How To Cut A Pomegranate

Don’t be intimidated. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to cut a pomegranate and easily remove the seeds without getting cracked skin or stains on your clothes! Find more of my pomegranate recipes.

Pomegranates have special place in my family’s heart. My kids love eating the seeds, called “arils”, by themselves. They are an antioxidant power-house and rich in fiber and vitamins. What’s not to love?

My family also has a pomegranate tree in our yard, with easy access to fresh fruit from October through December. My friends know we love this fruit, so we tend to get special deliveries of home grown pomegranates throughout the season.

Needless to say, the hubs and I know how to cut a pomegranate and seed it. Some years we seeded over 100 pomegranates. That’s a lot of arils! And yes, seeding a pomegranate can be a little tedious, but the work is well worth it.

So if you love pomegranates, too, but have always been intimidated on how to seed one, I’m here to show you how!

Now some people swear that beating a cut pomegranate will allow the arils to easily fall out. This does not work with all varieties. And, quite frankly, you can easily bruise and ruin your fruit this way,  not to mention make a mess splashing juice that stains everywhere.

Also, please do not cut a pomegranate in half, as you would an orange or apple, to remove the arils. It is not only messy (juice will get everywhere), but you will also ruin and waster a lot arils that were sliced up.

For the method I’m sharing with you today, you will need a sharp pairing knife, a cutting board, a large bowl of water and a small mesh strainer. The water helps contain the arils that are popping out when you open the pomegranate, as well as washes off the acidic juice from your hands.

If you are peeling many pomegranates, make sure you put some hand lotion on your hand when you are done, as the pomegranates can and do dry your hands and fingers.

Step 1: Remove the crown off the top. Do not cut too deep or you will cut the precious arils!

Step 2. Using the tip of your knife, point it to the center of the white pith. Keeping your knife at a 45º angle (my hubby is very exact as he IS an engineer!) cut a circle around the center of the pith. Remove the cone like white center and discard.

Step 5. Peel the skin off (optional). I typically skip this step, but my husband occasionally removes the peel. Totally not necessary, but if you have a thick-skinned pomegranate, this can help you out.

Step 5: Score along the vertical sections. Pomegranates are sectioned off like oranges are, and you want to follow these lines.

Step 6: Over the bowl of water, place your thumbs into the cored out center of one of the ends of your pomegranate. Gently pull the two halves apart. Any loose arils will fall into the pool of water.

Step 7. Remove each scored off sections. Gently remove the thin skins and excess membranes.

Step 8: Push your thumb on the back of each section to turn it out. Your thumbs will be resting on the side of the section that the outer skin was peeled off.

Gently tap the seeds out and pull them off the membrane wall. If you removed the outer skin of the pomegranate, you will find this step VERY EASY!! Remove all the arils from each pomegranate section.

Step 9: Using your small mesh strainer, remove the floating membrane skins and pith from the water. The seeds will sink to the bottom and the debris will float to the top. When done, use your strainer to remove and drain the pomegranate arils

Step 10: EAT THEM!!! Come on, you earned it! Look at that smile – no wonder we go through all of this trouble every year to cut a pomegranate and seed them!

Pomegranate seeds can be refrigerated and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze the seeds. Place them in one layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer ’til frozen. Remove and place frozen seeds in a freezer safe container.

Frozen pomegranate seeds will keep in the freezer for up to six months. Unopened pomegranates can last up to one month on the counter or two months in the refrigerator.

And what should you do with these pomegranate arils you have sitting in your refrigerator? I have a lot of pomegranate recipes for you to choose from!

We were determined to find the best way to juice a pomegranate. The Engineer-Hubby and I used several juicing methods to see which one worked best!