Pomegranate Recipe Pt. 3: The Pomegranate

The pomegranate is a wonderful fruit, but it's also really tricky! Unless you go get a bottle of juice (which is infinitely easier but less rewarding, i think), you have your work cut out for you! Here are some helpful hints for how to conquer the pomegranate.

Warning! You may not want to wear your best white blouse or shirt while doing this as the juice sprays wherever it wants to and can stain!

De-Seeding
The seeds are actually the part you eat, which I didn't know until my first encounter.

1. Cut your pomegranate in half.
2. Get out a medium to large bowl and fill it with lukewarm water. (Most directions I have seen say cold, but I froze my fingers doing as such in London).
3. Add the halves of pomegranate into the water, seeds facing down and round rind facing up. Depending on the size of the bowl, you may only be able to do one at a time.
4. Let the pomegranate halves sit for 10 minutes.
5. Now the fun part! Carefully peel away the white membrane to expose the deliciously red arils (or seeds). The arils will sink, and the membrane will float. Also, watch out! If you are not gentle enough, you will get squirted by an exploding seed.

Have patience! This could take a while.

6. Skim off the floating membrane as best as you can. Pour the water and seeds into a strainer that has holes small enough that the seeds will not escape. Rinse with a gentle stream of cold water to remove any extra membrane.

It takes a lot of seeds to make the amount of juice you'll want for both the cupcakes and the frosting, so don't be surprised if you need more than one pomegranate. Otherwise, POM and other bottled juices are good as well and save the time.


De-juicing!

Ok, there are many ways to de-juice the pomegranate, and I'm going to give you two.

Way One:
Place all the harvested seeds into a freezer bag and roll over it with a rolling pin.

Advantage: Fast and easy!!
Disadvantage: The crushed seeds within the juice arils will make your juice slightly bitter.

Way Two:
Place all the harvested seeds into a freezer bag, sit down, and play pop the seed!! When done, open a hole in the bag just big enough for the juice to come out but the pulp to stay in the bag.

Advantage: You don't get the bitterness and you get a fun game similar to bubble-wrap.
Disadvantage: The game is very tedious and can take a long time.



You no longer have any reason to fear the pomegranate!! Have fun and I hope your kitchens smell fabulous after this! :D