We all love eating Pomegranate. That juicy, nutrient filled, bright red fruit is not just a super fruit for increased immunity and overall great health, it’s also enriched with natural flavour that makes you feel fresh and satiates your sweet cravings all the same. But when it comes to cutting a pomegranate open, most of us go back on foot and give up, as the whole process of deseeding it is messy and ends up spilling lots of red juice on your hands, sleeves and clothes.
This article is aimed to help you hack a pomegranate apart in a slow, clean and easy way that doesn’t just protect your clothes and hands, but also retains most of its seeds without getting damaged in the process. Things you’d need to cut open a Pomegranate are a paring knife, a fresh pomegranate, a clean tray or plate and a collecting bowl.
What most of us don’t know about cutting a pomegranate is that the top most part of the fruit is cut first. We often prop it sideways and try to open it in half, damaging many seeds in the process and getting our hands sticky and messy as well. The flower-like top on the pomegranate can be popped using a paring knife. You want to cut it at an angle that removes the cone of the pith from just below the top, without cutting into the seed part.
Cut the sidesThis part is tricky. You have to assess the thickness of the outer layer of the fruit by the top part that you just cut. Once you locate the thickness of the out layer, take your paring knife and start from the top flower-end of the fruit. Make a careful incision along the ridge down towards the stem of Pomegranate. Avoid cutting too deep so as to keep the seeds intact. Make four cuts on the fruit from top to bottom, cutting through the top red part, protecting the white layer that covers the seeds.
Crack the fruitNow that you have carefully made cuts all over the fruit, it’s time to pull it apart and crack it wide open. You have to place your thumbs inside the flower-cut and press inside with the pads of your thumbs. Keep the pressure firm but not too much to break it unevenly. Pull apart gently and let the fruit open and crack along the lines you cut in the skin. This will make the inside of the fruit divide into proper segments while the seeds will remain safely intact.
Empty the segmentsAs you now have 4 side segments and a central cone-shaped chunk, empty it gently in a bowl by gently pulling the skin outwardly to let the seeds pop out. Carefully slide a thumb over the seeds to push them into the bowl. You can also turn the segment seed-side down and remove the seeds with a spoon to avoid getting your fingers dirty.
And voila! Your Pomegranate is deseeded nice and clean. All you have to do now is pick up a spoon and dive in.
