Learn how to enjoy this delicious fruit without making a mess.
The unique and delicious taste of a pomegranate makes the challenge of preparing one totally worthwhile. Read on for a few tips on how to dig in and enjoy this "fruit of the gods."
Rough and leathery looking on the outside, the pomegranate reveals fruit colored seeds that glisten like rubies. The trick is to get to them without staining yourself and everything around you purple! Try these steps to prepare your pomegranate mess-free:
- Cut off the bottom of the pomegranate.
- Cut off the "crown" at the top.
- Remove the pith (white membrane) directly under the crown with a knife or your fingers. Be careful not to poke through to the seeds.
- Score the peel into 4 sections with your knife, meaning lightly cut through the outer skin to make it easy to pull apart into quarter sections.
- As gently as possible, place your thumb in the top and pull the sections apart.
How to Add Pomegranate to Your Diet
There are dozens of ways to enjoy pomegranate fruit and juice:
- Add them to salads
- Sprinkle them on ice cream
- Run them through a juicer or a blender and strain, for pomegranate juice
- Use the juice as a marinade for meat
- Add them to oatmeal or cereal
- Add them to your breakfast yogurt or smoothies
- Add them to fruit salads
- Make pomegranate jelly
- Bake them into cakes, breads and pastries
- Make pomegranate vinegar by soaking the seeds in vinegar for dressing or marinade
- Make pomegranate chutney or relish
Store any unused fruit in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate to keep it fresh. Pomegranate fruit can also be frozen and used later. Some grocery and health food stores pomegranates already peeled too.
There is no wrong way to prepare a pomegranate. But there are messy and less messy ways to eat one! Pomegranate is a yummy, nutritious fruit that everyone should try at least once. You'll see what all those Greek gods were raving about!