Q. What part of the pomegranate do you eat? A. You eat the arils. These are the little ruby red pods with a nutty seed in the centre. Eat the whole aril including the seed. Q. How do I open a pomegranate? A. Method1 To get at the fruit some people like to score the outside, submerge the fruit into bowl big of water, break apart the sections and pop out the arils. They will drop to the bottom and the pith (the white part) will float at the top to be easily scooped up and discarded. Then drain the whole thing and ta da - pomegranate arils. Method 2 In most middle eastern countries it seems that they use the smack the fruit method; sore the fruit and break in half along the natural section, over a bowl crack the thick skin a bit to loosen the arils then take a spoon and while holding the fruit aril side down over the bowl smack the skin all over, the arils should fall right out (you may have to pick out some pith but you won’t have wet arils which helps to preserve them longer). Method 3 Alternatively you can just pry it open and leisurely pick at it after dinner while eating some Brie cheese and staining your fingers pink. Q. How do I get pomegranate juice? A. This is an easier one – you can buy it everywhere now bottled, look for straight up juice and not cocktail. Pomegranates although tart, do not require sugar to be palatable like cranberry juice. If you want to juice your own, they work amazingly well in a juicer, but not the kind that you put the whole fruit in, the kind that juices and orange or a lemon. It is easy to do and actually yields quite a bit of juice, the draw back is that pomegranates are messy and they stain and you will get it everywhere. Q. What the heck do I do with these arils now? A. Ok – lots of options, here are a few of my favourites. 1- the above mentioned with a soft cheese 2 – sprinkled in a salad 3 – use the juice to make a salad dressing 4 - sprinkle over a sliced pomegranate glazed pork roast 5 – garnish for an appetizer as in: Goat cheese on endive spears with ruby pomegranate arils 6 – there is an excellent Mexican dish, stuffed poblano peppers in walnut sauce sprinkled with pomegranate seeds; it’s the red white and green of Mexican flag 7 – in yogurt with pistachios and honey for breakfast or dessert 8 – layered in a trifle 9 – garnishing a Christmas Wreath Cookie or Chocolate Petit Four 10 – Really I could go on and on…. Q. What about that cocktail you went on about yesterday? A. Yes of course: In a flute glass pour about ¾ oz pomegranate juice, ½ oz Grand Marnier top with prosecco or champagne garnish with pomegranate arils (unfortunately you can no longer get gold flakes in Canada) Click here to sign up for Christine's Food for Friends e-newsletter!