How to Cut a Pomegranate
The pomegranate is infused with history and culture. The Bible mentions it as one of the seven fruits or plants that blessed Israel. It is the Jewish symbol for righteousness and is often eaten on Rosh Hashanah. It is also featured heavily in the myth of Persephone and is said to evoke the presence of Hera. Health wise, this fruit is rich in anti-oxidants and is considered a very healthy fruit. So how do you cut it and what do you do with the seeds? This article will tell you how to cut a pomegranate and how to de-seed it.
Required Materials
- A pomegranate fruit
Required Tools
- Large Chef's Knife
- Old T-Shirt or Apron
- Plastic Cutting Board
- Large Bowl
Instructions
- The best time to cut a pomegranate is when it is very ripe. You can tell the pomegranate is ripe when its peel begins to crack open.
- Put on your apron or old T-shirt because pomegranate juice will stain and it will squirt out of the fruit when you cut it open. This is why you want to use a plastic cutting board instead of a wooden cutting board-the juice will stain a wooden cutting board.
- Use the knife to cut around the top of the pomegranate, just like you would if you were cutting off the top of a pumpkin to make a jack o'lantern.
- Take off the top of the pomegranate. You will see five membranes and a lot of seeds.
- Make skin-deep slices down each of the pomegranate's membranes.
- Use your fingers to pull the pomegranate open. This is best done over a large bowl so that if any of the fruit's seeds have come loose, they will fall into the bowl. If you hold the fruit close to the bottom of the bowl, the bowl can also act as a barrier to shield you from juice spatters.
- Use your fingers to pull the seeds out of the peel and the membrane of the fruit. This is easiest if you fill the bowl about halfway with water and then pull the seeds out in the water. The seeds will fall to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane pieces will float to the top of the water, which will make it a lot easier to separate the two.
- After all of the seeds have been removed, skim the membrane out of the water and then strain the water from the seeds.
- The seeds are perfectly edible and you can begin eating them as soon as they are out of the membrane. They can also be stored in an air-tight container for up to three days.
- You can also make pomegranate juice by pulsing the seeds in a blender, a cupful at a time. Pulse them just enough to break the seeds. Then put the seeds onto a fine sieve and push on them with a rubber spatula. The juice will flow through the sieve. Sweeten to taste with sugar. It takes about two big pomegranates to make one cup of juice.
