How to get most from pomegranate: 6 smartest ways to eat it

Add it to salads

Pomegranate seeds are juicy and slightly tart, adding a bright, piquant flavor to a variety of salads.

Add them to a mix of salad greens or spinach along with plenty of vegetables. They provide crunch, vibrant taste, and many nutrients.

It’s important to keep in mind that if you have an individual intolerance to fruit acids or stomach issues, you should eat small portions.

Blend it into a smoothie

Add the seeds to a blender instead of pomegranate juice to increase the fiber content from the fruit.

Try combining them with pineapple, banana, and yogurt. Use about 1/2 cup of seeds for one smoothie. It will have a pleasant color, be healthy, and aromatic.

Desserts

Pomegranate is perfect for desserts. It can be added to:

• Creams and yogurt-based desserts. The seeds add acidity and crunch
• Fruit salads. It pairs well with citrus, kiwi, and banana
• Pastries as decoration after baking (during baking, the seeds lose their juiciness)
• Jellies and mousses. You can use both the seeds and the juice
• As a topping for ice cream, panna cotta, or cheesecake

The only thing to note is that in desserts where texture is important, it’s better to add the seeds right before serving, so they stay fresh.

Make a sauce

You can easily make a sauce from pomegranate. The most well-known option is a thick sweet-and-sour sauce common in Caucasian cuisine.

Ingredients:

• Pomegranate juice — 500 ml (unsweetened)
• Sugar — 1–2 tsp (to taste)
• Salt — a pinch
• Optional: garlic, black pepper, coriander

Squeeze the juice from ripe pomegranates and strain it. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and heat it over low heat, stirring without a lid.

Cook until it reaches a syrup-like thickness. Add salt and sugar. Add spices if you want. Once the sauce cools, it will become a bit thicker.

It pairs wonderfully with meat (especially poultry and beef), vegetables, salads, cheese, and roasted eggplant.

Sprinkle it on toast or oatmeal

A simple way to incorporate the antioxidants and fiber found in pomegranates into your diet is to add the seeds to your breakfast. For example, you can:

• Sprinkle them on avocado toast
• Add them to oatmeal
• Mix them with cottage cheese and other fruits, such as berries

Eat them as they are

Pomegranate seeds (the arils together with the juicy pulp) are completely safe and healthy to eat fresh.

They contain vitamin C, potassium, polyphenols (especially ellagitannins), and fiber. Polyphenols help reduce oxidative stress.

You’ll get more fiber when you chew and swallow the seeds together with the tiny pits. This supports digestion.

You can also dry pomegranate seeds in the oven until they become crunchy. Then you can eat them as a snack.

How to choose a sweet pomegranate

The fruit should have a rich, deep red color with a shiny, smooth peel. When the seeds ripen, they “push out” the peel, making it more textured.

Take several fruits of the same size and choose the heaviest one. A heavier pomegranate means it contains more juice, and the seeds are riper.

To peel a pomegranate, follow these tips:

• Score the peel around the circumference with a knife to divide it into two halves
• You can place the pomegranate in a bowl of water to prevent juice from splattering
• You can remove the seeds underwater or place the cut side down on a board and hit it with a large spoon or another kitchen utensil to release the seeds
• If there is white pith, remove it because it is bitter

One cup of pomegranate seeds contains:

• Calories — 144
• Fat — 2 g
• Carbohydrates — 32.5 g
• Fiber — 7 g
• Protein — 2.9 g
• Vitamin C — 17.7 mg
• Calcium — 17.4 mg

Earlier, we revealed 6 foods that contain hidden mold even though they appear completely fine.

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.