Not Delia

How to prepare a pomegranate

—

by

Not Delia
in ,

Pomegranates are quite a fascinating fruit with an interesting history.  I’d not had one for years so when I saw them in the supermarket at Christmastime, I jumped at the chance of something different for a change. You can read more about pomegranates on Wikipedia.

Among other things, pomegranate are said to be “super-foods” bursting with health-enhancing properties. In particular, they are said to slow down cholesterol oxidisation.  Here’s a link to a BBC story if you want to read more about that.

Preparing a pomegranate is quick and easy but if you haven’t done it before perhaps a little bit of guidance may be useful.

Before you start, get a suitable chopping board, a knife, and a bowl of water. Working in a bowl of water makes it easier to separate the seeds, as they sink while the pith (which you discard) floats on top.

First top and tail the pomegranate so it’s not rolling around on the board.

A topped and tailed pomegranate

Next cut through the leathery skin by making four deep scores. Only cut through the skin. Try not to cut into the fruit itself.

Then place the pomegranate in the bowl of water and rip it apart. The cuts you made just now will make this job much easier for you.

A pomegranate scored and split into quarters over a bowl of water

Separate the seeds, and discard the pith and the leathery skin.

Drain off the water. This leaves you with just the seeds.

Pomegranate arils (seeds) in a steel bowl

You can eat the little ruby jewels just as they are, make juice, or add them to a salad. It’s very popular in the Middle East to include pomegranates in a salad.

Comments

4 responses to “How to prepare a pomegranate”

  1. Clinton

    The easiest way I’ve found of getting the best stuff out of pomegranates is cutting them in quarters or eights and turning each piece inside out. The seeds just all fall into the waiting plate with minimum fuss.

  2. Not Delia

    Ah, yes, you could do it that way but if you make everything so simple there would be nothing left for food bloggers to write about. Anyway, if you quarter the thing wouldn’t you be destroying a lot of the seeds in the process?

  3. Preston

    I usually chop the whole fruit in half and then whack the backside of each half with something heavy like the back of a serving spoon. The fruit pops out with a little effort.

  4. Not Delia

    Hi Preston, Thanks for your comment. I know, it seems as though there are instructions for every little thing. But it’s surprising how many people need the reassurance of a recipe or a method. I guess that’s why some people have had success with books about simple stuff like how to boil an egg.

Leave a Reply