Pomegranate

What it is: With its thin, leathery skin and hundreds of randomly scattered ruby seeds, the pomegranate is among the strangest and, for the cook, most labor-intensive fruits available. Most are brick red and about the size of a softball, grown on shrubby trees native to Iran. The word pomegranate means ''apple with many seeds." These seeds, though perfectly edible, can also be meddlesome. Soft ones are delicious; tough ones are not. In classical mythology, when the grain goddess Demeter's daughter Persephone was snatched away to the underworld by Hades, Demeter, in her grief, stopped seeds from germinating. Zeus said the girl should be returned to her mother only if Persephone had not eaten in the underworld. But Hades had given her pomegranate seeds. A deal was struck that the girl would return to the upper world for two-thirds of the year. The time she spent with Hades became winter.

How to prepare it: You don't peel a pomegranate like an orange, or sink your teeth into it like a peach, or pop it in your mouth like a grape. Pomegranates aren't that easy. To eat it, cut the pomegranate in half, pound it firmly (cut side down on a cutting board), and scoop out the pulp-covered seeds, removing the bitter, cream-colored membrane as you go. Eat the seeds and pulp as they are, either out of the halved shell or piled in a dish, or use them as a bright and crunchy garnish sprinkled over salads or desserts. Because of the abundance of seeds, pomegranates are processed into juice, fermented into wine, or cooked down to make a thick dark syrup or ''molasses," used to tenderize meats and flavor all sorts of dishes. Authentic grenadine is made with pomegranate juice, but today most commercial grenadines are synthetic.

Where to buy it: In the markets through December, pomegranate is at its peak now. Today, our crop comes from California. After they're picked, pomegranates stop ripening; there are few external clues to the quality and state of ripeness. A good rule is to choose pomegranates that are heavy for their size, with bright, blemish-free skin. They'll keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. -- JONATHAN LEVITT