Persnickety Pomegranates: How to Open a Pomegranate

Pomegranates are one of my favorite winter fruits. I always get excited when I walk into the grocery store and see the first bin of the season, filled with bright red fruit!

Pomegranates can be tricky – the first time I ever got one and attempted to open it, it was a disaster. I didn’t really know anything about the fruit, so I just cut it in half with a serrated knife. The result was a bright red pool of juice that stained my counter, my cutting board and my hands. It looked like a scene out of a scary movie!

But now, I have the key to these tricky little fruits all figured out. Using this method will make preparing pomegranates a breeze and you’ll be enjoying these tangy, sweet seeds in no time! And don’t forget that pomegranates are packed full of vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, potassium, copper, unique antioxidants and lots of other wonderful vitamins and minerals. All of these things are important to good health.

Now, let’s see how simple it is to open a pomegranate and enjoy the fruit:

1. Fill a large bowl with cold water.
2. Take a knife and gently cut just through the skin – you’re essentially scoring the skin. You want to get through the tough outside layer, but not so deep that you cut into the fruit. Cut once, all the way around and then rotate and cut around again so that you’ve scored the fruit into quarters.
3. Now, submerge the pomegranate in the bowl of water and using your thumbs, start gently pulling it apart along the scored lines. You might have to work at this for a couple minutes, depending on how deep your scoring line is.
4. Keeping the fruit submerged, pull it apart in half and then gently break it into quarters along the other line you cut.
5. Still with the fruit submerged, gently work out all of the little juicy seeds into the water. They will all sink to the bottom and the white membrane will float on the top.
6. Once you have removed all of the seeds, you can skim off the white pieces of the skin and then strain out the water. Viola! You have fresh pomegranate without staining your hands, clothes, counter tops or cutting board!

I hope these tips help you next time you want some pomegranate. They really are one of nature’s little wonder fruits, so eat up!

Photo courtesy of Joe Marinaro and Flickr Creative Commons

This post is part of Real Food 101 | Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

About Jessica (621 Posts)

Delicious Obsessions was founded by Jessica Espinoza in 2010. Jessica is passionate about real food, natural living, and more. She helps people see how to eat nourishing food, without breaking the bank. Her motto is "baby steps" -- making small, lasting changes, one at a time, is the best way to ensure long-term success. This website contains "affiliate links" where appropriate, on which, I may earn a small commission or referral fee on your purchase. This has no effect on your price. The monies earned help maintain and support this website's hosting, maintenance, and the development of free content. The content shared on this site is for informational and educational purposes only. Statements/products discussed have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or illness. Please consult your own health care practitioner before making changes to your current diet or before beginning any herbal or vitamin supplement regimen or exercise program.