Pomegranate Seeds...
 

I've always chewed and swallowed the seeds after they gush their wonderful juice, but some people have told me they are to be spit out.

So the question is...

Spit or swallow?

I've never imagined spitting them out. That just seems odd.

I've always chewed and swallowed them, and always thought that's the way they were supposed to be eaten!

I've never eaten one. I've drunk bottled pomegranate juice. What are the seeds like, hard or soft, chewy or crunchy, zesty or flavorless?

I'm a little worried about the direction this thread could go. How many replies before it gets banned to OMNI?

Duh! If you swallow the seeds, pomegranates will start growing from your body!! :D

I thought the seeds were all there were to pomegranates? There's so little juice. . . .

To answer the OP's question, if the seeds weren't edible, I'd be dead by now. Tell your friends to back off.
:)

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 Sprint:MotoQ (compatible; MSIE 4.01; Windows CE; Smartphone; 176x220))

Edible part is the juice, the seed isn't . But if you eat the seeds, it's no worse for you than swallowing guava seeds or sugarcane pulp!

Of course the seeds are edible. (I, too, thought that that was all there was.)

A lot of Middle Eastern cuisine features raw pomegranate seeds. For example, many rice dishes in Persian cuisine come with lots of seeds sprinkled on top. Also, often a bowl of hummos or moutabal will be garnished with the seeds. . . delicious.

You have to eat dirt first.

i've always spit the seeds out

You should go out and get some right now. They're much better than any of the bottled stuff I have ever had.

The seeds themselves are enclosed in a thin skin that contains a sac of juice. The juice is what you're after, the skin and seeds don't really add anything (perhaps fiber?). The skin sort of explodes when you bit on it, releasing the juice which is sweet, but a little tart.

Having eaten the seeds since I was a kid, I thought this was such an odd question that I googled it. It seems I am a disgusting, graceless thing for just going 'slice' / 'munch'. People have elaborate, careful ways to open the pomegranate and de-seed it, leaving just the juice.

The seeds are safe to eat though, and I think it's much more fun to just chow down and get messy :)

swallow them.

I swallow them, too. They're much less prone to getting stuck in my teeth than raspberry seeds.

I always used to eat them, however i think theres something to be said for scooping out a huge handful pom, squashing it in your mouth, chewing it around a bit, sucking more juices out, then spitting out a big load of seeds.

I chew and chew and cheww... Umm maybe I should swallow them right away from now on, I want a pomegranate tree in my tummy.

Swallower here.

I've had pomegranate juice made in front of me by someone using a big metal citrus press, that was delicious, no seeds in that.

The juices you buy are pretty disappointing - the only one that hasn't been and that actually tastes of freshly squeezed pomegranate was the kind that Marks and Spencer sells when the fruit is in season.

According to this article (page 2) the fruit is crushed in a machine designed for getting the pulp/juice out of passion fruit. Everything inside the pomegranate 'shell' gets crushed and pulped. Pomegreat and the other juices you get in healthfood stores taste of cranberry juice in comparison.

My mother likes to take the seeds out of a couple of pomegranates and let them steep in red wine and sugar.

Funny, I've been told to do that on a number of occasions, but I've yet to take action. :)

Are you sure it was 'dirt' you were told to eat?? :p

Apparantly this is a worldwide phenomenon amongst a significant proportion of pregnant women. Some secretly indulge themselves eating the dirt off of potatoes. In parts of Africa they actually sell pellets of dirt in markets, apparantly chalky soils are the most popular.

I'll let you know if I ever get this craving myself.

Ah, machine-gun style! I like that with watermelon seeds. It's a wonder anyone will eat at the table with me.

I've always eaten a steak instead.

Topic check!

cblaisd
Senior Moderator

I wish it was that easy. If I want to try a pomegranate, I'll have to drive 50 miles this weekend. :(

I saw some scrawny ones at our supermarket yesterday. I don't think this is the best season for them.

GUACAMOLE WITH PEAR AND POMEGRANATE SEEDS

Here is one for the pomegranate fans out there. May seem a little strange upon first read, but once you try it, you'll never spit again.

I never imagined swallowing them on purpose. Of course you spit them out.

The usual whole (not juiced) pomegranate eating procedure is: keep a bowl for discarding the peelings. Extract the seeds into another container. When all seeds have been extracted from the fruit, rinse them and then start eating them one mouthful at a time. Spit the seeds into the same container that was used for the peelings.

Easy enough.

Am I the only one who uses gloves to peel and dismember pomegranates?

I was taught to do this in Spain as the pith/membrane seriously discolours the skin around your nails.

This always seemed a far bigger issue with eating pomegranates than the seeds, yet no-one has mentioned it.

Watch the Good Eats episode on Pomegranates for a good way to get the juice out.

So THAT's what this is coming out of my belly button!!!!

It's funny because when I was younger I always ate the seeds because I would get scolded if I made a mess trying to spit them out. But when I became older I realized I *could* spit the seeds out and simply swallow the juice. I haven't had a pomengranate in a long time. Pomengranate liquor on the other hand....yum! I'll save any further comments on that for the cocktails thread :p

Absolutely - same in Georgian cuisine. One of my favorites is the roasted eggplant with walnut paste and pomegranate seeds. Not exactly health food, but oh it tastes so well..

Crunch 'em with your teeth, swallow 'em. Fiber.

I spit them out, just like watermelon seeds and grape seeds.

Raspberry seeds and strawberry seeds, too? ;)

And mushroom spores. God, I hate it when one goes down the wrong way. :D

Now those I spit out after chewing carefully around them. ;)

No. Those are small enough to swallow whole. :eek: