How to Cut a Pomegranate

Everyone knows that removing the seeds from a pomegranate is tricky. There are a few schools of thought: You can cut them in half and claw the seeds out into a bowl of water, letting the pith float to the top. You can wack the separate halves with a spoon and watch the seeds dislodge. Or, you could pluck the seeds out one by one.

All of these methods assume you're slicing the fruit in half first, but in this installment of Mad Genius Tips, F&W Culinary Director at Large Justin Chapple has another suggestion that won't leave you with pomegranate juice spraying everywhere, staining cutting boards and fingertips alike.

With a sharp knife, you'll first slice off the top end of the fruit. Cut off just enough to reveal some of the seeds inside, and you'll also see the natural sections of the pomegranate. Then, simply score the outside of the fruit along those sections, all the way to the base, being careful to only cut a quarter of an inch deep.

Once you're finished, you'll have five or six sections carved out. Hold the pomegranate between your hands and gently pull it apart. A few stray seeds might fall out as you're breaking it apart, but that's way better than getting sprayed with red juice.

You'll be left with wedges where the seeds are exposed and easy to eat — no painstaking removal process required, and no sticky mess to contend with.

And if you want to juice the seeds instead of eating them on the spot, Chapple has another Mad Genius Tip for easily juicing pomegranate seeds without a juicer.