HOW TO OPEN A POMEGRANATE QUICKLY

Pomegranates are delicious and nutritious and the “jewels” add a certain glamour to cocktails, but getting them open can be tricky and messy.

This quick and easy hack will help you open pomegranates with the greatest of ease.

All you need is a fresh pomegranate, a paring knife and a cutting board.

1. Use your paring knife to remove the flower from the top of the pomegranate.  You want to cut at an angle, removing a cone of pith from below the flower without cutting into the seeds.
2. Looking at your pomegranate.  You’ll notice that it’s not perfectly round – there are some flat sides, and some ridges.  The exact number of segments will vary between pomegranates – but is usually 5 or 6.
   We’re going to score along the wider rib portions of the pomegranate. You will feel them sticking out a bit.
   Take your paring knife, start at your previous cut at the flower-end of the pomegranate, and score the skin along the ridge down toward the bottom (stem) end of the fruit.  You should cut through the red rind, and most of the way through the white pith.  Avoid cutting into the seeds, as that will just create the big juicy mess, you are trying to avoid.
3. Now it’s time to get cracking.
   Place your thumbs inside the cut flower end, with the pads of your thumbs pressing against opposing segments of the fruit.  Pull apart gently but firmly, and the pomegranate will crack open along the lines you’ve scored in the skin, and the internal segments will separate along their natural boundaries.
   Adjust your grip to separate each segment along the scored lines.

The shiny red “jewels” or arils inside, the Pomegranate, contain sweet, juicy nectar that doesn’t just add a pretty rosy hue to your gin but, if you muddle these fleshy gems before adding them to your drink, you will get a very berry nice G&T! Pair with a squeeze of lime to add a sharpness to the sweetness and you are good to go.

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