the fruit a nice nutty flavor.


Terminology on pomegranates found from http://www.pomegranates.tv/information.html.

How to Make the Most Beautiful Candle. Fruit Hacks That Are Truly Elegant.

(Instructions below.)

I was playing around on Youtube and I ran across "9 Fruit Hacks For A Happier Life" by BuzzFeedYellow. BuzzFeedYellow is one of my favorite channels on youtube, it has many amusing videos that are often informative as well as humorous. I think it is worth it to go check their videos out. There is a little something for anyone.

Using BuzzFeedYellow's video I made a candle out of an Orange. It was stunning & surprisingly burned for a few hours. This would be a great conversation starter for a special event or even just sitting around. What better mood lighting than glowing fruit. You can also use fruit besides oranges, so long as there are fibrous tissues inside the fruit. For example, lemons, limes, grapefruit, all would make great candles.

My second favorite of BuzzFeedYellow's hacks: frozen grapes. I already love frozen grapes as a snack, especially in the summer. It makes the flavors really pop, but BuzzFeedYellow had the great idea of using frozen grapes to cool drinks. Wine, soda, water, whiskey. That way your drinks don't dilute, you don't have to pay for those expensive whiskey stones, they look beautiful, and you get a delicious snack at the end of your drink.

Below I have a video of some of the orange candles I made. Aren't they beautiful?

How do you make an orange candle?

The concept is very straight forward. You simply halve the fruit, cut out a hole in the top half, use olive oil(or substitute) for the fuel and the fruit as the wick, and burn away. If you want more details read below.

1. Cut your citrus' peel in half. Make your cut as straight as possible, this will make later steps much easier. Any knife should work, but a pairing knife might be easier than a butter knife.
2. Make your wick. Peel back the lip so that you can carefully remove the fruit within. Make sure to keep part of the white fibrous tissue that runs down the center intact. This will become your wick. You do not want it to be too tall or too short. It will burn best if it is about half its original size and medium thickness. The half without the 'belly button' nub will most likely be the flattest and make the best candle base. Aim to maintain the wick in that half.
3. Take the top half of the peel and cut a circle in the top to let out the heat from the flame. Make sure that it is big enough that the flame will not hit it and burn the peel.
4. Pour Olive Oil (or I would assume any oil you want... don't be silly and use anything too intense. Perhaps scented oils might be fun. Let me know if you try any.) into the base of the candle. Pour it over the wick and only pour enough so that you have some standing in the base. If you immerse your wick then it wont burn properly.
5. Wait a little (about a minute) for the oil to soak into your wick. This should make it burn better.
6. Then put the top half back on and light your wick. It may take a moment, be patient. I would recommend putting your candle in a bowl for security.

(Be careful please. Don't forget to keep the fire contained & have something to put it out on hand. Do not use water, since you are dealing with hot oil. Hot oil and Water are a bad combination. Do not leave your candle unattended.)