All photos by Greg Seber
Pomegranates are one of the best parts of fall and winter months. Won’t you agree? Love the fruit!
Recently, at a private cuisine and culture presentation and lunch event I did for a group of home economists in our house, I was asked if there was any special technique I used to cut and de-seed a pomegranate. Well, of course there is! I am a pomegranataholic and I better know how to get those ruby red arils out of the fruit as quickly as possible!
Luckily, we happen to have a pomegranate tree growing in the front yard, with a few pomegranates on it, so I quickly picked one to demonstrate the technique I usually use. They were surprised how quick, easy, and mess- and fuss-free it was!
All I did was I cut off the top part of the pomegranate in a circular motion, made slits along the membranes separating the pomegranate segments, then pulled the segments apart without detaching them from the core, and the pomegranate “flower” was born. To de-seed the fruit, working over a bowl, I simply whacked (with all my force!) the back of each pomegranate segment with a sturdy wooden spoon. Off the arils fell into the bowl, all within seconds. Easy! You can do it too!
WATCH HOW TO CUT AND DE-SEED A POMEGRANATE:
- A pomegranate
- Tools you need:
- A knife
- A bowl
- A wooden spoon
- Fist, using a circular motion with a sharp knife, slice off the top part of a pomegranate, about ½-inch from the top (you will obtain a lid with a crown). Set the lid aside.
- You will notice that the inside of the fruit is separated into distinct segments by white membranes.
- Starting from the top, cut down along each segment without fully separating the segments from the core.
- Then, using your hands, carefully pull the segments apart, making sure they are still attached at the core, to form a pomegranate "flower." You can make this "flower" a centerpiece of your fruit platter. You can pace the "lid" on top for decoration, or choose to discard of it. Or, you can de-seed the segments and serve the arils.
- To de-seed the pomegranate, working over a bowl, with a wooden spoon, whack the back of each pomegranate segment (do it hard!) until all the arils fall out. Continue to do the same with all the segments. Done.
Leave a Reply