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How to De-Seed a Pomegranate Without Water

Learn how to de-seed a pomegranate! This quick and easy method will have you hooked on the superfruit.

How To De-Seed a Pomegranate (without water!)

On one of my trips to the grocery store last week, I had a thicker-than-normal amount of fog in the harbor. I began purchasing all sorts of items that were uncharacteristic for me, like duck, yucca root, and a pomegranate. Pooooooomegranates?! Who buys those? Not me. And I’ll tell you why: pomegranates are a pain in the beehive to de-seed. Or at least, that’s what I thought.

It’s a damn shame that I have a total of zero recipes on my blog that call for pomegranate arils (seeds), because they’re superfruit with fabulous health benefits. Chock full of fiber and Vitamins C and K, pomegranates are immunity building and support digestive health. They are also full of the phytochemicals, polyphenol, tannins, and anthocyanins, which are potent cancer-fighting antioxidants.

How to De-Seed a Pomegranate Without Water

So when I arrived home from my foggy trip to the grocery store and was unpacking my belongings, I began questioning my pomegranate purchase. “Sooooo….who should I give this thing to?” I asked myself. Because laaaaaw knows, I don’t have the patience to shove my thumbs in a pomegranate and pluck out each and every one of the arils one by one (which – confession – is what I did in the past).

But then my fight or flight instinct kicked in, and I determined that no – I will NOT give up on this gaaaawforsaken pomegranate. The fog lifted, and I got clever.

I went onto pinterest and looked up tutorials on how to de-seed pomegranates. I found this tutorial from Café Sucre Farine on How to De-Seed a Pomegranate in Less Than a Minute, and for reals guys, it’s the easiest thing ever.

This method involves no water, just you, the pomegranate, and a sturdy spoon. I’ve heard the water method works marvelously too, but I’ve never tried it myself. Since this method literally takes seconds, it will be my go-to from now until doomsday.

How to De-Seed a Pomegranate:

1. Grab your supplies. You need 1 pomegranate (preferably one that has been chilling in your refrigerator), 1 cutting board + knife, 1 big bowl, and 1 wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

2. Cut the pomegranate in half

How to De-Seed a Pomegranate Without Water

3. Holding one of the halves in your hand, use your thumbs to stretch the skin. If you get a little too aggressive with this step, the pomegranate will split, but no big deal if this happens.

How To De-Seed a Pomegranate (without water!)

4. Place the half in one of your palms, cut side-down (if you’re right handed, put it in your left palm) and hold it over the bowl.

5. Take the wooden spoon/rubber spatula, and hit the pomegranate hard multiple times with it. You will feel the seeds begin to come out. After several hits, your pomegranate will be nice and loosened up, at which point you can put down the spoon/spatula and use your hands to gently work the seeds out – they should come out very easily!

How to De-Seed a Pomegranate Without Water

6. Repeat for the other half of the pomegranate.

Now that you know how to de-seed a pomegranate, you can use the arils for all sorts of fun recipes. Add them to green or grain salads, sprinkle them on your cooked meat, put them in your yogurt, or on your oatmeal. I’ll be sharing some recipes involving pomegranates soon, so stay tuned!

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Susan

Tuesday 24th of November 2015

Tried your method today. First time I've had the courage to tackle a pomegranate since I was a teenager - and that was a very long time ago (more than 50 years…). It worked very nicely, though it was a bit of a pain to pick out the non-seed bits; I solved that problem by doing it as I saw the pieces. Definitely won't fear pomegranates ever again. Thanks for sharing this method.

Amber

Saturday 22nd of November 2014

Smash the seeds in a bowl and use the juice to flavor your next batch of kombucha. Delish fall bucha.

Julia

Sunday 23rd of November 2014

Sounds freaking delicious, girly! Thanks for the brilliant idea!

Dalia

Friday 7th of November 2014

This method was awesome, AND it was fun beating the seeds out if it! I de-seeded 2 pomegranates in no time! Glad I found your post!

Julia

Saturday 8th of November 2014

Wahoo! So glad it helped you out! I'm so amazed at how little time the de-seeding took. I seriously used to spend over an hour picking out every individual seed, and most of the time they ended up popping in my fingers, ha! Enjoy your pomegranates!

Erin @ The Almond Eater

Friday 31st of October 2014

Soooo I bought a pomegranate last weekend--I have no idea why--and have yet to even look at it because I didn't know how to open it! Or, I didn't know...until now!! Thanks for this! You so wise.

Jenn @ A Toast to the Good Life

Thursday 30th of October 2014

YAY! This is how I remove the seeds from my pomegranates too! It's perfect, quick and simple.

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