Pomegranates

[Andrew Brunelle]

I'd like to share a story about a pomegranate I just attempted to eat. Even if you're a neurosurgeon, this fruit would drive you mad. Squirting everywhere, going all over my tablecloth and my skin (I ate it mostly naked). I had heard of the health benefits of this fruit, but in order to eat this, you have to set aside at least two hours if you're dilligent. I ate maybe one third of it in a half-hour, but it wasn't a very stimulating experience. I had to focus all my energy on eating it, so I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions to making it easier...

I know they have extensive health benefits and drinking the POM juice they sell in the supermarkets might not be a bad idea, but I'm not sure if they pasteurize it, which would be bad. Let me know...

[Savage]

You can feed it through a juicer, but pom juice is very strong, so you'll probably want to mix it with apple or grape juice. A shot of fresh pom juice will really shock your tastebuds.

[JiriNovotny]

I am a huge fan of pomegranates. You gotta love this stuff No other fruit tastes better.

Well, actually I can eat it in 5 minutes and then just wash my hands. Not that hard to do. If it is reasonably sized (medium size or a smaller one) and the skin is still flexible (the flesh is not sour yet), then all you have to do is:

1. Remove the top flower thingy because you don't want to eat it
2. Cut the pomegranate in half (through the top)
3. Optionally, cut the two pieces in half again (I usually do this only with larger pomegranates)

Now is the tricky part - no further need of tools...

4. Use your finger to remove the peel from the top of the pomegranate. You can usually remove large chunk of it this way easily and then bite out the sweet stuff.
5. Progress gradually around the pomegranate

With some skill, you will be able to lean out whole segments of the flesh and eat them at once. Then, just remove the "membrane" and eat another sector .

So that's about it. It doesn't work so well with larger and older pomegranates though. It's just about eating it the way it is structured and served by our mother nature . I tried to use a spoon or just cut out the flesh but it was really awkward. This way you can eat 100% of the flesh without juicing much (just from the primal cut).

And yes, ye shall keep a clear mind while eating it.

[dsmoke]

You can do it with Jiri's method, but under water. The pith and the seeds separate due to their difference in density, and your hands stay clean, too. I love pomegranates simply for their taste and because they're fun to eat

[Tripp444]

Not sure about other grocery chains, but at Wegmans in NY you can buy the pomegranate seeds, already peeled and ready to eat. No muss, no fuss.

[Athena]

YUUMMM Pomegranates!

wow, you can buy them pre-peeled? I hope I can find some here.

I was just peeling some today, and I found that if the pomegranates are chilled in the fridge, they're a little bit easier to peel.. the seeds are not as squirty when they're cold.

[Athena]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

You can feed it through a juicer, but pom juice is very strong, so you'll probably want to mix it with apple or grape juice. A shot of fresh pom juice will really shock your tastebuds.

less time and labor intensive is to buy POM wonderful juice.


though prefer the seeds which are yummier and more whole.

[Indigo]

Hi!
first post, by the way. Perhaps it's sad to waste it on the topic of fruit, but I've recently heard of a good idea concerning pomegranites. It's possible to juice it from the outside by keeping the fruit unpeeled, and squeezing or rolling it around until the seeds are popped and the fruit is mushy. Then, you can stick a straw in it and enjoy the juice!

I've never done this myself, but I've got a pomegranite waiting for the experiment. =)

[valpal215]

Yum Pomegranates! Someone above posted this method but here it is explained with pictures. We eat many more pomegranates now that I learned to extract the seeds.

No Mess Preparation!


Enjoy

Val

[Andrew Brunelle]

Thanks for the wealth of ideas. I really appreciate it. Now I won't spend six hours trying to finish the damn thing. Although I drank some POM juice last night and it was very good, but I would like to juice it myself. It should be a fun experience. Thank you.

[WanderingOak]

I've never had fresh pomegranetes before, although I have had the seeds. I wonder if I could just toss the whole fruit into a VitaMix, or if that would be a bit much...

[Rosi]

After reading the pomegranate posts yesterday I went out and bought one. Tried the under water method of separating the seeds. It was so easy. I really enjoyed it and look forward to many more pomegranates. I had forgotten how energising they are!

[Minsc]

Here's how I peel them(takes 10 minutes or so):

-Get two bowls. One is the "seed" bowl and the other is for stuff you're not going to eat.
-Cut the top off and clean the debris away from the top to expose a white lump in a hole.
-Cut around the perimiter of the hole and scoop the lump out to get a deep hole.
-Cut the pomegranate on the surface across the hole twice, perpendicularly, ot make the next step easier.
-Stick both of your thumbs in the hole and break the pomegranate open. Put your palms on the pomegranate to make this easier. If you cut it in half, you'd break a lot of the seeds, so don't do that. Do this over the seed bowl since seeds will fall out.
-Put one of the halves aside and hold the other over the seed bowl.
-You'll see layers of seeds on a white material.
-Hold the pomegranate with your palms and left thumb and use your right thumb to pull a section off without breaking any seeds.
-Put the half aside and put the part you just took out over the bowl.
-Scrape the seeds with your thumb to get them out(put it on the tops or sides of the seeds and then force them in or to the side depending on where you're pushing from). If you're pushing from the side, put force on the bottom.
-You'll pop some seeds sometimes.
-I've seen seeds that are brown and soft, black and rotten, and with white patches. The two latter ones are for cheap pomegranates. Brown seeds should be fine unless they're entirely brown, rotting seeds aren't, and white ones don't seem to be bad. Use a knife to extract bad seeds.
-Throw the white part in the other bowl, or eat it if it's thin, and break off another piece until the pomegranate's peeled.
-Take the bowl with the extra parts and shake it over a trash can.
-Eat the seeds in the other bowl with a spoon.

And I've never seen one that's as red as the ones on the website.