How to Cut a Pomegranate
Open a pomegranate in about two minutes with clean hands, whole seeds, and no juice on your shirt or your countertop.
Score It, Don't Saw It
Most people cut a pomegranate in half straight through the middle like an apple. That slices right through a band of seeds, so juice sprays, the arils tear, and you lose the ones you wanted most.
The fix is to cut only through the leathery skin and let your hands do the rest. Score about a quarter inch deep, then pull the fruit apart along the natural sections inside.
Cut The Skin Only
The peel is about a quarter inch thick — score just through it and stop, because anything deeper is a knife going through seeds.
Follow The White Ribs
Inside, the fruit is divided into five or six chambers by pale membrane, and those ribs are where it wants to break apart.
Water Does The Sorting
Work the seeds loose in a bowl of cool water — arils sink and the bitter white pith floats, so you skim instead of picking.
Pomegranate Juice Stains
Wear an apron and skip the wood cutting board — the juice sets permanently in wood grain and light clothes.
The method
- 1
Trim the crown
Set the fruit on a plastic or glass board and slice off the top half inch where the little crown sits. You will see the white ribs radiating out like spokes.
- 2
Score the sides
Using those ribs as your guide, make five or six shallow cuts from the cut top down to the bottom. Go through the skin only, not into the fruit.
- 3
Pull it open
Put your thumbs in the opening at the top and break the fruit into sections with your hands. It should come apart in wedges without much force.
- 4
Release the seeds under water
Drop the wedges into a big bowl of cool water and bend each one backward, rubbing the seeds off with your thumbs. Nothing splashes when it happens below the surface.
- 5
Skim and drain
Lift off the floating pith and pour the rest through a colander. Spread the seeds on a towel for a minute before storing.
Show what you know
Three quick questions — see if you would open it the right way.
Question 1 of 3
You slice a pomegranate in half through the middle and juice goes everywhere. What went wrong?
Put it to work
Seeds from a whole pomegranate scatter over citrus and greens here, so your fresh arils stay whole and show off — and it comes together in five minutes.
★ lunch
lunchCitrus Pomegranate Salad
Add grilled chicken for some protein!
Kendra StandfieldIngredients
- 2 cup Baby spinach
- 1 cup Arugula
- 2 Grapefruit
- 6 Mandarin Orange
- 1 pomegranate Pomegranate seeds
- 1 sprig Fresh Rosemary
- 1/2 cup Optional: Almonds
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp Honey
- 2 sprigs Fresh Rosemary- chopped
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- 1Peel the oranges and the grapefruit and remove the fine membrane around each segment Cut the pomegranate in half and remove the seeds.
- 2Add the spinach, arugula, fruit, and optional almonds to a large bowl
- 3In a separate bowl, combine ingredients for dressing. Add dressing to salad. Toss to coat.
- 4Optional: marinate chicken in the same dressing mix and grill. Top salad for added protein.
P.S. Pepper keeps the recipe, the timings and your own notes in one place — so the next time you cook it, you're not starting from a search box.
More cooking tips
Never lose a recipe again
Save everything. Stay organized. Share with friends.
