As promised yesterday, here's a quick and easy way to get the seeds out of the pomegranate that I learned a decade ago from Persian-born Bay Area chef Faz Poursohi.
You'll need just a few items: your biggest bowl, your biggest spoon, some juicy ripe pomegranates, and all your pent-up aggressions.
First, cut off the little tiara that sits on top of the pomegranate (just who does she think she is, any way?) and cut the fruit in half across its equator. In each half, cut 4 or 5 one-inch nicks in the skins along the side where you cut, forming the beginning of a star.
Place one half in the palm of your non-dominant hand, cut-side face down over the bowl, preferably in a sink or outdoors.* In the other hand, hold your spoon, with the back facing down. I'm left-handed, so the spoon is in my left hand.
Now comes the fun (and potentially messy) part. Whack the pomegranate firmly with the back of the spoon.
Keep slapping it like you mean it, until you knock almost all of its teeth seeds out. Depending on your temperament, you may find it helpful to imagine that the pomegranate is a politician or boss that you don't particularly like. I'll leave that up to you.
Voila! Most of your fruit's juicy jewels will be laying in the bowl, still intact and surprisingly unharmed.
When you're done, manually dislodge any seeds that have, despite your best efforts to persuade them otherwise, continued to stubbornly cling to the membranes of the fruit. Also pick out any stray bits of the bitter membrane that have fallen into the bowl.
Now the little rubies are ready to garnish your favorite fall salad, morning müesli or silken panna cotta.
*To preserve marital bliss, I have learned through trial-and-error that it is best to perform the above task in the deep well of the kitchen sink or even outdoors. Also, don't wear white; an apron is advisable. The above is especially true should you decide to juice your pomegranate halves, which I prefer to do with an old-fashioned 1950's citrus press (Juice-O-Mat says "Hi") that I inherited from my mother.
I love chef tricks. Before this, I usually pick out pomegranate seeds one by one. Not my favourte fruit to buy, you can imagine.
Posted by: mumu | Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 07:32 PM
Do you know the *real* Persian way to enjoy a pomegranate on its own?
Posted by: Fatemeh | Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 10:52 PM
What a great tip! I rarely buy pomegranates because they have somewhat intimidated me, but you make it seem rather fun. Im definitely going to get some pomegranates this week!
Posted by: michele | Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 10:04 AM
Mumu, you're not alone. I used to do the same thing and never understood the allure of the pomegranate. Thank you Faz!
Fatemeh, do share! Although I never worked for Faz, I did work for an amazing Persian-born chef at her now closed bistro in Palo Alto (can you guess who?). She always served pomegranate sorbet in the autumn. To this day, I've never had a better flavor of sorbet.
Michele, welcome to IPO Sardines. I hope to read about your pomegranate encounters on Oswego Tea. Congrats on your move to Paris, too.
Posted by: Brett | Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 12:35 PM
It's too bad you don't have a sense of humor. Great post. : )
Posted by: farmgirl | Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 01:00 PM
Brett, it is a very clever technique! thanks for sharing it :)
Posted by: Melissa | Monday, October 24, 2005 at 10:40 AM
Hi Brett,
Perfect timing! Just bought a pomegranate last Friday, although I still remember a "difficult" last one (over a year ago now), that didn't want to release its seeds by no means! So I'll have to try your trick within the next days! I'm curious to see how it goes ;)
Posted by: Nicky | Monday, October 24, 2005 at 02:19 PM
Farmgirl, I'm surprised you didn't mention anything about me bashing the poor pomegranates;-P
Melissa, more than happy to share techniques I've learned in my culinary journey.
Nicky, good luck with your pomegranate (and don't wear white!).
Posted by: Brett | Monday, October 24, 2005 at 04:45 PM
Oy, sorry I've taken so long to come back! Last week at this job is driving me mad.
Learning how to enjoy a pomegranate is something every little Persian learns early. Basically, take a ripe pom, and put it in a zip top bag. Roll the pom around (firmly) on the countertop to crush the outermost seeds. Then, open the zip top slightly, and take a small (1/2") bite into the pomegrate skin, and spit that out.
Suck all the juice out, turning the pom around, and SQUEEEEZING with your fingers to continue crushing the seeds.
No muss, no fuss. And no little tummy troubles from eating too many seeds!
Posted by: Fatemeh | Wednesday, October 26, 2005 at 02:31 PM
Excellent tip, Fatemeh! It was worth the wait! I will definitely try this soon (note to self: wear old clothes and do it outside).
Posted by: Brett | Wednesday, October 26, 2005 at 04:59 PM
I've been eating 1/2 a pomi during the winter months for the past 3 years & found they keep all colds & flu in abeyance. This year I'm freezing the seeds for when they are no longer available...that's when I catch a cold :( So thanks so much for the great tips on removing the arils.Someone, I think Martha suggests putting the arils in ice cub trays & covering w/ water..I tried that, but I think just laying the seeds out on a plate in the freezer & then later scooping them into a storage box works just fine.The pomegranetes in the Rialto market are lovely & yellowish-pink..much smaller too & quite sweet-for anyone whose in Venice in October...Thanks again
Posted by: CadmiumRed | Sunday, October 30, 2005 at 06:49 AM
CadmiumRed, thanks for visiting IPO Sardines. Some day I'd love to visit Venice (and the Rialto market--I've heard so much about it). The pomegranates I saw in India were similar to the ones you describe. Very sweet but not as red.
Posted by: Brett | Sunday, October 30, 2005 at 02:01 PM
Hmmmm...India..I never thought to look while there..There's a nice bit of historic info & recipes on BBC4 regarding pomegranates
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2003_49_fri_03.shtml as well as at the FOOD SHOW-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodprogramme_20030112.shtml
Posted by: CadmiumRed | Monday, October 31, 2005 at 05:47 AM
Correction
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodprogramme_20030112.shtml
Posted by: CadmiumRed | Monday, October 31, 2005 at 05:48 AM
Hmmmm...not pasting in...so for anyone interested just do a search for pomegranates @
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/
Posted by: CadmiumRed | Monday, October 31, 2005 at 05:52 AM
Hi Brett, Last night Nicky brought home a beauty of a pomegranate - so glad I remembered your post about how to properly prepare it: it worked like a charm, I couldn't believe how easy and quick it was!! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Oliver | Thursday, November 17, 2005 at 11:46 AM
Fantastic! Thank you. It was amazingly fast and easy. I can't believe I ever picked out every seed by hand. We're spreading the word. Many, many thanks.
Posted by: Lori | Wednesday, November 21, 2007 at 09:34 PM
Thank you. You rock my world.
Posted by: Axle | Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 05:16 PM
Thanks, I am really excited to try this. I have been drinking pomegranate juice for a while and keep hearing more and more about how great it is for you!
Posted by: Pomegranate Sam | Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 05:13 PM
Thanks for the post - Wish I would have read more closely about the deep in the sink part as I ended up with pink splatter all over my kitchen and me!
Posted by: jenn | Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 06:58 PM