Learn to make Pomegranate Juice at home with simple steps. No more tetra pack or canned juice for your family! Enjoy the goodness of fresh juice without added sugar, artificial color or preservatives. Recipe Includes health benefits, tips to easily cut and deseed pomegranate + storing pomegranate arils + how to extract juice in the blender.
Homemade Pomegranate Juice Recipe? Possible? Absolutely Yes! This detailed step by step blog post covers details on how to choose a good quality pomegranate, how to cut, de-seed / remove arils, storing them and making juice at home using a blender jar.
With just a little effort, you can get extract refreshing homemade sugar free pomegranate juice. No more tetra pack juice boxes when you can make a fresh batch of juice at home that your whole family will enjoy.
Enjoy fresh pomegranate juice for breakfast, afternoon snack or afterschool snack for kids.
About Pomegranate
The fruit has a leathery exterior (thick skin) and once you cut the fruit in half, you can see the arils are protected by membranes (white part) which acts like a cover and sort of helps the arils in sticking to each other to form clusters.
The white pith or membranes are not edible. The pomegranate peel is great for skin and hair. The peel is sun-dried and powdered for use.
The edible part of the fruit are the arils or ruby red pearls which are a combination of sweet and slightly tart.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is in season from October to February whereas the Southern Hemisphere enjoys it from March to May.
In India, pomegranate is available year round which makes it easy for us to include the fruit as part of our diet and in a variety of recipes.
Pomegranates are widely cultivated throughout Middle East, Africa, Iran, India, Central Asia and the Mediterranean. This is one of the reasons why most Middle Eastern or Mediterranean cuisine use pomegranates in many recipes.
Jump to:
Selecting Ripe Pomegranate
The first step towards making fresh pomegranate juice is to select the right pomegranate.
Pomegranate is sometimes deep ruby red in color or at times pale pink. Both can be consumed and the color of the juice will vary with the variety of pomegranate used.
While picking the pomegranate, ensure it feels heavy and not light. Heavy fruit means juicy pomegranate arils. Lighter ones are usually spoiled and/or have less arils.
The rind or skin should be blemish free and smooth. Dark color rind indicates that the arils are bright red and ripe.
Unfortunately, you cannot smell the fruit. Holding it in your palms and weighing them is the best way to indicate how ripe the fruit is.
How to Cut and de-seed a pomegranate
Let's admit this is the most time consuming task and one of the reasons why many of us feel lazy to buy this fruit.
However, with little tips and tricks shared in the post below, you will find this activity a breeze.
Before you begin, wear an apron - Especially when you are wearing your favorite dress. Cutting a pomegranate will result in some spluttering of juice. Go ahead and use gloves if you don't like juice stains on your hands.
There are 2 ways to cut a pomegranate. I am sharing the one I favor the most and makes the least amount of mess in the kitchen.
This method involves cutting the pomegranate into 4 - 5 parts (from the center) depending on how big the fruit is and then slowly removing the arils.
(1) Using a sharp pairing knife, cut and remove the crown portion of pomegranate.
(2) Make shallow, vertical cuts (4 to 5 depending on the size of the pomegranate) on the outside. The cut should run from the crown portion all the way to the bottom. Be careful not to pierce the knife too hard else the arils will burst and ooze juice.
(3) With your hands open the fruit. It should open easily into 4-5 sections.
(4) Take each section, carefully remove the arils (covered by white pith or membrane). Use your thumb and fingers. Do not use your nails as the arils will burst and squirt juice. Add the seeds to a bowl. Repeat the process until you have a bowl full of pomegranate arils.
Note - Some recipes call for immersing these sections into water to remove arils easily. However, this method can be only practiced if you are consuming the arils right away. It is not recommended if you want to refrigerate or freeze the arils. Moisture due to soaking decreases shelf life.
The other method (which is quite messy) involves cutting the pomegranate in half (leads to some loss of juice) and then thwacking it with a rolling pin until all the arils fall right into a bowl.
I wouldn't recommend the above even though I have seen many Television Chefs doing this.
Once the arils are ready, it is time to blend and strain.
How to make Pomegranate juice
Add the arils in a blender, pour some water. Note - The water helps in easy blending. Do not skip.
Pulse the blender for 10-15 seconds or 5-6 pulses. Just enough to separate the seeds.
Pour the juice over a strainer. Use a ladle or potato masher to press and extract every last bit of juice.
The fresh juice is collected in the jar. Notice the intact seeds?
Health Benefits of Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate has a ton of health benefits and you should enjoy the fruit when in season. My husband is a crazy pomegranate lover. We include it in our daily smoothies, fresh fruit salads, oatmeal and yogurt.
Medicinal Properties - Used in ancient medicine and Ayurveda.
Loaded with antioxidants
Is anti-inflammatory
Cancer fighting, lowers blood pressure, improves memory
Uses
Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Cuisine have a ton of recipes that use fresh pomegranate.
It can be used for fresh Salads, Smoothies, Cocktails and Mocktails.
Pomegranate Molasses is made by cooking and reducing fresh pomegranate juice. It is used for making Muhammara (spicy roasted red bell pepper dip) besides a ton of other things. It is tart and sweet, quite similar to Balsamic Vinegar.
The pomegranate seeds (also known as Anardana) is used as a souring agent in Indian cuisine. After the juice is extracted, bits of pomegranate stick to the seeds making it tangy and sweet as they are air dried. It is quite similar to Sumac which is used in Middle Eastern cuisine.
Storage
Storing the Pomegranate Arils
- Never rinse the arils under running tap water. Moisture compromises shelf life.
- The arils can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated. It lasts upto 4-5 days depending on usage. Make sure the arils do not come in contact with moisture and use a clean, dry spoon while removing some into a bowl.
- Freezing the arils is the best option especially if you have de-seeded a big batch. Increases shelf life.
- For storing and freezing, use glass containers instead of metal. Steel containers sometimes may contain carbon steel which hastens the oxidation process (pomegranates would turn brown).
Storing Fresh Pomegranate Juice
- Always consume fresh fruit juices immediately. It is best for health.
- Pomegranate juice tends to oxidize and hence an astringent like lemon or orange juice helps. You may also observe some change in color. Juice of 1 Lime or 1/2 cup fresh orange juice can be added instead of water, while blending.
- You can store the juice in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. Ensure the juice is sealed in an airtight glass bottle and secured with a tight lid.
- The juice freezes well and it can be stored in ziplock covers. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator to use in the morning for smoothies etc.
Expert Tips
Use a high power blender jar and PULSE the arils. Total 5 - 6 pulses are required to extract juice and just enough to leave the seeds intact. We do not want to crush the seeds.
Fresh Pomegranate juice is highly concentrated. You can dilute it by adding some chilled water, seltzer or club soda. We prefer it with chilled water and lots of ice.
Since the juice is very sweet, adding a pinch of salt really elevates the taste. It is optional but highly recommended. I like adding rock salt and sometimes a pinch of ground cumin.
2 and 1/2 cups of Pomegranate arils yields 400 ml juice, approximately 1 and 3/4 cup of fresh juice. Serves two.
Easy Drinks / Smoothies to try
Shikanji - Indian Lemonade
Mango Lassi - Creamy Mango Yogurt Smoothie
Please take a moment to LEAVE A COMMENT and a STAR * rating on the blog. It would encourage others to try the recipe or you could TAG US on any of our social media handles –INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, FACEBOOK PAGE AND PINTEREST.
Easy Pomegranate Juice Recipe | How to Make Pomegranate Juice at home
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Pomegranate Arils 5 medium size Pomegranates, approx half kilo
- ½ cup Chilled Water
Instructions
- In a blender Jar, add 2 ½ cups of pomegranate arils and chilled water.
- Pulse it for 10-15 seconds or say 5-6 times until the juice is extracted. Note - Do not pulse for long else the seeds will break down and mix with juice.
- Pass the juice through a strainer. Use a potato masher, back of the ladle or spatula to gently press and extract juice.
- Once the juice is strained, it is ready to drink. Serve with a pinch of salt (optional) and ice cubes.
Notes
- Use a high power blender jar and PULSE the arils. Total 5 - 6 pulses are required to extract juice and just enough to leave the seeds intact. We do not want to crush the seeds.
- Fresh Pomegranate juice is highly concentrated. You can dilute it by adding some chilled water, seltzer or club soda. We prefer it with chilled water and lots of ice.
- Pomegranate juice tends to oxidize and hence an astringent like lemon or orange juice helps. You may also observe some change in color. Juice of 1 Lime or 1/2 cup fresh orange juice can be added instead of water, while blending.
- Since the juice is very sweet, adding a pinch of salt really elevates the taste. It is optional but highly recommended. I like adding rock salt or pink salt and sometimes a pinch of ground cumin.
- 2 and 1/2 cups of Pomegranate arils yields 400 ml juice, approximately 1 and 3/4 cup of fresh juice. Serves two.
- The arils can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated. It lasts upto 4-5 days depending on usage. Make sure the arils do not come in contact with moisture and use a clean, dry spoon while removing some into a bowl. Freezing the arils is the best option especially if you have de-seeded a big batch. Increases shelf life.
- Fresh Pomegranate juice can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. Ensure the juice is sealed in an airtight bottle and secured with a tight lid.
- The juice freezes well and it can be stored in ziplock covers. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator to use in the morning for smoothies etc.
- For storing and freezing, use glass containers instead of metal. Steel containers sometimes may contain carbon steel which hastens the oxidation process (pomegranates would turn brown).
Please subscribe to our website to receive all the delicious recipes in your mail box.
We will be back again with yet another exciting recipe .. Until then, stay healthy and happy!
Vidya Narayan
Leave a Reply