Now that pomegranate season is in full force, here’s a super easy way to peel a pomegranate.
Have you ever wondered how to get all those little squishy seeds out of a pomegranate?
I was terrified of this little fruit until only a few years ago. Every time I even attempted to pluck all the little seeds out, they would burst and my kitchen would end up looking like a crime scene. The power of the u-google-izer taught me how to tackle this harmless ball of deliciousness so I figured I should pass on my newfound knowledge to all of you.
First, wash your pomegranate. Pretty obvious.
Next, grab your tools. You’ll need a knife, cutting board, and a bowl with water. Usually I leave the bowl in the sink while I use it, but for this tutorial I put it on the counter.
Slice off the top of your pomegranate.
Make several shallow cuts around the pomegranate, but only through the skin, not clear through the fruit. If you cut too deep it will start to bleed (see the juice dripping off the knife?).
Now put your fruit into the bowl of water. It’s best if the water covers the pomegranate all the way, but obviously my bowl wasn’t quite big enough. It still works, you just have to be more careful about the red juice getting everywhere.
Now, while the pomegranate is completely submerged, use your hands to start breaking it into pieces along the cut marks you previously made.
It is very important to keep the pomegranate entirely under water while you do this. When some of the seeds pop, and some will, the juice goes into the water instead of all over your nice clothes and kitchen.
Just keep breaking it into chunks.
The water also softens up the skin and allows the seeds to detach from the skin easier.
Here’s what your chunks will look like.
Mmmmm.
Now, with your thumbs and fingers while still under water, gently work the seeds out of the skin. They should pop out fairly easily. You don’t need to pull on each seed. Just press against entire rows of them at a time and they will pop out and sink to the bottom of the bowl.
As you remove all the seeds from each section of skin, discard the skin from the bowl.
Once you have removed all the seeds from the skin, pick out any additional skin pieces from the bowl. Now pour the water and seeds into a strainer or colander.
From there, pour them out onto a paper towel to remove the excess water.
Take a step back and admire your yummy pomegranate seeds!
You can add them to salads or recipes, but I prefer to just eat them by the handfull.
Don’t waste your money on a small pre-peeled package (that usually only contain about 1/2 a pomegranate’s worth of seeds). Next time you’re craving one, just buy the whole fruit and peel it yourself. It only takes a few minutes.
Great tip! Thank you!
i LOVE the flavor of the seeds but i cant get past the hard part in the middle. are all of them super hard or was it maybe just the pomegranate i bought? i would love to give it another try but if they are all super hard i dont think i could do it.
They shouldn’t be hard at all. Maybe yours wasn’t ripe enough. They should be just barely able to give when you squeeze it with your thumb.
I think the above comment is about the actual seed inside the aril. That part is the crunchy thing niside the juicy thing. I just try to imagine it is a little sunflower seed inside, the texture bothers me a little too. I just attempt to not get them in my teeth and that helps!! They are so good for you. And the spoon whacking video was awesome, although a little long winded! I am going to try that method next time. Yay for Winter fruit!
I use the “whack it with a wooden spoon” method. Fast, AND you work out your frustrations. 😛
Oh my heck! Thank you. I love these, but they take me hours to eat! This will simplify it so much!!!! I’m so excited!
okay that looks easy enough for even me, I tried once years ago and gave up it took forever!
i discovered an even easier method. after washing your pom. cut it in half and hold the cut part over a strainer in the sink. bang on the back side with a wooden spoon until seeds are out. repeat with other half. rinse and voila!
Sharing with my son as he LOVES poms!
Have you ever tried pounding the skin side of a section with a wooden spoon? I saw it on Martha Stewart a few years ago, tried it, and it works!
Nikki Kelly @ the ambitious procrastinator
A few yrs ago I lived on a farm in South Africa. We had a few pomegranate trees and we always used the “wooden spoon” technique and it worked really well. I miss the days of always having Tupperware with ready pealed pomegranate seeds in the fridge, so healthy! Now living in the north of Norway fresh fruit is not a given!
An even EASIER method for removing arls from pomegranates. Follow the general directions given EXCEPT …
BEFORE breaking open the pomegranate to remove the arls, let the scored fruit remain in a pot of water 8 hrs or better, overnight. The bond of the arls seems to almost completely dissolve so removal into the pot of water is *effortless*! Almost magic!