Eating the Pomegranate


In Iran, the pomegranate is considered common. Not that there is anything mundane about being common. Sometimes being common even lends itself to experimentation. The sweet, wet, deep pink flesh of the pomegranate's something to be enjoyed mid-morning, at lunch, in the afternoon, and in the evening. Some people prefer to eat their fruit in a dark room and some in the sunlight. Some like to eat with others, and some prefer solitude. So after a while, one becomes adept at the ways of devouring the pomegranate. Women and men take the fruit with them when visiting the tombs and gardens of poets. They lay in the warm green grass under the the flowering bushes. The hypnotic scent of jasmine makes the atmosphere unworldly. It makes the lounging couples and triads (and sometimes more!) think of love. There they eat pomegranates with delicacy and sometimes vigor.

I want to teach you how to eat a pomegranate. Prepare yourself by thinking lascivious thoughts, or maybe do not prepare yourself at all, but let the idea of warm drizzling juice come upon you by surprise. The thought of eating a pomegranate can be brought upon by unexpected sight, touches and smells. I have thought of pomegranates when spotting a girl in a coffee house with a smile and a Roman nose. The girl will brush her hand over her cheek, I'll take a deep breath of spicy air, and all I can think about is the taste of fruit. Or once at the library the rough skin of a clerk's fingertip as he handed me a book sent me quickly to the market. When there is a craving for a pomegranate, stopping it is useless, boring and unhealthy.

Once you are ready, eating a pomegranate is simple, yet improves with practice. The more you eat, the more you wish to eat. Luckily, all pomegranates are a little different. Big, rounded, pointed, small, Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western.... pomegranates have diverse styles and tastes.

Take your hands and warm the pomegranate in them. Notice how easily the pomegranate rests in your cupped palms. The skins of the fruit is smooth in parts and rough in others. It isn't plainly round like a ball or apple, but has curves and crevices. Here concave and there convex, the map of it's skin is unique and special. Appreciate the skin of the fruit. Anticipation is a delight we often forget in our hurry to reach the "good parts". The good parts are in your hands right now. Place the pomegranate to your face and close your eyes. Roll it over your cheekbones and lips, then down your neck. Please notice how the pomegranate's red skin feels as you let it travel over your bare shoulders. Once you are sure you have discovered the geography of the pomegranate's exterior, and once you are salivating with the thought of fulfillment, bring the pomegranate to your mouth so that your lips can experience the pomegranate's texture and heat.

By now the pomegranate is warm and ready to be thoroughly softened under your fingers. And you, you are flushed and are finding it difficult to swallow. Take you fingers and start to press the flesh of the fruit. You may want to handle the pomegranate gently at first in preparation of rougher manipulation later. Turn the pomegranate slowly in your hands as you soften the fruit with your thumbs. As you work the fruit feel how large and strong your thumbs are as they prepare the flesh for your tongue. Continue softening the pomergranate by holding it and kneading it's skin. You can feel the tiny seeds inside pop and relax as you press your fingers up and down over the red surface. The round slick seeds are releasing their juices as you caress the fruit. The noises you hear are the sighs of the pomegranate as it understands that soon it will be opened by you and sucked dry. After a while, increase your pressure and rub harder. This will make sure that every seed is ready. You want eat seed to have burst loose and pomegranate's red interior oozing with nectar before you undertake the serious business of breaking the flesh. Turn the pomegranate carefully. It helps to close your eyes briefly so that you can concentrate more fully on the state of your pomegranate. Is each kernel soft? Has every seed spread out under your fingers with abandonment and longing? Are your lips itching with need? Can you taste the fruit through your fingers, up your arm and throughout your body? Once more, roll the pomegranate over your chest, breasts and belly. It feels different now. Your flesh and it's skin meet. Notice how you and the pmegranate have softened.

Bring the pomegranate to your mouth and rest a minute. Touch the skin with your tongue. Smell it's warm skin and remember how other pomegranates have tasted. This one will be unique and it's flavor a sweet surprise. With one hand on your own slippery seed and the other on the fruit, bite. It is important not to release your grip on either object, because to do so would only bring frustration. Take a deep breath, press hard and suck. Let the juice squirt into your mouth. All that pressing, rolling and squeezing made this moment of bliss come together for you and your pomegranate. Suck hard and let the red juice cover your tongue. Some people like the juice to escape around the corners of their lips (I'm one of those)and run a wet path down over their breasts. Continue working the open fruit. All the seeds are slick and scarlet with pleasure, your own included. Too soon the pomegranate will no longer be jutting juice and the seeds will be pink, then white. If you are very lucky you will be sticky and full, covered with fruit inside and out. You and the pomegranatehave satisfied one another. Your thirst for this pleasure is sated until you see another tempting fruit or feel that growl for the wet juice in your belly. And this is how to eat a pomegranate.

By Sweet Jane
As published in Throwing Heat Issue 6 February 2001