Adventures in Fruit

The theme of this week has been "Adventures in Fruit." After having a positive, if messy, experience with a pomegranate, (and because the berries I normally love are out of season and not looking especially delicious right now) I decided to sample a few unfamiliar fruits this week. Well, two, actually. That is, I daresay, quite enough fruit adventure when it involves watching You Tube videos to figure out how to peel and eat said fruit.

Fruit number one was a persimmon. The preparation was quick and easy, but the gustatory experience was, shall we say, less than optimum. YUCK! I know now that I had a hachiya persimmon, which tastes bitter and leaves your mouth feeling "furry" if you eat it before it's ripe. Which I, unfortunately, did. I may try one again sometime, but not soon.

Understandably, the huge, impressive looking pomelos sat on the counter for several days while my taste buds and my sense of adventure recovered from the persimmon fiasco. Today was the day to peel the pomelos. They are about twice the size of a grapefruit and the taste is similar, although milder. Normally, I have to add sugar to enjoy grapefruit; these I could eat with no added sugar. The pith is quite spongy and pillowy. I found the texture entrancing and spent more time than I'd like to admit poking at it. If you've got kids, I can pretty much guarantee that they'll want to touch the peels. The verdict is: time-consuming and somewhat messy to peel (though not nearly as messy as a pomegranate), but delicious.

The following pictures will show how to peel a pomelo:



Step One:

Cut off the top and score all the way around so that the peel can be divided into quarters.

Step Two:

Sort of like peeling a grapefruit--slide fingers between the fruit and the peel on each quarter until you've got something that resembles a blooming flower. Then, and this is crucial, be sure to stop and take a picture.

Step Three:

Remove fruit from the peel.

Step Four:

This is the messy and time-consuming part of the process. Divide into sections as you would a grapefruit or an orange. Peel off the white stuff. Toss the large pile of pith and peel that's left over.

Step Five:

Voila!

For me, the downside of being (mostly) unemployed is mainly about the whole having no money thing, and also the isolation that comes from living in a new city AND having no job, and thus no co-workers and potential friendships. Surprisingly, though, to a person who has not gone for more than a couple of weeks between jobs since around 1984, this time off has been a blessing. I'm not gonna lie--I've had some truly epics naps and my fair share of pajama days. But I'm also refining my career focus and developing some skills that will help me be a better teacher. Between naps, I'm making serious progress through my tottering TBR pile (including all those teaching books that I buy but never find time to read while I'm actually teaching), studying Spanish, and finding out without a doubt that I make a much better teacher than a housewife. My part-time tutoring jobs are letting me keep a toe in the water until I can get back in the classroom. And I miss teaching, most days, anyway. But I'm also learning to appreciate the freedom to do the things that require a little extra time. Like peeling a pomelo.