Food for thought: peeling and unpacking a pomegranate

(source of image: wikipedia)

I love pomegranates. To begin with, they are one of the prettiest fruits. I love the majestic shape of the deep red colored fruit and the gem like emerald seeds. And then they are so tasty!

But peeling and unpacking a pomegranate is not an easy task. Even if you do it the right way, it is still a rather time consuming and daunting task. And if you do it in the wrong way, you may find yourself, and a large area around you, spotted with drops of red pomegranate juice, a mess that is not easy to clean up. You may also let small pieces of the fruit’s internal membranes find their way into your plate and if you are not careful, you will find out that these are far from being tasty.

So this is how to peel a pomegranate correctly:

First, Take a good knife and cut off the base of the fruit about half a centimeter below the the stem. This will expose the inside of the fruit and you will see the seeds, neatly packed inside compartments with membrane walls. Now cut around the crown and remove it.

Next - and this is the part that does the trick - hold the fruit with the base toward you and cut the peel, from the base to the head, right along the membrane walls. There may be between 3-7 walls inside the fruit. Be sure to cut along all of them. Once you do that, the fruit will easily come apart. Be sure to do this step above a plate or a clean surface because many of the seeds will fall from the fruit at this point already.

Now separate the rest of the seeds from one another and from the remaining membranes. You will find out that this is surprisingly easy to do. Still, this part takes some time and requires quite a bit of attention because you have to make sure that pieces of the membrane will not find their way into your dish. But while you're at it, you may chew on some thought food.

So here's a question for you: Do you think people are like pomegranate seeds? That what hold us together are only membranes of segregations and regulations? Don't be afraid to admit that you do. It's perfectly normal. It's what normal people are made to believe in most modern societies.

Then think about this: If people are indeed like pomegranate seeds than it is pretty easy to take a human society apart. All you have to do, is to first cut off its base, then take off its crown, and then cut it along its division lines.

Maybe there is another way to bring people together? What do you think? Anyway, enjoy your pomegranate seeds.