Pomegranates

Granadas (pomegranates) always remind me of my grandma. She had two pomegranate trees in her backyard and as a kid I would stare at those trees for any sign of ripened fruit. Once I’d spot one I would pester my grandma until she allowed me to pick one. I remember they were always ready to pick around the same time a new school year started.

After school I would run to my grandma’s house, snack on a homemade flour tortilla with butter, and then play outside for hours with Ana, my friend and neighbor until my grandma would shout, “Ya ven a cenar!”

My grandma and I would sit and eat dinner together and talk about my day at school. After dinner it was my job to gently knock down a pomegranate from the tree with a broomstick and in the meantime my grandma would clean up the kitchen. With a ripe pomegranate in hand I would walk to the counter and saw through the tough skin with a butter knife. The pomegranate juice spilled everywhere staining my fingernails and clothes. The slippery seeds popped and splashed on the wall and floor. My grandma was never upset about the mess I left behind. She would encourage me to get all the seeds out and put them in a cup so we could eat them while we watched El Chavo del Ocho in the living room. I would race against the commercials and try to poke all the seeds out, one-by-one, so that I could watch my show while eating the seeds with my grandma.

Those memories with my grandma will never be forgotten and every time I see a pomegranate I smile. Today I still enjoy pomegranate season and I am always searching for ways to incorporate them into recipes.

As an adult I have learned a mess free way to open those lovely, fresh pomegranates. Here is a short video showing you how I cut and de-seed a pomegranate. I wish I had known this clever trick when I was a kid.

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This story was originally published in December 2010, but I just had to re-share it. Hope you don’t mind.

Written by Yvette / Photo by Yvette / Video by Pure Cinematography