So, my adventure with pomegranates continues. Regulars around here will know that I’ve had a little pomegranate obsession, mixing up batches of pomegranate jelly, both from bottled juice and from fresh pomegranates.
Little did I know when I bought 10 pounds of “cosmetically challenged” pomegranates, that they would be adding them to our produce box. We are rich in pomegranates! I’ve seeded multiple pomegranates at a time as well as juiced them on several occasions.
While it certainly isn’t as easy as picking up a bottle of juice at Costco, juicing a pomegranate definitely is an earthy experience. As I stand at the counter with crimson stained hands, I wonder at God and why He created a fruit that is so much work. It’s not difficult work, but it is time consuming. I can’t help but think that He did have a purpose in that, even if it was to give me time to slow down and reflect on life’s simple pleasures.
As I say, processing a pomegranate is not difficult. Chop off the ends of the fruit. Then score the skin in fourths. Split the fruit, underwater, along the score lines. Doing this under water will help reduce the splatters. And pomegranate juice stains!
God also made a beautiful fruit in the pomegranate. It’s like eating little rubies!
Once you’ve scored your fruit and separated the sections, you can start plucking the arils (seeds) from the sections. Again, do this underwater. The seeds will drop to the bottom of the bowl and the lighter membrane will float so you can swish it away.
Drain off the water and you’ll have a beautiful bowl of arils. These are delicious eaten in salads, atop desserts, and for snacking.
To juice the arils, place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Secure the lid and pulse for a few times until the arils are roughly chopped. Line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth. Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth and allow the juice to drain through the cloth. You can wrap the cheesecloth around the fruit and squeeze to extract more juice.
Use the juice for drinking or in jelly or in dessert or smoothie recipes. Yum!
While it certainly is a little work to juice a pomegranate, the process is not difficult. And if you have a tree or access to free fruit, it’s most definitely a good cheap eat.
Pippi Marsh
My mom made Pom Jelly in the 50’s because we had several trees. She juiced them the same way you juice an orange…Cut in half and then juice on a rotary citrus juicer..motorized is easiest. I use a juicer attachment on my Kitchenaid mixer.
And re the fast “cut in half and whack with a wooden spoon” way of seeding a pom…Yes, it is fast and if you want to use them right away and are in a hurry, it’s great. However, there is a lot of bruising of the kernels of fruit. I do it by hand and them store them in a bowl in the fruit drawer of my fridge. If you put a damp paper towel on them they will last all week and then you can just throw them into salads or just grab a handful to munch…If they are bruised they will spoil quickly…
Diana
Jessica, do you know how much juice you got from one pomegranate? In the picture it shows about 2 cups of juice, but I wasn’t sure if that was all from one pomegranate or if that was multiple fruits in the same measuring cup 🙂 Hoping to make some this year! 🙂
Jessica
@Diana, I don’t remember. It was probably more than one since the “cosmetically challenged” ones were very small.
Diana
@Jessica, Thanks! Maybe I’ll give it a try, or maybe I’ll just buy some juice.
Cynthia Clayworth
My ex-husband who is Middle Eastern introduced me to pmegranates in the ’70’s. He also taught me how to juice them. He was from a small village in Iran. He told me back then the poms were purifiers. It’s kind of cool to see the “Pom wonder” comercials. I decided to buy one at the store last week. And like a dumb ass I cut it open. I had forgotten that each little red jewel had a very hard seed in it’s middle. So I dug them all our, put them in a large baggy and used my rolling pin. If I get another one I promise to roll it on the counter to break up the red jewels then cut a small hole in it and squeeze into a container.
Janel
Martha Stewart has demonstrated how to get the seeds out – cuts it into fourths and then bangs the back of each fourth with a wooden spoon. The seeds fall into the bowl. I haven’t tried to see how easy it is in reality. Here’s a video I found of it though – http://www.myspace.com/video/pom-wonderful/how-to-open-a-pomegranate-on-martha-stewart/48099680
Ann Marie
Thank you for this post, I can’t believe I never thought to pluck the seeds underwater!!! I always make such a mess because I get sprayed with the juice when I tried to pluck them before!!! Do you know if you could use a juicer to juice them?
Jessica
I read that you could, but I wasn’t about to go there. 🙂
Suzy Ivy
My mother in law has a pomegranate tree and she always seeds them and freezes the seeds so they are available to her all year long. So long as they are “dry” when you put them in a tupperware or freezer bag, they won’t even stick together!!
Christa
I have a bunch that I need to seed today…but how long do the seeds last in a baggy or container? can you freeze the seeds?
Jessica
I have no idea. I figure eat them up, the sooner the better.
Sarah
@Jessica, Yes, you can freeze the pomegranate seeds. I found this out accidentally. My daughter was in the hospital 3 weeks ago. She loves pomegranates so I decide to seed 2 for her and bring them to her at my next visit. She enjoys the seeds really cold, so an hour before I left I threw the baggie in the freezer. As usual I totally forgot about them. My daughter stumbled across the bag in the freezer this last weekend and decided to see if they were still good. They were as fresh as the day I froze them!!! Not sure how long they will keep in the freezer? Mine were in there for about 2 weeks.
Jessica
Great to know! Thanks!
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I really liked them when I tried it but when I was eating the seeds i always had a little piece that I had to spit out (the point where it attached to the membrane), and that made it too annoying to eat. I have never tried to juice it.
judee
Great informative post. Thanks for sharing it