10/11/05 | Pomegranate
[ Currently Eating: Wheat Thins ]
Let’s be clear about the fruit known as the Pomegranate. Even when you get it for free as I did, it can be difficult to justify the effort of “eating” this very messy fruit. Wow, it is probably the messiest fruit I’ve ever eaten.
Pomegranates come from a tree and according to Wikipedia are believed to have come from an area extending from Iran east to northern India and have been actively cultivated around the Mediterranean for a really long time.
From the outside, the pomegranate is pretty unassuming. It sort of looks like a small magenta colored gourd. Inside though, you’ve got all these red seeds that are usually super-sour. The seeds are closely clumped together inside and the bunches are separated by paper thin membrane walls. It’s fairly difficult to actually separate the seeds from the membrane walls because they’re jammed in there so well.
Those tiny pomegranate seeds are what people eat. I’ve heard a lot of people actually eat all of the seed, but I usually don’t. I just chew up the outsides and then spit out the seeds. This is actually a lot of work for very little reward. But one of the most difficult parts is not getting the juice splattered everywhere! Pomegranate juice stains like the dickens, it’s pretty similar to cherry juice. I believe that it stains clothes permanently unless you use some sort of bleach to get it out.
I’m actually not sure how to open up a pomegranate other than inserting a knife and sort of prying it open. The explosion of seeds and juice that this causes is sort of crazy. You definitely don’t want to wear a white shirt when eating pomegranate. Actually, it might be best to eat it while shirtless. =)
I tried eating this entire pomegranate just for kicks. I’ve never attempted that before. Not only is the juice from the seeds extremely sour but it also has a slightly bitter tang to it. Eating a few seeds isn’t bad, but eating ALL of them made my mouth shrivel up. Whew.
At a farmer’s market awhile back I actually had some Pomegranate Juice and it was actually really good (though not cheap). I believe it was actually mixed with another fruit (apple?) so the tartness and bitterness was tempered quite a bit. Apparently, pomegranate juice is actually really common in the Middle East and India. And I didn’t know that Grenadine is actually thickened, sweetened pomegranate juice.
Hm.. the juice is also supposed to have a lot of health benefits, one of them being that it is high in anti-oxidants. Maybe I’d try the juice pre-made, but you’ll have to do an immense amount of convincing to get me to eat an entire pomegranate again.
Cheap Eats Score: 6/10
October 11th, 2005 at 10:02 pm
You split them open in a bowl of water to prevent spattering!
October 11th, 2005 at 11:06 pm
marc - heyyy now I remember my relatives doing that once! That would seem like a smarter thing to do then cracking it open like I did!
October 12th, 2005 at 8:48 am
I can’t say I’ve ever had a Pomegranate (yeah I pasted that cause I’m too lazy to attempt to spell it) but I would try 1 given the chance. I do remember trying Pomegranate (yep another ctrl+v) juice 1 time but like you said it was mixed with another juice…. and vodka…. forget what that drink was called.
October 12th, 2005 at 9:42 am
Shawn - lol, I cntrl-v-ed the darn word several times as well. I’ve had Grenadine before in a drink but I can’t remember what that was either…
October 12th, 2005 at 11:34 am
I love pomegranates (yeah, I spelled it out oall on my own). For Christmas we would often get them in the toe of the Christmas Stocking as a special treat (well, we’d get candy too, but this was the olden days when fresh fruit in the winter was nice).
They’re terribly messy and also stain your nails and cuticles. I’ve taken to buying the super expensive juice at the farmers market (plain, not mixed with apple). It’s great mixed with a little seltzer.
October 12th, 2005 at 11:44 am
cybele - I never got fruit in my stocking! Which is surprisingly because the folks were always health conscious. I do think I got some various nuts like walnuts and pecans in the stocking.
The super pricey pomegranate juice I got was at the Culver City Farmer’s Market, near where I used to work. Well, they were handing out little cups of it, but it was free! I saved my money for buying things like the gourmet chicken sausages.. oh, those are so bad but so good.
October 12th, 2005 at 5:47 pm
I was told as a kid that the pomegranate was actually the apple given to eve in the garden of eden. Don’t know if it’s true. I haven’t had one in about 20 years but I seem to remeber they are a little sour. Am I remembering right? I only ate the pulp around the seeds.
October 12th, 2005 at 6:34 pm
aaron - hm..I don’t remember the biblical reference. Yeah the one I had was indeed massively sour with quite a bit of “tannic” taste (like that of red wine), and yes I don’t eat the actual seed either. Which takes a heck of a lot longer. For me a pomegranate seems like sunflower seeds where you actually have to do some work to get at the kernel. I think next time I may try actually eat the seeds.
October 14th, 2005 at 11:27 am
Hi! I’m from Iran where we eat Pomegranates in bowlfuls. I agree that they can be tangy…but that tanginess also makes them great for rice dishes and sauces for meat stews. We call it Fesenjan and it’s pomagranate with walnut sauce over duck or chicken (or whatever meat you like)! However, the sauce can be a bit overpowering because of the tanginess, an acquired taste I guess! But anyway, I highly recommend venturing out to a Persian restaurant to try it…making it is a bit complicated (at least for me)!
October 17th, 2005 at 11:29 pm
harie - I actually like the tanginess quite a bit! I think it was just a mistake to try to eat an entire one by itself. It made my mouth pucker up. That dish you mentioned Fesenjan sounds pretty good… it sort of sounds like it’s being used as the equivalent of red wine for deglazing when making stew. When you eat pomegranate seeds in raw form, do you eat the actual seed too? Or just the outside?
October 18th, 2005 at 1:17 pm
I love Pomegranates
We have (turkish blogs) just foodevent with theme Pomegranate behind us.
Here one can see how one can release seeds from the rind.
[url blocked]
October 20th, 2005 at 9:43 am
Here’s the easiest way to extract the seeds: after you pry it open, as you did, break it into a few pieces in a bowl and cover it with water. Work it around a bit with your fingers, and the seeds go to the bottom, and the fibery stuff floats to the top. Or maybe it’s the other way around. I saw this on FoodTV.
There is also a classic Mexican dish using pomegranates called Chiles en Nogada that uses the seeds as an integral part of the dish as the garnish.
They’re good sprinked on salads, too. Or in a fruit salad. Yeah, I like pomegrantes.
October 20th, 2005 at 10:19 am
peggasus - yeah, the first poster (marc) had said that doing it underwater is best. I will definitely try this next time because it sounds like it’ll work. I’ve never heard of Chiles en Nogada before. So, in all these recipes, my main question is: Do you eat the seeds on the inside or just the pulp?
October 20th, 2005 at 11:59 am
Chiles en Nogada is made by stuffing a roasted pobano with a kind of picadillo and has a walnut sauce on top, and is sprinkled with the pomegranate seeds. Sounds weird, I know, but it’s excellent. Like a lot of Mexican food, it is supposed to represent the colors of their flag.
I eat the little red seeds whole. They are kind of crunchy, but I like that. Good fiber for your system too, I would guess. You aren’t eating that light-colored part, are you? The seeds are the edible part. It’s like the reverse of other fruits (apples, pears, etc.) where you do not eat the seeds.
October 20th, 2005 at 5:14 pm
peggasus - that sounds great. I really like chile rellenos and other stuffed chiles in general, so I may have to look this up next time I eat at a Mexican restaurant. Is it a regional dish? Sort of sounds like it.
Oh yeah, I’m not eating the yellow “pith” around the seeds. That is super bitter, kind of like the pith of grapefruits. But I will definitely try crunch up the seeds next time for the fiber. =)
October 23rd, 2005 at 7:27 am
The last time i had one was in 1973 or 74, My mom and i was eatting one, when we realized the the building in which we lived in was on fire, remember my mom taking my hand and heading out the door still with the apple in my hand, only to drop it and get loose from my mom grip to save my cat who i saw, trying to find his way out in the now smoked filled apartment, well i did get him out, but lost him in the hallway, hope he got out, but i was alone now and lost in the dark smoke, hearing firemen yelling for me.I just brough one two days ago, and already i have many recipes to make with these, and how to not get stained by the seeds.
October 30th, 2005 at 8:41 pm
I had never tried a pomegranate before and thought I’d throw one into the juicer whole. This is the MOST bitter taste I have ever experienced in my life. I would rather eat a whole lemon than drink the juice made from the whole fruit! My friend and I were laughing at each other taking drinks of the whole juice! Our faces tried to swallow themselves!
I would not recommend that you try it yourself BUT I WOULD strongly recommend that you try it on a friend as a joke!
October 30th, 2005 at 10:40 pm
wildfire - wow, that’s a pretty, er, wild story!
mr pucker - yeah, i think this is why most pomegranate juice that I’ve seen is blended with a few other fruit juices.
November 5th, 2005 at 7:37 pm
I just finished a whole pomegranate. It was mostly sweet and yummy. I pressed the seeds in a sieve and drank the juice and then chewed some of the mushed seeds. I quite enjoyed the whole experience. We used to have pomegranates as kids. We loved pulling them apart and eating the nectar off the seeds. hmmm
I really wanted to buy grapefruit tonight, but pomegranate was more cost effective. I felt I needed the health benefits. It is touted to be the most anti-oxidant rich fruit
November 6th, 2005 at 10:07 am
Alien - I actually have a grapefruit tree in the backyard, but it hasn’t been producing as much fruit yet. It’s right next to our lime tree which actually DOES have a good number of limes. I just got 2 enormous pomegranates for free the other day. I havne’t ever seen ones this size, they’re about the size of a cantaloupe!
November 6th, 2005 at 4:07 pm
hey you pome(never take this fruit for)granate guys! try rolling the fruit, with the skin on…around and around…kinda like preparing a lemon for juicing..then stick a straw in it or just drain the juice…it isa little work but is awesome!
November 6th, 2005 at 6:29 pm
cheryl - that’s really interesting… man, you must have to roll it around pretty good or I don’t see how all the seeds would get pressed. Actually, doesn’t it get bitter from getting smashed against the white pith-like interior membranes?
November 9th, 2005 at 5:35 pm
Heard on TV about the health benefits of pome-whatevers and finally picked one up. Just tried it for the first time…and immediately had to go to the web and see if I was eating it right! The seeds are a challenge to someone like me who doesn’t like the texture (it’s like eating nuts: YUCK!), but the juice in mine seems more sweet that sour. I don’t know if it’s because it “ripened” in my fridge — and thus became softer than when I purchased it several days ago — or because mine has a bright red exterior whereas most descriptions mention light red and/or yellow. Either way, I’m enjoying mine even if my wife is hesitant due to it’s appearance (though the fact that it’s the “base” for Grenadine helped convince her to try it).
November 9th, 2005 at 6:22 pm
John - I did get my hands on two pomegranates that should be a little sweeter, they are pretty bright red as well. There has been an increase in pomegranate being mentioned on TV and on radio. NPR Morning Edition ran something about it awhile ago being hard to eat, and just today I heard a short on it about how it being quite an ancient fruit and how there are like hundreds of hybrid varieties in the middle east that nearly no one knows about.
November 9th, 2005 at 7:36 pm
Dear CEE…nothing bitter…no nefarious taste…roll it around …try it! we have a pomegranate tree in our back yard..san jose calif here…my father planted it ..probably 15 yrs ago…when I moved here a friend told me it was ornamental…we started “babying ” it..as we do all our yard creatures…and it has responded with the biggest..brightest…sweetest…most juicy fruit…Wow…how much can we say about a pomegranate? larger than a soft ball…interesting site here…thanks for the info
November 9th, 2005 at 8:43 pm
Cheryl - that’s pretty cool you’ve had the tree for that long. We have a lime tree that is going on 6 years that has some good limes. The more that ppl say it, the more I think that the particular pomegranate I ate was just extra sour/bitter. You’re all getting the wrong idea… i don’t dislike the taste at all. =)
November 24th, 2005 at 9:36 pm
I am a major pomegranate freak. In you are not, you just haven’t mastered the art of eating them yet. I have had plenty of practice in the last year or two since I discovered this fruit. I use the bowl of water method, which eliminates the juice stain problem completely. It is still labor intensive, but worth it (at least to me). I eat the whole thing in one shot. I fill a bowl with the dark ruby kernels and eat them with a spoon. Actually, ‘eat’ isn’t quite accurate. I just gently chew the kernels to extract the juice. That first burst of sweet, tangy juice in my mouth makes all the effort worth it! I don’t eat the seeds, although every source I’ve read says go ahead if you want to. Swallow them whole though, don’t chew them because they’re quite bitter, which is why the poster who juiced the whole thing got a very bitter result. If you found the fruit sour, bitter or tannic it was not ripe. The kernels should be DARK ruby, with a few even being slightly brownish and clearly past their prime. (I toss those.) If all the kernels are bright red and perfect they will be very tart and will give you that ‘dry mouth’ astringency. Judging ripeness by the appearance of the unopened fruit is a bit tricky. My experience is that it should be heavy for its size and a deep red, perhaps even starting to darken just a bit. As with most fruits, there is a world of difference between ripe and unripe.
November 25th, 2005 at 12:07 am
bartolomeo - thanks for that info… yeah, the seeds looked bright red and nice… I guess it is similar to how cherries that are bright red are often not the sweetest. I actually LIKE tart fruit… just the astringency was just off putting because I ate the entire thing in one shot.
I will also try the water method for removal of seeds. I saw a small pamphlet in the grocery store depicting that method. Also, I didn’t know the seeds are called “arils”.
December 3rd, 2005 at 7:38 pm
Hey,
If only I had seen these websites BEFORE
December 5th, 2005 at 6:00 pm
where do they acually come from though cuz here it says that came from some where then i dont nknow this a grade 7 prodhetctand hos isent reallly helping me alot thanx you buye love pomgrantes me ! bye!
December 7th, 2005 at 10:26 am
Just wanted to drop in and mention that the most famous long drink with Grenadine is probably Tequila Sunrise–where the Grenadine is the red part of the “sky”, of course. (Orange juice is the yellow part.)
This looks like an excellent site, especially for a poor student like me.
December 7th, 2005 at 12:09 pm
NCSUwolfie - ?
iehsa - ??
Kronocide - oh yeah, forgot about tequilla sunrise… welcome to cheap eats!
Side note: I’m not sure why this entry on Pomegranates has become so dang popular! A lot of people seem to feel very strongly about them…
December 10th, 2005 at 4:16 pm
Please, someone reply and tell me what I can substitute for pomegranates seed in a spinach salad recipe. I live in a rural area and Krogers does not sell it! Please help me!
December 11th, 2005 at 6:13 am
How about toasted pine nuts or toasted sliced almonds. Don’t be intimidated or restricted by the recipe - just think ‘Hmmm….I think _______ would taste nice in this salad’ and then go for it! Betch your inspiration will make a fantastic salad! Cheers, Pat
December 11th, 2005 at 10:27 am
pat(s) - I was going to say try something tart like some sort of other small fruit. I was going to say raisins or other dried druit but maybe they are too sweet. What about dried cranberries? I have heard them used in salads before, plus they are slightly holiday themed. But sure, nuts would work very well if that’s not already called for in the recipe…
January 12th, 2006 at 4:32 am
hey pommie people! I got a couple the other day, the skin on one was dark red and the other was sort of whiteish with red fleks, this one had the dark ruby jewels in it much to my surprise, the dark red skinned one was less sweet but still good. the seeds are extremely bitter and I only end up eating a few. I tried juicing them too, i have to say that i was pleased with the result, 2 pomegranates yielded a nice large glass of juice that i had over lots of ice. the only problem is the dry bitter taste that the seeds impart, how can we eliminate this problem? ive tried blending and straining thru a seive, the juice was good but of course the taste of the seeds ran right thru the juice and I had to add a little water to the blender too. I also tried halving them and squiding them on a citrus juicer (by hand) but I thought that this added too much flavour of the white bitter pith. If only there was a way to get JUST the flavour of the juicey pods without the taste of the bitter pith and seeds. any suggestions? i might try rolling them around and sticking a straw in them but then I wont be able to see the lovely colour whilst drinking it in a nice glass. please help! I love the pomegranite so much I even considered removing the seeds by hand and then blending! imagine how much work would go into making a juice like that! oh well, maybe its the only way
February 1st, 2006 at 11:52 pm
ummm don’t know if anyone has suggested this yet but to get the seeds out you whack them hard on the back and they kind of fly out……as for being messy use an apron!!!!
and pomegranites are associated with ancient fertility cults in the middle east……so maybe thats where the eve and the garden of eden fable came from
April 11th, 2006 at 10:57 pm
I’ve NEVER had a bitter or sour pomegranate! And I seem to be really sensitive to sour and bitter flavors. Just stay away from the pith and peel. I eat the seeds whole. I don’t chew the seeds thoroughly, just pop them in my mouth, chew a few times and swallow! I score the skin like you might an orange and peel, prying the seeds carefully with my fingers and dropping the seeds into a bowl. Really not that messy, no more than an orange, which I find to be much more sour and bitter.
July 15th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Not that this has anything to do with actually eating pomegranates, but they do show up quite a bit in myth . Hades lusted for Persephone and stole her away to the underworld. Her mother, Demeter, greived for her and the world became barren. Zeus intervened and returned Persephone to her mother, but only for 6 months per year, for Persephone had eaten 6 seeds of the pomegranate while in the underworld and thus belonged equally to the realms of life and death. For the six months per year that Demeter is alone and greives, we have fall and winter.
September 12th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
This thread looks pretty well run out but I just Stumbled! upon it. I live in LA near Glendale so I have the advantage of many and varied Middle Eastern restaurants. Some of them offer a dish called muhammara which consists of pomegranate juice, ground walnuts and a couple of other things that I’ve forgotten. Absolutely amazing! and worth a mention in this forum. I recommend searching it out and giving it a try.
September 17th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
I’m a pomegranate tree owner and I juice the fruit with a good sized press. The juicing yields a cloudy juice with quite a bit of bitter seed fragments. I leave the juice in a clear jar in the refrigerator for a day and the seed fragments (the consistency of powdered sugar) settle to the bottom. I draw the crystal clear juice off the top and discard the seed powder/juice mix at the bottom. The discard is incredibly sour.
The juice drawn off the top then reflects the true taste of the fruit. If the fruit is harvested too early, the juice can be more tart than if harvested at maturity.
September 18th, 2006 at 2:07 am
A sour pomegranate means you got an unripe one. I’ve never noticed a bitter tang to them either. Must be a poor cultivar. A good pomegranate is sweet, deliciously tangy, and worth the effort of getting the seeds out. You can get the seeds out in “chunks”, you just have to carefully pry the fruit open (just be careful). Usually flexing the rind back reveals “clumps” which can be taken out. Also, if you eat a pomegranate, just wear dark clothing.
September 18th, 2006 at 7:21 am
I love pomegranates (yay i spelled it my self). Coming from Sri Lanka, we have loads of it there, and i’m always eating one when i’m at home. Not so many available here in the states, but NY, being NY you can always get everything here, BUT, for a price.
September 18th, 2006 at 7:22 am
PS: The fruit actually tastes MUCH MUCH MUCH better than any of the juices out there. The drinks really suck, especially POM. That is the worse representation of Pomegranate flavour i’ve ever tasted.
September 23rd, 2006 at 2:04 pm
when i was a kid, we used a pin to pry the seeds out one by one, like picking winkles from a shell.
when i got older, i discovered that its easy to quarter the fruit with a sharp knife, then turn the skin inside out with your fingers. this causes the seeds to fan out and separate from the thicker membranes. you can then just eat them straight off the skin.
October 2nd, 2006 at 7:59 am
I think the whole biblical reference (a pomegranate being Eve’s apple) might be from a Greek myth, not the Bible.
Persephone, goddess of the underworld (we’re getting there…) and daughter of Demeter (goddess of the harvest…she controlled the seasons), was abducted by Hades (god of the underworld). Her mother was broken hearted and temporarily made the Earth infertile (winter). Zeus sent Hermes (messenger god) down to the underworld to retrieve Persephone and Hades grudgingly gave her up but not before giving her a pomegranate as a parting gift. When she later ate some of the seeds (three if I recall correctly) she was sentenced to spend one month per seed, every year in the underworld. Every year when Persephone returned to the underworld Demeter ceased the fertility of the earth, giving us winter! And that’s my story.
On another note, I like pomegranates too and I think the mess is half the fun of eating them! I usually eat some of the seeds, but not all of them.
October 2nd, 2006 at 12:12 pm
I’m eating a pomegranate right now - very sweet, tart but not overly sour - quite similar to the flavor of cranberry juice cocktail (the kind that’s around 10-15% juice, diluted and sweetened). I’m quite confident this pomegranate isn’t fresh-off-the-tree, so perhaps it’s ripened ? Maybe that’s why there’s so much complaining about how sour they are. I bought these at a produce outlet (the kind that sells food within a week of their expiration date) for $0.89 ea, which is a very good deal. It’s about the size of my fist, solid dark red rind, and the seed/piths are the shape and size of indian corn kernels.
I’ve been reading that the seeds are dried and used as one of the ingredients for curry - I may try drying and grinding. I can’t find any health benefit info for the seeds specifically. Also - I split the top open with a bread knife, squeezed the seeds out onto a plate, and eating those with a spoon - no mess, no problem.
October 2nd, 2006 at 12:15 pm
Oh yeah, forgot to mention -
If you think a pomegranate is messy and stains clothes and hands - try eating a fresh mangosteen from SE Asia. The edible fruit itself is white and delicious, but the fruit’s purple jacket will stain you like a tattoo - for days !
October 13th, 2006 at 7:14 am
Dude, if the pomegranate you were eating was extremely sour, then it wasn’t anywhere near ripe. When they’re ripe, they extremely sweet, with only a slight citrus-like tartness.
October 14th, 2006 at 9:39 am
I have a huge pomegranate tree here on our Alrond Farm. Every year, I pick all the fruit and spend 2 days canning the juice into jelly and syrup. Here’s my favorite jelly recipe.
Pomegranate Jelly
Makes about 3 pints.
4 cups pomegranate juice 2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin 6 cups sugar
1. In a large kettle, combine the pomegranate juice, lemon juice and pectin.
2. Over high heat bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.
3. Add the sugar and stir to blend; bring to a second rolling boil, that can’t be stirred down, exactly 2 minutes.
4. Skim off foam and ladle jelly into sterilized jars to within 1/8 inch of the top.
5. Wipe jar rim clean with a damp cloth.
6. Hot water bath for 10 minutes.
7. Cool jars on a towel for 2 days to set.
October 23rd, 2006 at 9:41 pm
I’ve always eaten pomegranates. In my family, it’s quite a common thing to see around the winter, always a treat around the holidays. My family has always been very frugal, and I remember that they used to be dirt cheap back years ago. Now, I just paid $2.50 for one today! Ridiculous, in comparison to the 25-35 cents they were ten years ago (before people started raving about the juice, and its health benefits). I just crack it open and break the seeds into a bowl. I chew the whole thing up, all your fiber is in those seeds. One of the healthiest snacks you can have, however.
October 23rd, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Thanks Debbi for the recipe. I picked up some pomegranate’s on a recent road trip with the intention of making pancake syrup and/or jelly. After searching for HOURS I finally came across your jelly recipe. I am excited to try it! If you (or anyone?) know of a recipe for pancake syrup will you post it please?
October 29th, 2006 at 3:57 am
I found this website because I bought some pomegranates this morning and wanted to check which parts you are suppposed to eat!
I haven’t read through all the above comments but I would hardly have recognised it from the earlier descriptions. With some trepidation I gingerly sliced into the fruit. It didn’t spurt juice at all - the juice was contained in a sort of gel round each seed. It was sweet and delicious, and the seeds were easily crunchable and swallowable. It got very slightly more bitter around the stem end, but not much.
No doubt there are different varieties like most fruits.
I do feel a bit guilty about buying it (I’m in the UK) because flying exotic food across the world contributes to global warming. Really one should buy local produce in season. But I felt in need of an antioxidant boost.
October 31st, 2006 at 6:58 am
I just bought some pomegreat 100 juice (as the POM is from concentrate) for £3.29(!) as I remember how hard it was as a child to get anything from the fruit. However, I have a lovely memory of using a cocktail stick to remove the seeds one by one before crushing with my tongue on the roof of my mouth for the delicious juicy flavour - then my brother and I would have a spitting contest to see how far we coud spit the seeds out. SORRY! I know it’s disgusting but we were kids!
I’m going to try out some of your suggestions. Thanks
Debz x
October 31st, 2006 at 9:06 pm
pomegranate are definitely messy and minimal to what u can actually eat. but its my favorite fruit. for me, letting those little seeds pop inside my mouth is very interesting and fun to eat. overtime, ive gotten creative on eating them-with sherbet ad salad. it has been said that pomegranates are good source of antioxidant against cancer.
November 1st, 2006 at 7:47 am
Try this method of extraction. Quarter the pomegranate, more if extra large. Place a section in your hand with rind up. Whack it a few times with a wood spoon. That breaks down the rind and now you can successfully (and much quicker) extract the seeds and separate them from the membrane. And your hand stops most of the juice from squirting everywhere.
November 8th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
All of these comments bring back alot of memories. I love the pomegranate too. I haven’t had one in several years. Will have to see if I can find some here in Tucson. The other posts have been great. Thanks for the excellent reading.
November 11th, 2006 at 4:50 am
I just bought 2 pomegranates and found your website while I was trying to figure out how to eat them. Lots of great information! Thank you so much!
November 12th, 2006 at 7:56 pm
I remember eating these with my grandmother as a kid. I never ate the seeds but after reading the above tried eating them for the first time today and have to say I was throwing away a great part of the fruit before! They are good and knowing that you get a lot of fiber from them makes them even better! Thanks for the great posts!
November 13th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
I eat the seeds whole, I’ve heard through various sources that seeds are the best thing in the world to eat, I think if you want to get the maximum health benifit you should eat the seeds, maybe just don’t bite into them, but swallow them…same goes for apple seeds, appricot seeds, orange seeds…eat them all! I usually don’t eat apple seeds or orange seeds but I do on occassion. Also when I eat water melon lately I don’t spit out seeds anymore, I just swallow them…humans can live off seeds.
November 15th, 2006 at 8:47 am
Pomegranates have been found to have amazing health benefits, including anti-cancer properties. Worth doing a search on the web for pomegranates / health / cancer etc.
November 23rd, 2006 at 5:02 am
Hey. I was at Rouse’s (a grocery store) the other day and I saw some Poms. Sorry I don’t know how to spell it! Well, I had never seen them before! For some reason I thought they were a whole lot smaller! So I bought some. I didn’t know what the hell to do! So i grabbed a knife and cut the ends off, and peeled it as I would an orange. I just picked out the kernels, and strained them. I Loved them! But I never had Pom juice. So tomorrow I’ll juice it and mix with Sprite.
November 25th, 2006 at 9:55 am
Hi all, someone suggested during Thanksgiving dinner that I just put a whole pomegranate in the blender. I was intrigued. I wasn’t sure though since I don’t think he’d tried it himself. I did it, but I’m going to try it again without the peel, because the result was extremely bitter since it included all the peel and membranes (I’d only cut off the flower/pollen part at one end. I wonder if mine was just in the fridge too long (a few weeks). I knew it’d be a little bitter but I thought that mixing it with 3 bananas, and over a cup each of frozen blueberries & blackberries would cancel that out. There is still a bit of bitterness, but tolerable. The seeds were chopped up really well - the bits that are still intact MAY be from the blackberries, so may skip them next time to find out, though they’re at the top of the Berkeley Wellness Letter’s antioxidant list I believe (November 2006 issue?). I was looking for a much cheaper way to get pomegranate juice than buying it pre-juiced - pomegranate juice is said to be very heart-and-blood-vessel protective - remember that study last year or so? I will keep trying because this way you can have the fiber from the seeds without having to chew on them. OH, and we are using what I made, just mixing it with some milk or apple juice first, and bitterness basically non-detectable. The pomegranate blend is probably extremely healthful so I’ll continue with my experiments. That biblical blend stuff (what’s the name, has juices of foods mentioned in the Bible…? )that is toted by some guy looks wonderful with it’s concentrated resveratrol, pomegranate, aloe, etc. etc. but $40 a bottle I think?? I’m a do-it-yourselfer
Anyone else tried blending a pomegranate in part or in its entirety?? If so, does leaving its skin out of the blender keep it from being nearly so bitter?
November 29th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Pomegranate sour? mine are supersweet, you got a bad batch sir or ma’am
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:34 am
I just love pomegranates and I eat the whole seed….I don’t find the seeds bitter, they taste kind of nutty to me. Yes, there are some that will be super tart, some sweet and tart, but if you can get the ones that are sweet, you have hit the jackpot. One time, I bought 4 big ones and the first one that I opened was all black. That was not a pleasant experience and I had hoped that the rest wasn’t going to be the same way. They weren’t, which was a great relief because I would have taken them back to the store. I always go back and buy them over and over until they are gone. Every year I can hardly wait for them to return to the stores.
December 3rd, 2006 at 6:01 pm
Seems like you got a bad batch, they are not supposes to be bitter, just a tad sweet with a bit of a tang. Also try adding salt to plain pomegranate seeds as long as they’re not too sweet. (Yummy!)
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Took me about 3 hours to fill the whole bowl, but they sell the seeded at Costco, but it will cost you an arm and a leg :-/
P.S. Be a (wo?)man and eat the whole thing
December 4th, 2006 at 10:21 am
The easiest way I’ve found to eat a pomegranate is to first roll it on a tabletop and you can hear the seeds popping inside. This is releasing all the juice from the seed pods. When you have crunched it so you don’t hear any more popping, take a knife and just slightly pierce the skin. Be sure to hold the pomegranate over a bowl because juice will start squirting out. Just squeeze as much juice as you can get out and drink it right from the bowl. Then just cut the fruit into halves and scoop out the rest of the pods and either eat them from a spoon or put them in a press to get the rest of the juice. Delicious.
December 5th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
I bought a couple pomegranates a couple weeks ago — then forgot about them. So tonight I remembered them and went looking on how to prepare and eat them. Ok, I did it all with my hands — including eat them! Yesh, kinda messy. But I have discovered I love the taste. I will definitely get more of these. I might even share with the kids.
December 7th, 2006 at 5:50 pm
A neat trich is to sperate the shell and pith in a bowl of water- the fruit and seeds will sink, and the peel and pith will float to the top.