How to peel a pomegranate
Learn how to peel a pomegranate quickly and easily without any mess!
Pomegranates are delicious, and good for you. Unfortunately, some people are put off by the task of removing the seeds from a pomegranate because they think it’s finicky, time-consuming and messy.
Well, it can be but I’m going to show you a very quick and simple way to seed a pomegranate with out the mess.
This method is mess-free and so quick and simple simple, you may just find yourself putting pomegranates in your shopping cart from now until the end of the pomegranate season.
When is Pomegranate season anyway?
In the northern hemisphere, pomegranate season runs Oct-Feb, while in the southern hemisphere, it’s Mar-May. (I did not know this before today. I am not an expert in all things pomegranate. I did some googling earlier today).
Easy way to to peel a pomegranate without the mess:
Here we go… grab a pomegranate, a knife, a bowl of cold water, and set yourself up at the kitchen sink. (I set my bowl right IN the sink).
- Slice off the “flowering” end of the pomegranate and SCORE the peel 4 times (at 12, 3, 6 and 9 oclock, if you know what I mean). You don’t have to score deeply. You can see how deep I went in this next photo, and I probably went “down” the side of the pomegranate about an inch to an inch and a half. (warning: Do not do this while sitting on a white sofa, or even while wearing a white shirt for that matter. Pomegranate juice does stain).
- Pop the pomegranate into your bowl of cold water and let it sit for 4-5 minutes. (I don’t know why the 4-5 minute part. I’ve skipped straight to step 3 before, and it’s been fine.
- With the pomegranate submerged in the bowl of water, gently pry it apart. (keeping it submerged prevents berries and juice from spraying and staining you). (These are not my hands in the next 2 pics. My 15 year old offered to be my hand model when it became apparent that I couldn’t hold a camera and pry apart a pomegranate under water. ( I realize in this next picture, the pomegranate is not actually UNDER water. We just wanted to show you the prying apart process.)
- Now, (still under-water), use your thumbs and fingers to wiggle and pry all of the seeds, which are called ARILS, free from the white pith of the pomegranate.
- Use your hands or a seive to skim any pith out of the water. The seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl, and the pith, for the most part, will float, making this fairly easy to do.
- Lastly, scoop up the arils by the handful, and run them under some cold water to rinse any last little bits of pith away.
And there you have it! A super easy way to peel a pomegranate! Start to finish, that took about 5 minutes. Not bad, eh? Now grab yourself a bowl, and enjoy!
Mmmmmm!!
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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
