HOW TO Get the Arils Out of a Pomegranate

Alternatively: How to Relieve Stress and Meal Prep at the Same Time

It’s pomegranate season! You’ll likely see these beauties on sale over the next month at your local grocery stores, and they’re definitely worth picking up if you’ve never tried one before. This fruit is full of nutrition – a good source of vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, potassium, and fiber, and only about 72 calories per half cup, it’s a great addition to add to your weekly produce lineup.

Many people opt to buy pre-packaged cups that just have the arils (that’s what the juicy seeds inside are called) because it’s easier than figuring out HOW to get all those little seeds out of the inside of the whole fruit. But if you do that, then you miss out on the second benefit of buying the whole pomegranate: healthy stress relief!

How is that? Well even though there are other methods of aril-removal out there, I haven’t come across an easier, or more fun, method than what I detail below. This method involves smacking the pomegranate with a wooden spoon – JUST what you need to release some pent up frustration in a safe way, leading to a healthy treat!

Step 1. Wash hands; wash pomegranate outside; assemble materials.

Step one will ALWAYS be to wash your hands and make sure your kitchen utensils are clean. Food safety first. Here, you will need a paring knife, a wooden spoon, a cutting board, and a container to ultimately store all the arils.

Step 2. Cut pomegranate in half.

Cut the pomegranate in half hamburger-style.

Step 3. Gently pull apart the pomegranate flesh to loosen arils.

This step is very important. The arils will only fall out easily and solo from the fibrous flesh of the pomegranate if they are loosened up a little bit. Pulling and separating the fruit a little with your thumbs will help. You should hear and feel the fruit loosen up.

Step 4. Flip half over into hand and whack with wooden spoon.

The fun part. Flip the fruit half over into your hand and whack the [expletive] out of it with the spoon, slowly turning the fruit in a circle as you go. You will feel the arils fall out of the flesh into your palm.

Caution: you may want to wear an apron or old shirt, as this process can also splatter and be a little messy. You will also need to wipe down the counter afterward. Totally worth it for the fun though, I promise.

Step 5. Pick out bits of fibrous flesh; scoop arils into airtight container.

There will still be some bits of the fibrous flesh of pomegranate innards that fall out with the arils. You will want to pick those out, but I guarantee there will be less than some other in-home methods of aril removal. You may also need to pick out a few strong, stubborn arils from inside the fruit. Waste not! Repeat this process with the second half of the pomegranate.

Enjoy! Refrigerate the pomegranate arils in an airtight container. Use them to accompany yogurt, mix into cottage cheese, stir into oatmeal, top salads, or just enjoy on their own. Let me know how you liked this fun, stress-relieving process!

Cheers and Namaste!

-JMJ