How to Open a Pomegranate without Making a Mess

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Not only pomegranates delicious, they are also full of health benefits. But they are not that easy to open and can make a huge mess in your kitchen. If you’ve been hesitant to eat this healthy fruit because you aren’t sure how, these tips will help! Here’s how to open a pomegranate without making a huge mess.

pomegranates

How to Open a Pomegranate without Making a Mess

In addition to being high in vitamins, A, C, E and folic acid, they are also said to protect against cancer, have anti-aging properties, ward off Alzheimers, and boost the immune system. Eating this superfood is a great way to boost up on healthy anti-oxidants.

If you’d like to read more about the superfood that is the pomegranate, here is an article that appeared in Time Magazine by Dr. Weil in 2006.

Winter is the perfect time to add pomegranates to your diet! They’re often on sale and easy to find from November through January. And if you’re trying to eat more a more seasonal diet, pomegranates are the perfect winter fruit!

how to open a pomegranate

Plus – pomegranates are considered a lucky food for the new year! Learn how different cultures eat pomegranates for good luck and prosperity and other good luck foods for the new year!

The only downside to pomegranates is that they are hard to open! They’re intimidating looking, which is why I never bought them before. Plus, who wants to eat those seeds anyway?

If you’ve never opened a pomegranate, here’s an easy way to do so. It keeps the mess to minimum and the stain off my counter!

Here’s how to open a pomegranate mess-free.

First, wash it and cut off the top and bottom. Use a cutting board that won’t spill. The juice stains.

Score it like so:
score the pomegranate

And put it in a bowl of water.
put the pomegranate in a bowl of water

Then, break it into the four sections you scored.
put the pomegranate in a bowl of water and break it into 4 parts

Separate the seeds from the pith.
separate the seeds from the pitch

Then, strain them and remove any remaining pith.
strain the seeds

After all that, whew! Done. Now you can either eat the seeds (which only my super most non-picky kid eater likes to do) or use them in smoothies. I recommend combining them with fresh pineapple. Yum! Next time they are on sale for 49 cents each, I’m buying a bunch, doing all this work, and then freezing the seeds for future use!

Looking for delicious ways to eat pomegranates? Here you go!

Citrus Salad with Caramelized Pecans & Pomegranates

Pineapple Pomegranate Smoothie

Delicious Pomegranate Orange Bread

Easy Baked Camembert with Pomegranates and Hazelnuts

Double Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies Sweetened with Honey

About Michelle Marine

Michelle Marine is the author of How to Raise Chickens for Meat, a long-time green-living enthusiast, and rural Iowa mom of four. She empowers families to grow and eat seasonal, local foods; to reduce their ecological footprint; and to come together through impactful travel.

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10 Comments

  1. Oh we LOVE them!!! They run about $2 each down here!!

    Here’s how I open them:
    You will need a large mixing bowl and a wooden spoon.
    Cut the pomagranate in half. Hold one half over the bowl cut side facing down into the bowl. Whack the skin side of the pomagranate with the back of the wooden spoon. You will hear “plop, plop, plop” as the seeds fall out of all that pesky pith. They just fall right out! Just keep whacking the darn thing! My older kids will eat it, I sprinkle it on salads, or just eat for snacks. The twins have never tried it before, at only 20 months (and as boys they do not chew their food properly) I don’t trust them to be able to chew the seed enough to swallow it…
    I’ve been so busy lately I’ve really missed being caught up on your blog!! I did make the eggrolls though! YUM!!!

    1. I’ll have to try that, Cara! I have one pomegranate left… 🙂 I sent you an email a while back to the gmail account listed on your blog. Did you get it? 🙂 Glad you’re back!!

  2. My good friend in HS was always eating pomegranates. I do not eat them for the reason demonstrated above — too much work!

    1. It’s not that much work, Betsy. I like to think the health benefits of the fruit make it worth the effort! 🙂

  3. I love pomegranates, but I usually look like I’ve killed someone by the time I am done opening it. Thanks for sharing your tutorial with the Hearth and Soul Hop. I will be trying this tomorrow.