How to efficiently separate bad from good pomegranate arils?
I've read about various techniques to get arils out of a pomegranate, including from this StackExchange site ( e.g. how to peel a pomegranate efficiently? ), but a problem that continues to vex me is the "bad" arils: those that are mushy and turning various shades of brown, and are unappealing both visually and to taste. I find them in nearly every pomegranate I take apart - it's been truly rare that I've ever taken apart a pomegranate without at least a few of them.
Is there any efficient way to separate these bad arils from the good? They appear to sink in water along with the good arils, so floatation-based separation in water doesn't seem to work, unlike with the pith.
In the absence of any better technique, I've just been separating by visual discrimination, which adds to the tedium of the aril extraction, and certainly doesn't feel efficient.
Best Answer
I always cut the skin along the ridges as described in this answer to your referenced question. This has the advantage of breaking the individual segments out of the fruit mostly undamaged (with all arils still in place).
Once you've broken loose a segment, it's easy to seperate the arils from the white flesh by gently brushing your fingers over them. If there are any bad arils around, you can either leave them in the segment by not brushing them loose or you can dispose them into a seperate container.
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How do you separate good and bad pomegranate seeds?
Those \u201cin the know\u201d swore by the underwater method; "cut the pom in half then submerge it in a bowl filled with water. Pick out the seeds allowing them to sink to the bottom of the bowl and discard the membrane and rind which floats to the top. Lastly, strain the seeds. \u201cVoila, you're done!\u201d they proudly proclaimed.How do you know if pomegranate arils are bad?
Have the seeds gone bad or spoiled? Pomegranate seeds are bad if they've started to decay - they'll turn brown and mushy. They are also bad if they smell like nail polish remover (acetone), or alcohol, a result from yeasts breaking down sugars from the fruit.What do you do with bad pomegranate seeds?
But if the seeds are a brownish color and appear soft and mushy, you'll have to throw them away. You may come across a pomegranate with both good and bad seeds\u2014it is perfectly safe to eat the red seeds and discard the brown seeds.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Monstera, KoolShooters, KoolShooters, Klaus Nielsen