Ahh, finally, pomegranate season has returned! Okay, sure, there have been US-grown pom’s available for about a month, but… well, they sucked (tasteless, with large, tough seeds). These ones, though… mmmmmm… dang. Sweet, tangy, full of flavour, and the seeds are small and relatively soft.

Now, I’m sure there are many of you out there that have never tried a pomegranate. In fact, until last year, I hadn’t tried them, either. But I decided to take the plunge, and boy, am I glad. Of course, they can be a bit intimidating, thanks to the difficulty in extracting the seeds. But with a little effort, they can be removed pretty easily, and trust me, it’s worth it!

So, how to remove those ever-so-delicious arils? Well, here’s how I do it:

  1. Start with a sharp paring knife. Score the pom around the top and remove it.
  2. Now, identify the sections of the pom and score the skin from the top of the pom vertically, to the bottom, along the section boundaries.
  3. Crack the pom open! Grip it firmly and break it apart. It should split along the score lines.
  4. Fill a decent sized bowl with water and start extracting the seeds, allowing them to drop into the bowl.
  5. Once finished, remove the bits of pulp floating in the water and any pieces attached to the arils.
  6. Strain, dry, and store in a plastic bag.
  7. Eat!

The real trick, here, is the bowl of water. You see, the arils sink while the pulp floats. Thus, using water makes it easy to separate the seeds out.

Now, how to eat them? Pop them in your mouth and chew! In my case, I swallow them seeds and all, though that’s really a matter of preference (though, they do provide a nice dose of dietary fibre… actually, a lot, which can be… problematic, if you love them as much as I do).

As for nutrition, the juice is loaded with, among other things, vitamin C, folic acid (good for you pregnant ladies), and antioxidants. Good stuff!