How to quickly peel a pomegranate? The most popular methods that will help you remove the skin from the fruit in a matter of minutes.
A huge number of people refuse to buy pomegranate because it is inconvenient to clean. In fact, if you know a few tricks, you can cope with this task quite quickly.
If you also don’t know how to peel a pomegranate quickly and, most importantly, without splashing, then we present to your attention several simple and popular methods that will help you enjoy the taste of the healthy fruit without any problems.
How to clean pomegranate correctly?
Recommendations for cleaning pomegranates
I would like to say right away that pomegranate, like any other fruit, must be washed before eating, preferably with warm water. Since most manufacturers treat fruit peels with a special protective composition that contains paraffin, cold water simply will not wash it off, and as a result, it will get on your hands, and then on the grains themselves.
After the fruit is washed, gently pat it dry with a towel. But remember that you are holding a product in your hands that has a lot of juice inside. That is why the pomegranate must be blotted, trying, in general, not to put pressure on its surface. If you do this very intensively, you will most likely not be able to enjoy the whole grains.
Recommendations for cleaning pomegranate:
- Take the sharpest knife possible and carefully cut off the top of the pomegranate. If you do everything correctly, then in your hands you will be left with a fruit whose berries are practically not affected, but the white membranes are clearly visible.
- Make cuts along these veins. Try to cut through the skin of the pomegranate only, without touching its seeds. As a result, you should end up with a fruit, the upper part of which is divided into separate slices.
- At the next stage, take the pomegranate in one hand, and with the other, gently press on one of the resulting slices. If you made cuts exactly along the white veins, it will easily come off along with all the grains.
- Do the same with the remaining slices, and then carefully place them on a bowl or other utensil.
Cleaning hacks
Easy to clean without splashing or leaking juice. The main thing is to cut through only the skin with a knife. This secret applies to all methods. Only we have a few more little tricks.
Useful tricks:
- You need to wear gloves when peeling pomegranates. The juice turns your hands red only in the first hours. Then these spots turn blue, the cuticle darkens, and a coating remains under the nails;
- never push. Of course, unless you want to get juice. Berries with thin skin are easily damaged and the fruit spoils;
- use a very sharp knife. Otherwise, you will have to press, which increases the likelihood of cutting deep into the crust, damaging and crushing the berries;
- try to cut along the membranes. It will be easier to clean, splashes will not fly in all directions;
- Are there any peeled grains left? Place in a container and close tightly. Keep in the refrigerator for a day. Or put it in the freezer, it can be stored for up to a year.
Need pomegranate juice? Then the whole fruit without cuts needs to be intensively mashed. Or gently tap it with a hammer. After careful pressing, all that remains is to make the cut. A natural ruby drink will flow out from there. There is one drawback - whole grain may remain inside. It will be thrown away or you will have to choose from the crushed pulp.
You can clean it by cutting it, under water; the method of knocking out grains has proven itself well. In any case, it is important to pre-wash the fruit. Manufacturers treat it with chemicals for preservation. Sometimes covered with a layer of wax. We do not neglect hygiene measures; we remember the famous proverb about cleanliness.
Open, open the pomegranate, carefully peel it?
Peeling a pomegranate
If your goal is not slices, but rather grains without peel, then use the method that we will introduce you to a little below. In this case, you can get the fruit filling quickly enough, but most importantly, with minimal loss of healthy juice.
So:
- Rinse the pomegranate as we taught you at the beginning of our article, and while it is drying, prepare all the dishes you will need.
- Place on the table a wooden board, a sharp knife (preferably for cutting fillets) and a bowl into which you will subsequently place the grains.
- Place the pomegranate on a wooden board and cut off its so-called crown. Please note that in this case it is necessary to cut it off.
- Next, take a sharp knife and make four not very deep cuts on the skin. Ideally, you should end up with four equal-sized slices.
- Put the knife aside, take the pomegranate in your hands and, gently pressing on its middle, divide the fruit into four equal pieces.
- At the final stage, you will need to turn out the resulting slices and carefully transfer the separated grains into a pre-prepared bowl.
How to easily peel a pomegranate in 6 movements: video
In order for you to clearly understand how you can quickly peel a pomegranate, we bring to your attention a video instruction from which you will learn in as much detail as possible how to extract delicious seeds from the sweet fruit in just six movements.
Yes, and remember, if you want you to achieve the same result the first time, then use a sharp knife with a thin blade to cut the peel. If you carry out this manipulation with a rougher knife, then some of the grains will probably be crushed.
Basic subtleties of choosing pomegranates
Peeling a pomegranate without much effort is only possible if the fruit is mature and ripe, with a thin and elastic peel.
What to look for when choosing pomegranates:
- There should be no brown spots or dents on the fruit. If the fruit is soft to the touch, it is better to refuse to buy it - it is an overripe pomegranate that begins to deteriorate and it will not be possible to clean it beautifully.
- Take the fruit in your palm - it should be heavy and weighty. This indicates its maturity and a sufficient amount of juice in the fruit pulp. It is better not to buy unripe pomegranates - they have very dense white partitions that adhere tightly to the grains. Therefore, when cleaning, it is most often not possible to extract whole grains.
- When buying in a store, it is best to choose fruits located at the very bottom of a box, basket or container - they are reliably protected from direct sunlight and retain a greater amount of nutrients.
Before quickly peeling a pomegranate, the fruit needs to be prepared. Rinse it with warm water.
Many manufacturers treat exotic fruits with a paraffin composition, which gives them an attractive, marketable appearance and ensures safety during long-term transportation.
Paraffin is washed off only with warm water; it does not dissolve in cold liquid.
How to quickly peel a pomegranate in 30 seconds: video
As you probably already understood, absolutely anyone can clean a pomegranate correctly if they want to. True, you should take into account that only the most ripe fruit can be peeled using these methods.
If you buy a fruit that was picked green, no matter how hard you try, you will not get the desired result. Because of this, try to buy pomegranates that have been picked completely ripe from the tree. As a rule, such fruits have a fairly dry skin through which the grains can be seen.
How to cut a pomegranate correctly and beautifully?
Cleaning pomegranate beautifully
Places of cuts
If you plan to serve pomegranate on the festive table, then all of the above mentioned cleaning methods will definitely not suit you. If you really want to surprise your guests, then make this beautiful fruit into a kind of flower that will decorate a fruit bowl.
So:
- We carry out the standard preparation of the pomegranate for cleaning (wash it and dry it well). In this case, it is extremely important to wait for it to dry completely. If the moisture has not yet evaporated, and you start peeling it, you simply will not be able to remove its peel correctly.
- Once you realize that the skin of the fruit is completely dry, take a knife and remove its crown. Use your knife to make a perfectly round hole without damaging the inside of the pomegranate.
- At the next stage, you will need to make 5-6 cuts on the peel (preferably at the same distance from each other). You should end up with slices that look like petals.
- After this, you need to take the knife in your hands again and cut through the pomegranate peel again, only this time the line should go exactly in the middle of the fruit.
- Next, carefully prying up each petal, we begin to remove it. If you did everything correctly, then it will be removed only up to half of the fruit, while the other part will remain in the peel.
- At the final stage, you will need to gently press on the middle, thereby freeing the upper part of the fruit from the white films. If you see that they cover the grains very much, then just remove them.
Cleaning the fruit in half a minute
If in previous methods we spent a minute or two even on peeling a pomegranate, then this method will give you quick removal of the peel. In half a minute you can get to your treasured vitamins:
- pomegranate is washed from bacteria that the fruit might have picked up at the market in running water;
- take a knife and cut off the top part;
- The pomegranate is cut into four parts using a knife;
- then take one part, press it in the center, and pour the grains into the cup that you prepared in advance.
After we've tried all the methods for peeling a pomegranate, from the laziest to the method for those who don't want to wait long, it's time to wash your hands of pomegranate juice. After all, this color remains on the skin for a long time.
How to beautifully and accurately peel a pomegranate for a bouquet?
Preparing pomegranates for cleaning
I would like to say right away that if you plan to decorate a bouquet with grants, then you need to use medium-sized fruits, or even better, small ones. If you decorate it with a large fruit, it will look alien, to put it mildly.
As for how to turn a pomegranate into a real flower, in this case you can use the method that we introduced you to a little higher. You will also need to carefully cut out the crown of the fruit and make cuts on the peel to imitate petals. It's just that in this case you won't need to make a transverse cut.
After the petals are cut, you will need to carefully turn them in the opposite direction. True, you should not overdo it and separate the skin from the grains only up to half of the fruit. If you manage to do everything correctly, you will end up holding in your hands a flower with thin petals and a beautiful center.
Spiral method
This method is a little harder than the previous one, because it is more sophisticated, let's say. The cleaning process begins like all others: by cutting the poles of the pomegranate down to the very grains.
Next, using a sharp knife, we cut out a spiral from the peel, from the top edge to the bottom, trying to cover the entire area. The cut should be deep, but not reach the berries.
When the process is completed, it is necessary to separate the resulting snake. To do this, take the pomegranate in your palm like a ball, and with the other hand, forcefully separate the peel along the cut. As a result, the grains will remain on the “belt” or fall into the prepared bowl.
This is the most enjoyable way for those who like to eat sweet fruits from the peel, as it minimizes the possibility of getting the sweet juice on your face.
How to peel a pomegranate so that it remains intact?
Whole pomegranate
If you want to get a perfectly round pomegranate after peeling, then you will have to peel it without using a knife, that is, by hand. To be more precise, you will use the knife exclusively at the initial stage of this procedure. To begin, you will need to take a knife and carefully cut the crown of the fruit.
If you want to make the next steps easier, then make a cross-shaped cut. After that, you can put it aside and be patient. So, grab one part of the crown with your hand and slightly pull it towards you. Make sure that the effect on the peel is not too strong. If you try to pull it very sharply, it will eventually break and further actions will be difficult.
You should pull the skin so that a white line forms below the crown (this will indicate that the outer skin in this part has begun to pull away from the grains). Once this happens, you will need to continue the same steps until all the skin is removed. Yes, and do not forget to immediately remove the remaining white films after peeling. As practice shows, if this is not done, then after just half an hour they begin to dry out and become more difficult to remove from the grains.
How to clean a pomegranate without splashing water?
Cleaning a pomegranate in water
If you want to clean the pomegranate of all excess without getting its juice all over it, then try the method below.
So:
- First, rinse the fruit with warm water and lightly blot it with a napkin (this must be done so that you can cut the correct cuts)
- Next, take a knife and cut through the outer shell, being careful not to touch the grains themselves
- The next step is to fill a bowl with water and place the pomegranate in it.
- If you want its contents to move away from the walls better, then leave it in the water for 5-10 minutes
- Then place both hands in the bowl and begin to pull the fruit apart.
- Do everything carefully, trying to end up with individual pomegranate slices in the bowl.
- Without removing it from the water, begin to clean the slices from the films and free the grains themselves
- When you are done with this step, leave the fruit alone for 2-3 minutes.
- During this time, all the films and skins will float to the top, and the grains will settle to the bottom
- At the final stage, all you have to do is remove unnecessary debris and drain the contents of the bowl into a colander
Popular options for cleaning the royal fruit
To successfully get to the treasured seeds, you will need the following tools:
- sharp kitchen knife;
- deep container (bowl or saucepan);
- tablespoon;
- hammer for beating meat products.
When everything is ready, the fruit is washed in warm water to remove the protective coating applied by the manufacturers. Otherwise, the substance will end up first on your hands and then in your mouth, which is not very pleasant. The washed fruit is carefully wiped with a napkin or a clean towel. Now you can use one of the ways to peel a pomegranate quickly and without splashing and enjoy its unsurpassed taste.
Peeling in a container of water
If you want to clean the pomegranate without staining anything around it, it is advisable to use this option. It consists of the following steps:
- the washed fruit is carefully cut with a sharp knife, without touching the grains;
- dip it in a container of water and leave for 10 minutes;
- Without removing the fruit from the container, divide it into slices with both hands;
- Next, the fruit is cleared of films, freeing the juicy seeds;
- a short pause so that all the waste rises to the top and the grains sink to the bottom.
- collect the garbage, then pour the contents of the bowl into a colander to collect the precious juicy seeds.
The video provided shows how to properly peel a pomegranate in a simple way.
Spectacular pomegranate slices
Some lovers of the royal fruit prefer to eat it, holding in their hands a spectacular slice with aromatic grains.
This can be achieved by performing the following operations:
- the washed fruit should be placed on a cutting board and its “royal” crown should be cut off;
- use a sharp knife to make 4 shallow cuts (there will be the same number of slices);
- take the prepared fruit in your hands, gently press it in the middle, dividing it into equal parts;
- The slices are slightly turned out in the shape of a flower and placed on a dish.
It is advisable to buy only ripe pomegranates. It is almost impossible to clean unripe varieties in this way.
Whole pomegranate without peel
The royal fruit looks original if you carefully remove all the peel from it, leaving the grains in their places. Thanks to this method, the fruit filling quickly ends up in the deft hands of fans of the exotic fruit. The main thing is to know how to peel a pomegranate without damaging its integrity.
To begin, use a sharp knife to make several cuts on the crown of the fruit. Let it be a cross-shaped version. Next, only flexible fingers on skilled hands will be useful. With one hand you should grasp the cut part of the crown and carefully pull it towards you.
To avoid tearing the crust, do not make sudden movements. Otherwise, it will be difficult to complete the process successfully.
When a white line appears below the crown, it means that the crust has come away from the seeds without any problems. Now you can safely continue to remove it until it is in your hands. The final touch is to remove the white films. The pomegranate is ready to be tasted and truly enjoyed.
Decoration for a fruit bouquet
Many people like to create original bouquets from fruits. When it comes to the royal fruit, the main thing is to understand how to cut the pomegranate correctly so that it looks wonderful on the table. It is also important to choose the appropriate size of fruit. Preference is given to small or medium specimens.
The first step is to cut off the crown. Next, cuts are made on the crust that imitate the petals of a flower. Then carefully turn them in the opposite direction. In this case, the peel must be removed up to half of the fruit. As a result, you will end up with a wonderful juicy pomegranate flower in your hands.
Peeling dried pomegranate
Sometimes it happens that the pomegranate has been waiting for its time for a long time, and its peel has dried out a little. Don’t throw such a “jewel” into the trash.
First, it must be thoroughly washed and dried. Next, cut the fruit in half, bring it to the bowl and tap the peel vigorously with a spoon. Over time, the seeds will begin to fall out of the halves. Those with a white film are additionally cleaned. Now you can taste the juicy grains of this valuable fruit.
In addition to the methods listed above, there are other options for working with the royal fruit. Examples of how to peel a pomegranate without much effort are shown in the video provided. It’s not for nothing that people say that it’s better to see once than to hear 100 times. See for yourself.
How to clean dried pomegranate quickly?
Peeling a dry pomegranate
If it turns out that your pomegranate has been lying around for too long and its skin is slightly dry, then you will have to peel it using a simpler method. Of course, in this case, some of the grains will be damaged, but in the end you won’t have to throw away the healthy treat at all.
So:
- Clean the surface of the fruit from dust and dirt with water and dry it thoroughly.
- Next, prepare a deep bowl, spoon and knife
- Cut the pomegranate using any of the methods we have already introduced you to.
- Divide it into parts and begin to separate the grains from the shell
- To do this, take a piece of fruit, bring it to a bowl and begin to tap the peel with a spoon.
- After some time, the grains will begin to come off (some may have a film on them)
- Repeat this manipulation with the remaining slices, remove the films that got into the bowl and you can enjoy the healthy pomegranate
The fastest way to clean
There are three main practices for quickly peeling juicy fruits. You can peel grenades in 30 seconds using one of three methods. To test the effectiveness of each, you can try the methods on three different fruits. The first way to peel a pomegranate is to use a knife or any cutlery. First, we cut out the top, make cuts along the membranes, turn the fruit over the container and knock on it until the seeds are in the container.
You can clean it using the second method by first performing the same first two steps from the first method. Afterwards, place the berry in a bowl of water. Water will help you carefully peel the pomegranate and remove all the seeds. All debris and scraps of membranes will rise to the surface and can be quickly collected. The water with the seeds should be placed in a colander and allowed to drain. Place the finished peeled seeds in a bowl or dish.
In the third method, to peel a pomegranate, you need to prepare a dumpling and silicone mold. Take a hammer and a knife. Start by cutting the pomegranate in half with the tip of a knife. Then place the dumpling form on a deep plate. Place the fruit on top, which needs to be protected from impacts using a silicone mold. Tap the top of the fruit to release the grains into the plate. You can eat pomegranate either with your hands, choosing each individual seed, or with a spoon.
How to choose ripe and sweet pomegranate?
Recommendations for choosing a pomegranate
Now that we have figured out how to peel a pomegranate, let's talk about how to choose the right one for this delicious fruit. After all, if it is green, overripe or damaged, then all the methods that you learned about will be inappropriate, and you will just have to cut the fruit and take the edible part from it.
Recommendations for choosing pomegranate:
- Remember, a ripe fruit has dry skin without any blemishes. If you find wet spots or brown spots on the fruit you like, immediately set it aside. All this indicates that it has already begun to rot.
- Also be sure to look to see if there is a slight bump on the outer shell of the pomegranate. If it is absent, and the entire surface of the fruit visually looks perfectly smooth, then this means that you have an early picked fruit that will definitely not be sweet.
- When purchasing, be sure to pay attention to the so-called crown. If you see that it is green or has some green shoots on it, then choose another fruit. These signs indicate that the pomegranate is still completely green and they tried to bring it to the desired state under artificial conditions.
- Another indicator of fruit ripeness is its weight. As a rule, fully ripe, sweet pomegranates are much heavier than those that were plucked from the branches ahead of time. It's quite easy to check. To do this, you will need to pick up two fruits of the same size and try to understand which one is heavier.
Rules for choosing ripe fruits
Pomegranates are large, exotic, oval-shaped fruits. At the top they have an original “decoration” that resembles a crown. For this, some call pomegranate the royal fruit. The outside of the fruit is covered with a hard skin, which reliably protects many juicy seeds. They are located on soft “pads” and fit tightly to each other.
When the fruit is fully ripe, each seed is filled with life-giving moisture, and it becomes elastic and juicy. If the fruit is not picked on time, the peel dries out and cracks, and it begins to deteriorate. How to clean a pomegranate in this form without getting dirty? This is quite difficult to do.
There are several rules for choosing the ideal fruits:
- Color and external condition of the peel. Ripe pomegranates are bright or dark red in color. The peel has no visible defects, stains or cracks. It fits tightly to the seeds and is hard to the touch.
- Size and weight of the fruit. Most often, juicier seeds are stored inside large pomegranates. Therefore, preference is given to such specimens. If, compared to other fruits, the selected option is slightly heavier, then it is ripe.
- Sounds when tapping. When lightly tapped, the ripe royal fruit produces a specific sound reminiscent of a metallic ringing.
- The elasticity of the fruit. A high-quality garnet, after lightly squeezing in your hands, remains elastic and at the same time hard. If it is too hard or, conversely, soft, it is not worth buying.
Pomegranates that have a green crown with shoots are practically unripe. These signs indicate that they tried to bring the fruit to maturity in an artificial environment.
As you can see, the tips are quite simple. All that remains is to find out how to properly peel a pomegranate and apply the method in practice.
How to eat pomegranate correctly, can you eat the seeds?
Recommendations for eating pomegranate
In principle, each person has the right to decide for himself whether he wants to eat pomegranate with seeds or try not to do so. As practice shows, most forty-year-old people believe that pomegranate seeds should not be eaten as it can cause problems with the gastrointestinal tract. In fact, this is not at all the case. In this case, most likely, what works is that in childhood, people’s mothers and grandmothers forbade them to swallow fruit seeds.
Scientists have long proven that pomegranate seeds contain many useful substances, so if you eat not too much of them, they will bring you exceptional benefits. True, in this case there is one thing. People who already have problems with the digestive system should not eat pomegranate with seeds. Since they are over-poisoned for quite a long time, this will contribute to the intensification of inflammatory processes in the stomach and intestines, and this will lead to the person’s symptoms of his illness becoming more pronounced.
From all this, only one conclusion can be drawn: if you are completely healthy, then you can quite easily eat pomegranate along with the seeds. If you have at least minimal problems with the digestive system, it will be better if you do not swallow them.
Positive and negative qualities
Pomegranate is a berry that grows in warm climates. It has a lot of useful properties, both the grains themselves and the seeds with a dense skin.
In terms of its properties and positive effect, pomegranate is superior to the consumption of apples, bananas and oranges.
It contains the four most important vitamins C, P, B6 and B12. Most of all vitamin C.
Because of this, pomegranate juice is contraindicated for people suffering from gastritis, ulcers, and high acidity.
But it strengthens the immune system. This is especially important in winter and spring, when most people suffer from vitamin deficiency.
Eating this berry is simply necessary after surgery to strengthen the vascular-cardiac system, restore leukocytes and red blood cells in the blood. This is facilitated by the vitamin P content.
Pomegranate seeds are best consumed along with seeds. No clogging occurs; on the contrary, the seeds bring a lot of benefits.
For example, they help reduce headaches, are a natural pain reliever for girls during the pregnancy period, and also increase male potency.
However, pomegranate juice harms tooth enamel. It is also not recommended for children under 1 year of age, and it is not recommended to give it to children under 5 years of age in its pure form.
A tincture of pomegranate partitions, peel or flowers helps get rid of parasites in the body, due to its bitter composition and, due to its biological properties, the rapid absorption of individual microelements into the blood. Another important property: remove radiation decay products from the body.
How to choose and peel a pomegranate: life hacks
Recommendations for cleaning a pomegranate with a dumpling machine
As for choosing a pomegranate, in addition to the above mentioned methods, there is one more that will tell you exactly whether you can peel it correctly or not. The outer shell of the fruit will help you do this. In order to understand that you have chosen the right fruit, you will have to pick it up and run your fingers along the surface.
If the peel is hard, then you have the perfect fruit. If it turns out to be sluggish and soft, you know that you won’t be able to clean it easily. The only thing you can do with it is cut it into pieces and then take out the intact grains.
Recommendations for cleaning pomegranate with a dumpling machine:
- Take any deep bowl and place the dumpling maker on top of it
- Next, rinse the pomegranate, dry it and divide it into slices
- After that, place them on the dumpling maker, skin side up.
- Take a small spatula or spoon and tap the pomegranate skin
- If you choose a ripe fruit, then literally in 2 minutes all the grains will be in the bowl
Pomegranate cocktail recipe
Many delicious dishes can be prepared from pomegranate; it is often used to make salads, smoothies and more. We offer you a recipe for a healthy cocktail. It will help boost immunity.
To prepare you need only 4 ingredients:
- lemon;
- ginger;
- pomegranate;
- mint.
- You need to cut the lemon into small pieces and add 2 liters of water. You can add sugar if desired.
- Peel the ginger and chop it finely, and divide the pomegranate into grains.
- After the lemon boils, add everything listed to the pan along with the mint.
- Boil for two hours, and then take out the mint and enjoy the tasty and healthy drink.