Nov 12
Method 1 of 3: Cutting It Vertically
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1Place the pomegranate on top of a cutting board. Since pomegranate juice stains pretty much everything, you may want to protect your cutting board with a cloth and your hands with rubber gloves. -
2Cut the top crown around the top of the pomegranate until you can pop it off like a lid. Remove it and dispose. The fruit should be in a cone shape after your cutting (see video below). -
3Slice the skin along the ridges of the pomegranate. The ridges are at the boundaries of the internal sections of the pomegranate — you'll be able to see where they naturally lie. You do not want to cut through and slice the seeds. You only need to score the skin, so only cut through until you hit the white parts.- A set of sections radiate from the calyx (top or blossom end) and a second set from the stem end. The two sets are divided by a ridge running around the pomegranate about two thirds of way down from the calyx.
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4Gently pull the pomegranate apart. It will fall into a star shape. If you didn't slice the bottom, the individual slices will be attached at the center, like a flower. You can then eat the pomegranate as is, or separate the arils first.
EditMethod 2 of 3: Cutting It Horizontally
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1Make three horizontal scores all the way around the fruit. One should be dead center, and the other two should be split the top and bottom in their respective halves. Don't pierce all the way through the fruit; just pierce through the skin. The fruit should remain in one piece after you've made your cuts.- You may want to put rubber gloves on; the pomegranate stain can be pretty fierce!
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2Pry up the top and bottom of the fruit. The skin should come off, starting to reveal the seeds. Very few seeds should come off with the skin. If there is excess skin sticking the body of the fruit, peel it away, too.- On the top, a bit of the calyx may still be lodged into the fruit, depending on the fruit and where you made your slice. If it is, remove it gently.
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3Score the fruit along one of the exposed star-like lines vertically. Again, don't pierce all the way through. This is just so you can "unwind" the fruit later. -
4With your thumbs in the initial center cut, pry apart the pomegranate into two halves, or disks. With the vertical incision you just made, pry open each disk, exposing a line (and then two) of pomegranate in front of you. Each row of pomegranate will display several large chunks of the juicy, tasty seeds. -
5Arrange or dig in. The two center halves will be busting full of the arils, while the top and bottom sections can be discarded. That's how you open a pomegranate — how you eat it is up to you!
EditMethod 3 of 3: Submerging in Water
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1Cut the pomegranate in half, top to bottom. No need to cut off the calyx or any part of the pomegranate — just in half. If you're concerned with juice getting everywhere, score it around the midsection. -
2Grab a large bowl and fill it with water. If you have two halves, place them face down in the water. If the fruit is just scored, pry it open (forming two parts) while the fruit is submerged, also placing the fruit skin side up. This will keep the juice from getting everywhere. -
3Coax out the seeds with your fingers. The white piths will float and the seeds will sink. As you get closer and closer to the skin, you'll be able to invert the fruit, getting all the seeds, even the ones closest to the edge. When you're finished, you'll be left with the skeleton of the pomegranate, like two inverted caps. -
4Get out your strainer. Dispose of the skin, skim off the white piths (tossing those in the trash, too), and just strain out the water. Tada! Seeds in a bowl. Every single one 'em.
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