Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Ruby red pomegranates, with jewel-like seeds, are beautiful and delicious, and have amazing health benefits. This step-by-step tutorial will teach you how to cut a pomegranate and remove the arils.
How long it takes: 5 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, large bowl, slotted spoon or mini strainer, colander
Servings: One pomegranate yields about 1 cup of seeds.
Pomegranates
Pomegranates have been calling my name lately every time I go to the grocery store. This time, they called my name and said, “Hey lookie, I’m on sale!!!” And then two jumped into my cart. I had no idea what I would do with them.
Did you know that a pomegranate is classified as a berry? It’s been cultivated for millennia and is treasured for the juicy tart seeds inside (the skin and the white membrane are inedible). The seeds are enclosed in a juicy covering and are called arils. There can be 200 to 1,400 seeds in one pomegranate!
The task of breaking a pomegranate open and getting to the seeds (arils) can be a little daunting, like excavating a hidden treasure. The arils are embedded in the membrane and take a little coaxing to emerge. This step-by-step tutorial will help you get to the little jewels inside the fruit.
How to Cut a Pomegranate
Step 1: Gather supplies.
- sharp knife
- cutting board
- large bowl filled with cold water
- slotted spoon or mini strainer
- colander
Step 2: Wash the pomegranate.
Isn’t it beautiful? Maybe I’ll buy a few extra and use them for a centerpiece!
Step 3: Slice off the top.
I call it the “crown” but it’s technically called the calyx.
Step 4: Score the pomegranate in four or five places.
For photo purposes, the cuts are a little deeper than they need to be. Shallow scoring is what you’re looking for, just cutting through the tough red skin. Try not to cut into the juicy arils.
Step 5: Place the pomegranate in a bowl of water.
Soaking helps to loosen the arils. Place the cut pomegranate upside down, cut side down, in a bowl of cold water and leave it there for about 10 minutes
Step 6: Separate arils.
Remove the pomegranate from the bowl of water. Pry open the cut edges of the pomegranate, exposing the arils. and begin to separate the arils (seeds) with your fingers. Do this under the water in the bowl to avoid making a mess.
Step 7: Remove membrane.
Let the arils fall into the bowl of water. They will sink and the white membrane will float to the top so you can easily remove it. When you’re done, simply skim the membrane off with a slotted spoon and discard it.
Step 8. Drain seeds.
Drain the seeds in a strainer or colander.
Step 9: Use them!
You can snack on pomegranate seeds right from the bowl or enjoy them in the fun recipes listed below. Each pomegranate will yield approximately one cup of arils.
Take a minute to marvel over how seriously pretty these little jewels are!
Recipes With Pomegranate
- Kale Pomegranate Salad (aka Christmas Salad)
- Butternut Squash Crostini with Ricotta
- Sparkling Pomegranate Punch
- Pomegranate Mojitos
- Pomegranate Rosemary Spritzer (a mocktail)
How to Cut a Pomegranate – Mess Free Method!
Ingredients
- 1 fresh pomegranate
Instructions
- Slice off the top of the pomegranate (the end that looks like a crown).
- Score the pomegranate in 4 or 5 places, just slicing through the peel.
- Place pomegranate cut side down in a bowl of cold water and let soak for 10 minutes.
- Keeping under water, pry open and use your fingers to work the arils away from the flesh, letting them fall into the water.
- With a slotted spoon or a mini strainer, skim any white membrane that's floating on top of the water. Once you've removed the floating white membrane, strain the pomegranate seeds to remove the water.
Notes
- Yield: One pomegranate will yield approximately 1 cup of arils. The nutrition information is calculated for ¼ cup arils.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
I’m curious because I’ve never had a pomegranate. Might have to try one. Will it stain your fingers? or the towel or any other surfaces?
It would likely stain a towel but it will wash off your fingers. :)
Thank you very much for replying :) , I found your method very helpful and I will conduct a study on it.
Hi I am an Industrial Engineer, working with a small organic pomegranate processing facility in South Africa. I want to compose a work procedure for the pomegranate de-seeding/ arils extracting task. What is the significance of ” tep 5. Place upside down (cut side down) in a bowl of cold water and leave there for about 10 minutes. ” ?
It loosens up the arils a bit and the water contains the mess of the juice spraying everywhere. The soaking probably isn’t 100% necessary but will make it slightly easier.
I just ate one 4 the first time. I dunno how they grow all the pomegranate trees in Cali, I’m in Florida and most trees I find on properties that have any fruit are lemon. Well I cut it across with a plastic knife and it came apart into sections easy. The red seeds taste like cranberry but are sweet not bitter, if that helps. The flesh is bitter, took a bite and threw it away but spent a good hour on the seeds, plenty and makes it filling. I like it pretty much.
Martha Stewart once demonstrated how to cut them in half and just smack them with a wooden spoon and all the seeds fall out. It works really well. I love the way pomegranate tastes, but really, really hates all those little seeds inside.
Does that really work? Seems like something *Martha* could do but no one else ;)
Yes, I’ve done it. You just keep whacking away at it
I love pomegranates. A heaping handful, with a few blueberries thrown in for good measure, on top of a bowl of Greek non-fat yogurt, is the best afternoon snack I can think of. The recipes using pomegranate juice all refer to bottled juice. Why not make your own with a good quality citrus press? The resulting juice is so much more nutritious.
That snack sounds great! And really good advice about making your own pomegranate juice! Thanks!
Hey, this is really helpful. I never knew about the bowl of water and found pomegranate way too much work to bother with.
Hi Rachel! Thanks for posting this. I just bought some pomegranates the other day and was trying to think of something fun to make with them and you just gave me a boatload of choices :) I think I may also throw them in with some roasted brussels sprouts for Thanksgiving.
Love your blog name, hilarious :)
They would be great with roasted Brussels! Thanks for your comment!