deseeding pomegranates

Otherwise known as, why POM juice costs so much. Deseed a pomegranate and you'll suddenly understand.

I used to eat pomegranates the hard way.. basically just tearing into the skin at any random point and digging out the seeds as I went along. About this time last year I saw a *much* better way of going about it that involved extracting the seeds all at once so you can shove them into your face like handfuls of popcorn. Which is another issue itself. ;)

I've since perfected the art of seed extraction and decided to share it with you since it is indeed the season of pomegranates! Here's what you need.. a pom, a sharp knife, and a bowl of water.

Start by cutting the pom right through the top where that little nugget is. (1) Cut about 3/4 inch down. You'll be cutting through the white fleshy part instead of rupturing all the seeds. (2) Now grab it at the split and just tear it in half. View all the seeds you could have potentially massacred if you cut it all the way! (3) Make the same sort of cut in the top of each half and then tear those in half so you now have four pom chunks. (4) At this point you may have some loose seeds so just shake them into the bowl.

This part is hard to show with a camera in one hand, but now you just (1) take each piece and sort of rub the seeds. They'll start sprinkling out into the water. (2) Just bend it around and peel off the white skin to reveal more seeds and keep pushing them off into the water.

The idea here is that the seeds will sink in the water and all the white junk will float so you can scoop it out when you're done instead of picking it out from between the seeds later! It really helps if you have a crazy small sifter so you can skim it like a little pool. :)

 

When you've scooped out all the unwanted bits, carefully drain the water and move your seeds to a container for storing. I find that old wonton containers work especially well for this. ;) 

Now kick back and enjoy your loot! It is certainly a laborious process but well worth it. Pom seeds are delicious and super good for you too! And yes, it's safe to eat the whole seed. I've seen people eat them like sunflower seeds where they sort of suck out the juice and spit out the seedy part. Not necessary. And very messy. The whole thing is perfectly edible! 

Do you like pomegranates? Do you just eat them by the handful or mix them into things?

I usually eat them by themselves but I'm dying to make chocolate covered pom seeds this year. Yea.. that's a thing. Amazing right?

Have a great week!