How to Seed a Pomegranate

It's that time of year again... Pomegranate season!

It's a joyous time for those in the know, but it may be a little sad (perhaps even a little frustrating) for those who just don't get these mysterious red fruits. Maybe you've heard about or seen those delicious looking gem-like seeds, but are perplexed at how to extract those little rubies from inside! Well suffer no longer, it's time you learned how to seed this delicious fruit. For those who already enjoy pomegranates but make a mess in the process, well, this post and video is for you too!

I tested the various methods for removing seeds from a pomegranate and found these to be the easiest and least messy. Although cutting a pomegranate in half and smacking it with a spoon sounds like great stress relief, I found it really isn't very effective, and you just end up with pomegranate juice all over the place! So let's focus on two methods that are reliable and relatively mess free.

Just to be safe, start off by putting an apron on to avoid getting pomegranate juice on your clothes.

Next up, you have two choices. Method one is more hands on, and method two requires more knife work.

Method 1:

Cutting through the skin (but not through the fruit), cut all the way around the middle of the pomegranate. Once cut, use both hands and pull each half apart. If you're having trouble getting the pomegranate apart, use your knife to wedge the pieces apart before trying again with your hands.

Now you should be able to easily break apart each half of the pomegranate by hand, leaving you with four pomegranate segments.

Method 2:

Using a paring knife (or a small sharp knife) slice off the bottom of the pomegranate, creating a flat surface. Next cut around the top of the pomegranate, making a little crater. Now take your knife and cut along each ridge of the pomegranate from top to bottom, cutting through the skin and not the fruit.

Once you have cut along all the ridges, you will have around 6-8 segments. Pull the pomegranate in half and proceed to pull apart each segment.

In a large bowl of water, place the pomegranate segment under water and using the edge of your thumb, put pressure on the base of the seeds and brush them into the water. Continue until you have removed all the seeds.

Now, just remove the pieces of rind that have floated to the top of the water using your hand or a small strainer. Empty the water and pomegranate seeds into a strainer to drain all the water and enjoy right away, or store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Happy seeding!