Pomegranate madness

I picked up a pomegranate a couple days ago. I don't get them often, but they were on sale and I couldn't resist. The one thing about pomegranates is that it takes forever to get all the little seeds out. I didn't realize I had been peeling them wrong until I found a little instruction pamphlet at the store last night, sitting in front of the pomegranate display. I'm always eager to learn about fruit, so I snagged one.

True, the directions were much easier, and afforded less in the way of smashed seeds than the cut-in-half-and-dig-around method I had been using previously. The better way to get the yummy goodness out of a pomegranate is to score the skin at each membrane divide. Then you peel back the skin of one section and pluck out all the little seeds into a bowl of water. Continue to do this with each section until you're done. Any membrane parts that have fallen into the water bowl magically float and you can skim off the top. Then drain and enjoy!

It was really easy, and I had more in the way of whole seeds that I had in the past. However, by the time I was through, my kitchen resembled a scene out of Dexter. Pomegranate juice splattered across the counter, my white blouse, the paper towel roll, the backsplash and up onto the wall. I didn't even realize this delicious fruit was spewing all over the place until I was done.

After playing crime scene clean-up with my kitchen, I began to wonder if all the handling time is worth it. I don't know. Maybe I should just stick to popcorn?