Have you ever seen a plump, ruby-red pomegranate at the store and thought to yourself…I’d really like to have fresh pomegranate seeds, but I just don’t know how! Well, wonder no more. I’m going to show you how to to pry the snappy seeds bursting with sweet juice out of a pomegranate with minimal muss and fuss. You’ll be done in 10 minutes or less! Like I mentioned, you’re not really eating a pomegranate, rather, you’re eating the pomegranate’s seeds, which are called arils. The arils are what hold the antioxidant-rich, sweet/tart pomegranate juice, and are great for topping salads, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, or popping ’em plain and pretending they’re healthy Nerds.
Step 1: Pick a pomegranate
Look for a pomegranate that’s large, bright red, and smooth-skinned (the pomegranate in the picture below was a bit more weathered than I typically pick out). It should be heavy for its size, plump and not withered whatsoever.
Step 2: Cut the pomegranate in half
Place a very sharp knife to the right or left of the knob on top, and slice straight down. I usually cut the pomegranate on a plastic cutting board, as the pomegranate juice could stain a wooden board.
Step 3: Cut each half in half again
At this point you should have 4 quarters of the pomegranate.
Step 4: Pop out the seeds
Invert one quarter of the pomegranate over a bowl in the kitchen sink, then pop the seeds out with your fingers I try and get the majority of the seeds out with the peel inverted and facing me (so the seeds are face down in the bowl,) then flip the peel over to get the remainder out. Make sure you are doing this over the sink because pomegranate juice will be squirting out a bit, and it’s easier to contain and clean the juice out of the sink.
Continue with the remaining three pomegranate quarters.
Step 5: Remove the pith
Fill the bowl of pomegranate seeds with cold water. You’ll want about 3-4 inches of water above the seeds. Give the pomegranate seeds a little swirl with your fingers to let any loose pith float to the top. The seeds will sink to the bottom, allowing you to easily remove the pith.
Step 6: Drain the seeds
Drain the seeds then refill the bowl with cold water one more time to clean out any remaining pith, and then drain again.
That’s it!
Each pomegranate yields between 3/4 cup and 1 1/2 cups (6-12oz) of pomegranate seeds. Store the seeds in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, though I doubt they’ll last that long. ;)
Still not convinced? Consider this:
Trader Joe’s sells 6oz packages of fresh pomegranate seeds for $4. They also sell whole pomegranates for $2. If you de-seed the pomegranate yourself you’re getting double the seeds, for half the price!
Now go forth, and eat pomegranates ’til you can eat pomegranates no more! (Which will likely never happen.) ;)
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