How To Open A Pomegranate

How do you open a pomegranate hand?

Cut the pomegranate into quarters—then peel with your hands – According to Khan, your hands are your best tool for opening and eating pomegranates. Here’s her method: Use a sharp knife to cut the pomegranate in half, then into quarters. Next, use your hands to break up the four segments, applying your thumbs to roll the arils away from the pith.

1. Gently pop and peel the seeds out.
2. As you roll your thumbs, you’ll see the brilliance of the ruby-red seeds,” Khan says.
3. It’s a process she loves.
4. Peeling a pomegranate”—and really paying attention while you do it, “is a feeling that’s so special, like a morning coffee ritual.” Khan’s most important tip for keeping your pomegranate-related stress levels down: Wear something you’re not worried about staining! Consider this your ultimate pomegranate seeding setup.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton

Is it safe to eat pomegranate seeds?

Pomegranate seeds are safe to eat and are a good source of many vitamins and nutrients. People primarily eat the seeds of pomegranate fruit, known as arils. The white flesh surrounding these seeds is technically edible but is bitter, and most people avoid it.

Do you cut a pomegranate vertically or horizontally?

How To Cut (Open) A Pomegranate Easily – So what is the best way to peel a pomegranate? It depends on how many you need. There are two methods we use often. Cut It Vertically: If we are only going to use one pomegranate (for snacking or garnish) and if we are not in a hurry, we slice it into segments. Cut off the crown and base of the fruit. Then, we make small incisions vertically on the outside of the pomegranate. Cut It Horizontally: However, if you need to extract the seeds from a bunch of fruits (to make pomegranate juice) you can use a quicker and easier method. Simply cut open the pomegranate horizontally (from side to side, not from crown to bottom). Once the pomegranate has been sliced open, you can start seeding a pomegranate using our “wooden spoon” method we have explained below.

Should you bite into pomegranate seeds?

Edible Seeds – Pomegranate seeds appear in a wide range of dishes from salads to desserts, but you can simply eat the seeds on their own. Enjoy the fresh fruit by first chewing on the seeds to release the juice from the sacs, then swallow seeds. The seeds provide roughage to help with digestion.

Alternatively, you can also chew the seeds to release the juice, then spit them out. To easily remove the seeds, roll the pomegranate on a hard surface while you press down on it with your palm. Then score the skin around the fruit’s equator and pull it apart into halves with your hands. Hold one of the halves cut-side down over a bowl and rap on the back of it with a wooden spoon, rolling pin, or meat mallet.

Squeeze the fruit gently as you do so the seeds fall out into the bowl. This method does result in juice splatters, so you may want to do it in the kitchen sink.

Can you open a pomegranate without a knife?

I love pomegranates. I don’t even mind the mind-numbing task of picking out the arils (which is what those ruby-colored seed-like things in the pomegranate are called). However, I’m always on the lookout for new, easy ways to peel it that don’t make my kitchen look like a crime scene.

• Personally, I don’t like the whole peel-it-under-water method because it makes my hands pruney and also because I’m based in a region going through a historically bad drought,
• The spanking method works for me only if I have an exceptionally ripe pomegranate available.
• Otherwise, I spend so much time shaking and smacking the fruit that I end up exhausted.

And the segmenting method is just too much slicing. So, what’s the best way to get the arils out of this fruit? Thankfully, I discovered another method, courtesy of the pomegranate council, They discuss the “rolling method” to juice pomegranates: “On a hard surface, press the palm of your hand against a pomegranate and gently roll to break all of the seeds inside (crackling stops when all seeds have broken open).

Is it good to eat pomegranate at night?

When should one consume pomegranate in winters? – Pomegranate is full of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals, but it is important to consume it at the right time. It can refresh your mind and you will feel energetic all day long. Consuming pomegranate in the morning during breakfast can prove to be very beneficial for you.

Having this fruit in the morning provides energy to the body. In fact, you can have it even after having your meal as well. However, you should not eat pomegranate at night as it can slow down your metabolism. The fiber present in pomegranate can make it difficult for your stomach to digest it at night.

Therefore, you should have pomegranate everyday but it is also important to consume it at the right time. Watch more videos on : When And How Should One Consume Pomegranate In Winters?

Can you pop pomegranate seeds?

Knife Skills

It’s a mysterious fruit! A pomegranate has a relatively hard outer skin with a lot of seeds embedded within. If you’ve never encountered a whole pomegranate, it can be a challenge to know how to tackle it. Let’s overcome that challenge! Advertisement – Continue Below Pomegranates are beautiful fruit, both the whole fruit and the seeds (or arils) inside that we use in so many recipes.

• These beautiful fruit originated in the Middle East and India and the origin of the name “pomegranate” can be derived back to the Latin for “apple” and “seeded”.
• Once you’ve seen the inside of this fruit, that will make perfect sense to you.
• While you can find sweet pomegranate molasses, pomegranate vinegar and pomegranate juices available in grocery stores these days, it’s usually the seeds of a pomegranate that we’re after.

You can eat pomegranate seeds alone as a snack, toss them into a salad, sprinkle them on yogurt or cereal or oatmeal, serve them on top of hummus, add them to a fruit salad or even put them in a cocktail as a sparkly garnish. It’s true you can find pomegranate seeds available in small tubs for purchase in grocery stores, but you’ll find the seeds much fresher if you seed a pomegrante yourself and it’s not that hard to do. Start by acknowledging that you are going to have spritzes of pomegranate juice around when you seed a pomegranate and put on an apron if you care about your clothes. Pomegranate juice does stain. Then, slice the pomegranate in half. This is the moment of truth when you’ll see whether you have an abundant pomegranate or not. Then, fill a bowl with cold water. Break the pomegranate into this bowl of water and start to pick and rub the seeds out of the husk while the pomegranate is submerged. This will help prevent the staining juice from spraying around your kitchen. In addition to saving your clothes from stains, the bowl of water method also makes it easy to separate the seeds from the pieces of husk. The pomegranate seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the pieces of husk that break off will float. That makes it very easy to skim away the pieces of husk from the surface of the water, leaving just the seeds behind. Another method to remove the seeds involves spanking the pomegranate. Score the inside of the pomegranate with your knife, making an “X”. Then, turn the pomegranate over and hit it firmly with a wooden spoon or spatula while holding it over the bowl of water. Once you’ve worked through all the husks and outer skin, you’ll be left with little jewels of pomegranate seeds in the bottom of your bowl. Drain and store these in an air-tight container if you’re not using all of them at once. They will last up to five days in your refrigerator, or you can freeze them for a couple months.

Who should not eat pomegranate seeds?

Fiber – Pomegranate seeds are rich in fiber, According to one study, flour from these seeds boasts about 17%-28% fiber ( 3 ). The main fiber types in pomegranate seeds are cellulose and lignin ( 4 ). Both cellulose and lignin are insoluble and pass through your digestive system unchanged.

Is it okay to swallow pomegranate seeds whole?

Is it safe to eat pomegranate seeds? – Yes! They are a good source of fiber and nutritious, too. So, you can eat them whole, and there is no need for you discard each one.

What color is a ripe pomegranate?

What color should a pomegranate be when ripe? – It’s important to consider that almost every fruit you encounter in the produce section will have been picked when it is relatively ripe. As such, do not stress over observing the color of a ripe pomegranate.

Is pomegranate good for you?

Nutritional Info – from the WebMD Ingredients Guide Serving Size 1 Each (282 g) Calories 234 % Daily Value* Total Carbohydrate 53 g 19% *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Vitamin C 32% Iron 6% Vitamin B6 0% Magnesium 0% Calcium 2% Vitamin D 0% Cobalamin 0% Vitamin A 0%

People have enjoyed pomegranates since ancient times for their health benefits. Modern science has found that pomegranates can help protect your heart and may even prevent cancer. A pomegranate is a sweet, tart fruit with thick, red skin. While the skin is not edible, it holds hundreds of juicy seeds that you can eat plain or sprinkle on salads, oatmeal, hummus, and other dishes.

The most common and simplest way is to cut it open and pull apart the skin to reveal the seeds and juice sacs, which are known as arils. Pomegranates grow on trees. These trees need ample heat to grow and ripen these delicious fruits. Pomegranates are native to the Middle East and some Asian countries, but they also grow in the U.S.

The majority of pomegranates are grown in California. They’re in season from September to November, but their long shelf life means you can usually find them in grocery stores until January. You can also remove the seeds and press them to release the juice of the fruit.

Pomegranate juice is especially common in Iran, but other countries enjoy it as well. Bottled pomegranate juice is an easy way to enjoy some of the health benefits of this delicious fruit. Pomegranates can have up to three times more antioxidants than green tea or red wine. Antioxidants protect cells from damage and reduce inflammation and the effects of aging.

Other health benefits of pomegranates include the following: Heart Health Studies have suggested that pomegranates can protect your heart in many ways, including lowering blood pressure and reducing blood sugar levels. Pomegranates have a good amount of polyphenol compounds called punicalagins or ellagitannins.

1. These antioxidants help prevent your artery walls from thickening as well as lower the buildup of cholesterol and plaque.
2. Pomegranate juice also has high amounts of plant pigments called anthocyanins and anthoxanthins that support good heart health.
3. Atherosclerosis, the buildup of cholesterol and fats in the arteries, is a common cause of heart disease.

Pomegranate juice may help reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol — “bad” cholesterol” — that clogs arteries. It can also increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol — “good” cholesterol” — which lowers the risk of strokes and heart attacks. Diabetes Control Initial studies have revealed that people with type 2 diabetes who began to drink pomegranate juice showed an improvement in insulin resistance.

Pomegranates can also help people without diabetes maintain a healthy weight. Lowering Risk of Cancer Pomegranates are rich in antioxidants and flavonoids, both of which are known to prevent free radicals from damaging your cells. In some studies, pomegranates show potential in preventing prostate, breast, lung, and colon cancers.

Additionally, preclinical studies on animals have shown that eating pomegranate can inhibit the growth of lung, skin, colon, and prostate tumors. More research is needed to understand the effects on humans. Fresh pomegranate is also a source of fiber, which can promote weight loss, lower cholesterol, and ease constipation.

Calories: 72 Protein: 2.35 grams Fat: 1.6 grams Carbohydrates: 26 grams Fiber: 5.5 grams Sugar: 20 grams

An 8-oz serving of pomegranate juice contains:

Calories: 135 Protein: 1 gram Fat: 0 grams Carbohydrates: 34 grams Fiber: 1 gram Sugar: 30 grams Sodium: 10 grams

While pomegranates lose much of their vitamin C content when juiced, they retain nearly all of their potassium, about 536 milligrams. Potassium is an important mineral that helps your nerves and heart stay strong. Enjoying fresh pomegranates or their juice gives you plenty of this key mineral.

• Some pomegranate-flavored drinks have many calories and little nutrition because they contain more sugar than pomegranate juice.
• To get the health benefits of pomegranates without empty calories, look for bottles that say “100% juice.” Pomegranates are typically safe to eat.
• But some people may get unwanted side effects.

An allergic reaction to pomegranate is rare but can happen. If you have an allergy to plants, watch for possible symptoms, which can include hives or your throat closing up. Pomegranate can interact with some drugs and medications. You may want to check with your doctor or limit your consumption of pomegranate if you’re taking such medications as:

ACE inhibitors or other drugs for high blood pressure Crestor and other drugs for high cholesterol that can break down in your liver Blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin)

Cut off both ends of a fresh pomegranate. You may see the membranes that divide the inside of the fruit. Cut into the skin from top to bottom along these ridges. Next, slice deep enough to cut through the skin and the white membrane without cutting the pomegranate seeds.

1. Hold the pomegranate over a bowl of water and pry it apart with your fingers.
2. Pull the seeds away from the membrane and skin, allowing them to fall into the bowl of water.
3. The membrane will float to the top of the water, and the seeds will sink to the bottom.
4. Remove the membrane, and throw it away.
5. Drain the water from the seeds.

You can easily incorporate pomegranate into your diet by:

Adding them to a quinoa salad with other fresh fruits and vegetables Sprinkling pomegranate seeds onto of yogurt with granola to make a parfait Giving your salad a pop by adding pomegranate seeds Using pomegranate juice to add a kick to your favorite cocktail Mixing pomegranate juice, rice vinegar, oil, garlic, and white sugar to make a salad dressing

Do pomegranates ripen in the fridge?

How to Store Pomegranates – Pomegranates will last several months whole in the refrigerator. While the pomegranates don’t ripen further after they’re picked, the arils will get sweeter as the pomegranates age. If a pomegranate has split to reveal the arils inside, you will need to eat up the pomegranate quickly.

• Mold has a way of setting in once the fruit has opened, even just a little.
• If you have already de-seeded the pomegranate, you can put the arils in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and store for up to a week in the refrigerator.
• To freeze pomegranate seeds, spread the arils out in a single layer then place in a freezer.

Once frozen, consolidate them into a freezer bag or an airtight container. They’ll last for up to 6 months frozen.

Why are my pomegranate seeds hard?

Another report revealed that lignin increased with soft seeded varieties and diminished with hard seeded varieties as the fruit transitioned to the ripe stage. So the presences of lignin might be responsible for the seed hardness trait in pomegranates.

Do you cut pomegranate vertically?

Step 1: Score the Sides of the Pomegranate – To score the pomegranate, first cut off the crown at the top (the blossom end). Cut vertically down the fruit, be careful not to cut in too deep. You can stop about ½ inch from the bottom. Turn the fruit and cut again, angling your knife so that the cuts intersect and form a crosshatch pattern.