how to: open and de-seed a pomegranate
November 4th, 2009
It’s finally pomegranate season again! Hallelujah!!!
One of my pomegranate-obsessed coworkers and I have been anxiously waiting and watching the stores for their arrival this fall. And…just about jumped for joy when they finally arrived. :) I absolutely love pomegranates! Not only are they ridiculously rich in vitamins and nutrients, but I think the seeds just look like little miraculous, little, sparkling jewels. Lovely!
Of course, these little gems – 840 per fruit, to be exact – literally are “buried” treasure inside of the thick, outer peel. Unfortunately, I still hear so many stories of people trying to de-seed pomegranates and ending up with red-stained everything before they’re done – eeks!! So here’s a quick tutorial on how to peel pomegranates “gimmesomeoven style”. :)
Basically, it’s all about one word: underwater. Everything underwater.
How To: Open and De-Seed a Pomegranate
Wash the outside of the pomegranate thoroughly. (Important since the outer skin will eventually be underwater with the pomegranate seeds.)
Then on a plastic cutting board (look out – pomegranate juice will stain wood), hold the pomegranate upright and use a large sharp kitchen knife carefully make a vertical cut down the middle to split it in two. Then carefully make one more vertical cut about 1″ down each piece, so that they are ready to be split in two again. Place these pieces in a large bowl, and fill with water so that they are completely submerged.
Then with your hands, begin at the 1″ cut and carefully pry each piece in half so that you are now working with four pieces. Now the fun begins!
Using your fingers, carefully begin to separate the seeds from the rind. Once visible seeds have been separated, you will need to continue gently prying the rind apart to reveal more sections of seeds. You’ll notice that the seeds quickly sink, and the rind floats. Once all of the seeds have been separated, remove the floating pieces of rind. And then use your fingers to once more brush over all of the seeds that are sitting on the bottom to remove any tiny pieces of rind that are still stuck to individual seeds. Remove this rind.
Then strain out the water, and your seeds are ready to go! They can be eaten immediately, blended and strained to make juice, or frozen. (If you choose to freeze them, just be sure that they are completely dry beforehand!)
Ali’s Tip: Please, please be sure to wear an apron or an old shirt or something splatter-able when de-seeding a pomegranate! Even with the underwater method, occasionally that delicious red juice can spurt out accidentally at any step in the process…or while actually eating them later. :) Also keep an eye on floors or rugs nearby in case any seeds somehow escape and fall to the ground. They’re not exactly carpet (or in the case of my kitchen – white tile) friendly!
hi there ali! i just discovered your blog and i’m just wondering what kind of camera you use? your photos are great, and have a bright and cheery quality to them that some other food photographers don’t employ. great site! btw, chow has a video using the cut and whack method for de-seeding pomegranates. http://www.chow.com/stories/10876
hey ali!
thanks for the kind comment! i recently purchased a canon rebel on craigslist, and am still in the process of learning how in the world to work it! the camera’s definitely great, but i think the brightness is probably mostly due to natural lighting, and the “saturation” button on the editing software. :) i may be a little obsessed with it.
the video’s great too! mmmm…makes me hungry for another pomegranate. :)
So glad to know another option that the whacking method.
Thanks! This is a great idea. No more pomegranate stained shirts, rugs or walls for me :)
oh that’s great! i’m looking into purchasing a canon rebel too! :D awesome. and yes, a pomegranate or some pom juice would be great right about now.
I just bought a pomegranate two days ago, so I will be referring to your page very soon. Thanks for the lovely photos!
If only I had read this about a week ago! I bought a pomegranate at the store and had red juice all over my countertop. Great tips!
Great tips! I watch my mother-in-law every day lovingly peeling, seeding and juicing pomegranates for an hour for her husband. She de-seeds the fruits exactly the way you describe it and extract all the juice. Did you know that 5 pomegranates yield only a mere 2-1/2 cups? Check out my post on how to get as much as juice as possible from this fruit at http://www.phamfatale.com/id_767/title_How-to-Make-Pomegranate-Juice/
Thanks Ali,
Nice idea, and it is worth sharing to more people.
Check out this Dutch design:
http://www.lekkertafelen.nl/nieuws/topper-of-flopper-granaatappel-ontpitter/
great tutorial!
Hello! This is great. I just bought a pom to use for the holiday but I really had no idea how to go about getting them out, so thanks for this!
You mentioned freezing, but I was wondering if you knew how long these would keep in a fridge (if at all). Like if I do the seeding tonight will keep until Christmas?