Natural form

A whole pomegranate showing its thick, leathery red skin and persistent crown.

Shows readers how to identify an uncut pomegranate at market — its distinctive shape, crown, and deep red exterior.

Produce

Pomegranate

Jewel-like, tart-sweet seeds for garnishing and salads

Ruby arils burst with tart-sweet juice, scattering jewel-bright crunch over salads, grain bowls, and desserts. The whole fruit keeps for weeks, cold.

The pomegranate is a leathery-skinned globe packed with hundreds of jewel-like arils — ruby seeds wrapped in tart-sweet, crunchy juice. Those arils scatter sparkling color and a burst of acidity over salads, grain bowls, hummus, roasted meats, and desserts, while their juice cooks down into the tangy molasses that defines much of Middle Eastern and Persian cooking. Intimidating to open at first, it's simple once you know the trick — and the reward is one of the prettiest, most refreshing garnishes around.

Measured in: piece
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 30 days

Find it in

Produce

Types & varieties

Wonderful

The common large, deep-red variety; tart-sweet, juicy

Pomegranate molasses

Reduced juice; thick, tangy syrup for cooking and dressings

Fresh arils (pre-packed)

The seeds sold ready-to-use; convenient but pricier

How to choose

Heavier means juicier — pick a pomegranate that feels heavy and dense for its size, with firm, taut, unblemished skin. Riper fruit often looks a little squared-off and angular (from the packed arils inside) rather than perfectly round. Skin color isn't a reliable ripeness guide; surface scratches are fine, but avoid soft, cracked, or moldy spots.

How to store

Whole pomegranates are excellent keepers — a couple of weeks at room temperature, and up to two months in the fridge. Once opened, store the loose arils in an airtight container in the fridge for several days, or freeze them on a tray and bag them for longer keeping.

Whole fruit keeps for weeks to months
Refrigerate arils, airtight, for several days
Freeze arils on a tray to keep longer

How to open it without the mess

Score the skin around the equator (or into segments) and avoid cutting deep into the arils, which squirt staining juice. Then either pull the fruit apart over a bowl and pop the arils out by hand, or — the popular trick — hold a halved pomegranate cut-side down over a bowl and whack the skin firmly with a wooden spoon so the arils rain out. Doing it submerged in a bowl of water keeps splatter down: arils sink, the bitter white pith floats off.

Score, don't cut into the arils
Whack the skin to release the seeds
Work underwater to avoid juice stains

Common uses

Scattered over salads and grain bowlsOn hummus and labnehFattoush and tabboulehOver roasted meats and fishPomegranate molasses dressingsMuhammara and dipsDesserts and yogurtCocktails and grenadine

Tips & pitfalls

Open it underwater to stop juice staining everything (and your hands)
Whack the skin of a halved fruit with a spoon to knock the arils loose
Scatter arils raw and last — they're a finishing garnish, not for cooking down
Use pomegranate molasses for tangy depth in dressings, marinades, and dips
Freeze extra arils for later

Nutrition

83kcal

Energy

347 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 7%Carbs 81%Fat 11%

Protein

1.7g

3% DV

Carbs

18.7g

7% DV

Fat

1.2g

2% DV

Fiber

14% DV

Sugars

13.7g

of which

Sodium

3mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin K14% DV

Vitamin C11% DV

Folate10% DV

Thiamin (B1)6% DV

Potassium5% DV

Vitamin E4% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · Pomegranates, raw

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In the shops

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Good to know

Peak season: Fall through winter (October–January)
Flavor: Tart-sweet, bright, juicy; crunchy seeds inside
Origin: Iran and Central Asia (ranging to northwest India); one of the oldest cultivated fruits
Nutrition: ~83 kcal/100g (arils); fiber, vitamin C, K, antioxidants (punicalagins)
How to buy: Heavy for size, firm, taut skin; squared-off, slightly angular shape

Substitutes