Pomegranates time: the best way to peel it.

To taste local food is one of the best ideas we can do when we are on holidays, and in this part of the year, October and November, here it is time to crop pomegranate. Cultivated since ancient times, it is one of the main farming in the south-east of Spain, specially in the area of Elche.

To eat a pomegranate, after it´s opened by scoring it with a knife and breaking it, the seed casings are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes. But the most effective way of quickly harvesting the seeds is to cut the pomegranate in half, hold the pomegranate half over a bowl and smack the rind with a large spoon. The red seeds are consumed raw, or are used to get an excellent juice.

 

         Pomegranates have high levels of antioxidants, with free-radical scavenging properties in laboratory experiments. Despite of that more research data are needed, it is considered a fruit with potential health benefits, for example, in heart disease or in hypertensive patients.