How to Cut a Pomegranate

Whether you’re into this fruit or not, you should still know how to cut these mysterious, juicy creatures. They are a great, 100-ish calorie snack and can be served fresh, frozen or juiced.

Disclaimer: change into clothes you can get dirty (pomegranate juice will stain) before gathering up a knife, cutting board and large bowl. Head to your sink and begin.

Step 1

Cut off the very top and bottom of the fruit, and then cut it in half. Cut all the way through the skin but not all the way through the pulp (you don’t want to burst all the seeds.)

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Step 2

Use your fingers to gently pry the pomegranate open so you are left with two identical halves. Make sure to work over your large bowl to gather loose seeds and collect the juice that will inevitably splatter.

Step 3

Pick up that knife again. Now, cut the pomegranate halves once more, not cutting all the way through and again, divide with your fingers. You should now have four equal quarters of the pomegranate. Is this math or cooking?

Step 4

Fill up your large bowl about 1/3rd of the way with water, which will let the seeds (the good stuff) sink to the bottom and the pieces of membrane float to the top.

Step 5

Submerge the pomegranate quadrants in water and use your fingers to extract the pomegranate seeds from the peel. Once you’ve de-seeded each slice, skim the membranes from the top of the water, pitch them, and then strain and store the seeds. Voilà!

What next?

1. Put the seeds in a serving bowl and start eating! You can eat the entire seeds (they’re full of fiber), or just chew on them, swallow the juice, and spit the pulp out. Pomegranate seeds can also stay fresh in an airtight container for about 2-3 days.

2. Use a blender and pulse the seeds to make juice. I’d recommend adding a spoonful of sugar to make the drink a bit sweeter.

3. Freeze them to snack on later.

This article originally appeared on Spoon University