I wholly admit that I am recycling this post, but for a good reason. I had the joy of digging into my first pomegranate of the season last night, and that whole process brings me back to when I had no idea of what a pomegranate even was, let alone how to eat it. At the time, there were no how-to’s available online to explain how to eat the mythological fruit, and so I wrote my own after a little trial and error. Until I took down my old site, this post was the #1 Google search for “How to eat a pomegranate”. I think that’s pretty cool.
First, find a pomegranate that is dark in color, heavy for its size and blemish-free. With a sharp knife (a small paring knife will do fine), score the outer skin of the fruit into quarters – running from “crown” to bottom and up again – being careful not to cut all the way into the seed chambers. The skin layer is thick but soft, so this is easy.
Next, use the paring knife to cut out the crown, similar to cutting the top off a jack-o-lantern, so the crown comes out roughly cone-shaped. You should be able to see some of the bright red seeds at this point.
I recommend wearing a dark-colored shirt or old clothing you don’t mind getting stained for this next step, at least until you get used to it.* Placing your thumbs into the hole where the crown used to be, gently force the pomegranate apart. It should separate itself roughly along the lines you scored with the knife earlier. You will see the seeds (about the size of your pinky-fingernail) nestled in a honeycomb-like whitish skin. Gently nudge the seeds out of the honeycomb with your fingers (or you can use a spoon) and eat!
The pomegranate seeds will be somewhat rigid, so you don’t have to worry about “popping” them except with a lot of pressure. They should be deep red and appear faceted, somewhat like a rough-cut ruby. If they look pale or brownish, simply discard those individual seeds. You can eat the entire seed whole (there is a small, hard seed in the center of each red “gem”, but it’s easier to eat than a grape seed), or you can bite down and scrape the outer red layer off the seed core, and discard the seed. I prefer to crunch them whole.
If you can’t finish your pomegranate in one sitting, it will keep rather well in the refrigerator for a time. Experiment, find what method is right for you, and watch out for the pomegranate addiction that will likely form shortly after you taste one. Most of all, enjoy!
*Please note: Pomegranate juice does stain! But I have found that a good, long soak in a washer filled with detergent and OxyClean will get pomegranate juice out of even a white linen shirt. Be careful, and please don’t try your first pomegranate on good furniture or anything which can not be quickly and easily wiped down. Once you have the technique down it’s much easier to avoid splattering, but the first few times it pays to be careful.
