pomegranate juice

Pomegranate Juice Recipe

By Swasthi on November 23, 2023, Comments, Jump to Recipe

Treat yourself to good health with homemade Pomegranate Juice. This is one of the best with many health benefits in a glass! This refreshing & delicious goodness is loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that is great for the overall health. It builds immunity, detoxes the body naturally and provides much needed nutrients. Learn to make Pomegranate Juice at home, with easy steps to cut and deseed.

pomegranate juice

Pomegranate was originally cultivated near Iran around 4,000 years ago and quickly expanded throughout the Mediterranean and Central and South Asia. Apart from being valued for its immense medicinal properties, pomegranate has been revered to as a sacred fruit since ancient times and has its reference in many religious scriptures.

References to it include ancient Hindu, Egyptian and Greek mythology, as well as the Bible and Talmud. It is believed that pomegranate is a symbol of prosperity, luck, fertility, regeneration, life and abundance.

This multi-sided fruit has a smooth, leathery skin that can range from brownish yellow to a striking red; inside are little seeds, each covered in a jewel-like red pulp called an aril. All of the arils are clustered together in tightly packed chambers separated by white or yellow membranes.

This ancient, sweet and tart fruit is the original basis for grenadine, a fruity syrup popular in beloved cocktails and mock tails. It remains popular in Mediterranean, Central Asian, and South Asian cuisines.

Most pomegranates come into season in autumn from September to November (although you can find them in stores as late as January). While you can eat their beautiful arils either on their own or sprinkled over salads, cooked entrées, desserts, or a nice bowl of yogurt, pomegranate arils have one more valuable ingredient to offer: pomegranate juice.

Benefits of homemade Pomegranate Juice

While pomegranate juice does have some health benefits, such as high levels of antioxidants, there are definitely other advantages to making pomegranate juice at home.

To start, it’s fresher. You can use pomegranates bought in season and at their peak, instead of drinking pomegranate juice made from concentrate.

You also get a purer flavor from homemade Pomegranate Juice. Many bottled fruit juices have added sweeteners or natural or artificial flavors. Pomegranate juices specifically are often blended with other fruits to create fruit juice cocktails, which generally have a sweeter and mellower taste.

Fresh, plain pomegranate juice is a great ingredient to keep on hand for drinking on its own and for cooking. Whether it’s for marinades, salad dressings, smoothies, syrups, or adding a dash of color and sweet-tart flavor to baked goods, homemade Pomegranate Molasses is the way to go. For this you can use the fresh pomegranate juice.

More Veggie/ fruit juice recipes,
Celery Juice
Cucumber Juice
Ginger shot
Orange juice
Apple juice
Grape juice
Watermelon juice

How to pick a pomegranate

It’s pomegranate season! After heading down to your local supermarket or farmer’s market, how do you know which pomegranates are ripe and perfect for juicing?

pomegranate

Pick a pomegranate that feels heavy. Pomegranates that are heavy for their size have more juice.

Ripe pomegranates should have smooth, glossy skins; make sure there’s no soft, bruised spots. Pomegranate skin colors can vary and don’t really dictate ripeness.

Look for flat, angular sides in a ripe pomegranate (it’s the juicy seeds pressing up against the skin). If a pomegranate is perfectly round that means it’s unripe & the arils are not matured yet.

Once you know what key characteristics to look for, you can pick out pomegranates like a pro!

How to cut and deseed a pomegranate

Before you begin deseeding a pomegranate, keep in mind that pomegranate juice stains. If you don’t want your kitchen to look like the set of a horror movie, be careful of what you’re wearing and the materials you’re using. Plastic cutting boards might get stained, so wooden cutting boards are recommended. Use vinegar or lemon juice to clean your wooden cutting board if things get messy and pink.

Luckily, this deseeding technique should help keep kitchen mess to a minimum. Once you have the technique under your belt, you can use pomegranate arils for all kinds of good cooking.

1. Wash pomegranates under running water. Cut off the crown, the top portion of the pomegranate.

chopping the crown to make pomegranate juice

2. Similarly cut down the bottom part of the fruit. This loosens the rind as it looses the strength on both the parts.

cutting down the bottom  most part to make pomegranate juice

3. Remove the top of the pomegranate by cutting a shallow, angled circle around the crown. Wiggle it loose and discard. Make 4 shallow cuts as you see in the picture.

making 4 deep incisions of pomegranate to make juice

4. Hold 2 of the parts/segments in each hand and gently pull out to separate them. Without messing up, the fruit gets divided to 4 segments/parts. Pomegranates stain the work tops and even the clothes. A few disposable tissues or a kitchen cloth is helpful.

5. Separate each segment.

removing seeds to make pomegranate juice

6. Deseed to a large bowl, they come off easily.

pomegranate seeds to make juice

7. Discard all of the yellow and white membranes.

Deseed to a bowl of water – method 2

You can also place the segments in a bowl of water to help with removing the seeds; when disassembling the pomegranate segments under water, the arils sink to the bottom while the membranes float to the top. If there’s too much membrane, just skim the water and discard it before continuing.

With this method, ensure you use clean dechlorinated water as the chlorine can affect the flavor of your pomegranate juice. Also the arils need to be used right away and is not good to store as they discolor and begin to soften in the refrigerator. I really don’t recommend this method.

Once you’ve gotten all the arils from the pomegranate and cleaned them, you’re ready to make fresh, delicious pomegranate juice.

How to make Pomegranate Juice in blender (Stepwise photos)

If you prefer cold juice, freeze the seeds for some time and then juice them.

In a blender

1. Making pomegranate juice in a blender is surprisingly easy. Add the arils to the blender.

2. Add a pinch of salt and lemon juice if you prefer.

3. Pulse briefly – 10 to 15 seconds, depending on the strength of your blender. You want to make sure the seeds are still mostly intact but the juice around the seeds is released. Crushing the seeds will make the juice gritty and requires to be filtered in a fine strainer like the one I used below.

Tip: I prefer to crush the seeds as well since they are said to contain medicinal properties. Also the seeds contain nutritional values especially antioxidants, punicic acid, fiber and vitamin E.

4. Once the arils are crushed, pour the blender’s contents through a very fine mesh strainer into a bowl to separate the seeds and pulp from the juice. It is important to use a fine strainer if you do not want the juice to be gritty.

5. Don’t be afraid to press the pulp against the strainer with the back of a spoon or spatula to squeeze out every bit of fresh juice.

6. Because I crushed the seeds pomegranate juice looks frothy. If you want a clear juice, strain it again through a fine strainer or a thin cheese cloth.

Consume pomegranate juice fresh before it begins to oxidize. Adding ice cubes dilutes the juice and reduces the taste & the nutrition values as well.

Pomegranate Juice in slow juicer

I use a large piece of ginger as it helps to prevent colds since cold pressed juice is quite cooling to the body. You can skip ginger in summers. I squeeze a large lemon & add a bit of Himalayan salt too into the pitcher.

juicing pomegranate in slow juicer

Pomegranate juice made in a slow juicer is more clear without grits. Once you’ve got your juice on hand, the possibilities are endless. Drink your pomegranate juice immediately as is, store in the refrigerator for later culinary uses, or dilute with seltzer water to stretch the juice further.

how to make pomegranate juice

No blender? No problem!

You can place the cleaned arils in a disposable plastic Ziploc bag and smash them with a rolling pin. Strain the juice as you would with the blender technique, and you’ve got fresh pomegranate juice; all it took was a little more elbow grease.

Pro Tips

Storing pomegranate juice: If you decide to store your pomegranate juice for later, it can last in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days but remember that there is a loss of nutrients as the juice beings to oxidize. It’s also easy to freeze and is best used within one year if frozen.

Storing pomegranate arils: Store the pomegranate arils in air tight glass container and refrigerate for up to 4 to 5 days. Store the juice in glass jars or bottles for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Rehydrate the fruit: If your pomegranates have been lying for too long on the counter the skin usually loses moisture and turns dry. It is hard to peel them so simply soak the whole fruit in cold water for 25 to 30 minutes before you cut and deseed.

Combinations

There are several fruits you can use in combination with pomegranates to juice, especially if you are using a slow juicer. The most popular one is the apple pomegranate combo.

Since pomegranate juice is high in iron, combining it with fruits high in vitamin C may help the absorption of iron. So we normally use a lemon or or few oranges or apple while juicing pomegranates in a slow juicer.

apples & pomegranate

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

pomegranate juice

Pomegranate Juice Recipe

This refreshing & delicious pomegranate juice is loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that is great for the overall health. It builds immunity, detoxes the body naturally and provides much needed nutrients.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 minute
Total Time30 minutes
Servings4
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 1 kg pomegranate (about 5 large)
  • 1 medium lemon (optional)
  • teaspoon salt (optional) (skip if making for babies)


Instructions

How to deseed pomegranate

  • Rinse the pomegranates under running water.
  • Cut off ¼ inch of the bottom of the pomegranate to stabilize it. (check video or step by step photos in the post)
  • Remove the top of the pomegranate by cutting a shallow, angled circle around the crown. Wiggle it loose and discard.
  • Make shallow cuts on the sides, from the top of the fruit to the bottom, to divide the pomegranate into four segments.
  • Pry open the segments to separate them.
  • Method 1 – Nudge out the arils with your fingers, discarding any pale membrane. Have a bowl ready to hold the loosened arils while you work on each segment.
  • Method 2 – Alternately you may place the segments in a large bowl of dechlorinated water to help with removing the seeds; when disassembling the pomegranate segments under water, the arils sink to the bottom and the membranes float to the top. If there’s too much membrane, just skim the water and discard it before continuing.

How to make Pomegranate Juice

  • Add the seeds to a blender jar along with salt. Squeeze the lemon juice (optional) into the blender.
  • Pulse a few times, briefly for 10 to 15 seconds, you want to make sure the seeds are still mostly intact but the juice around the seeds is released. Crushing the seeds will make the juice gritty. [But the seeds have medicinal values so we always crush them and pass through a very fine strainer. so it is up to you]
  • Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and transfer the juice. It is important to use a fine strainer or a thin cheese cloth if you do not want the juice to be gritty.
  • Press the pulp against the strainer with the back of a spoon to squeeze out every bit of fresh juice.
  • Drink your pomegranate juice immediately as is, store in the refrigerator for later culinary uses, or dilute with seltzer water to stretch the juice further. If it is too strong for your taste, you may mix it with other fruit juices or plain water.


Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

Video

Watch Pomegranate Juice Video

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Pomegranate Juice Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 207 Calories from Fat 18
% Daily Value*
Fat 2g3%
Sodium 7mg0%
Potassium 590mg17%
Carbohydrates 46g15%
Fiber 10g42%
Sugar 34g38%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin C 25.5mg31%
Calcium 25mg3%
Iron 0.8mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

This post is from the Archives. First published in April 2016. Updated and republished in May 2021.

Pomegranate Juice Recipe

About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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5 stars
Easy way to remove pomegranate seeds. Cut in half and place seed face down in one hand and whap the back of the pomegranate and seeds fall out in hand. Use a large bowl to collect the seeds:)

5 stars
Thank you for the tips. I used your other method from the pomegranate molasses post and later strained the juice in a muslin cloth. My baby now loves the juice. He is enjoying it for 3 days now.

I made pomegranate juice for my 9 month old baby. I strained it and it is gritty so he coughs. I also tried straining through a cloth but the juice cant go through it. How can I make a more smoother clear juice. Please help

5 stars
Delicious and inspiring. We have a pomegranate tree in our backyard. This year its started to yield many. Everyone should make this juice.

अनार का ज्यूस का छोटा प्लाण्ट बनाने के लिए कल्पना है। तो सफल हो सकते है। आप की राय और मार्गदर्शन के लिए अपेक्षा है ।आभार ।

5 stars
Hi
I like this website. its very helpful to me.and pls tel me about weight gaining for 5 months of babies. I am brest feeding for my child and she not gaining weight.wat should i eat for gaining weight.
Thank u

Hi,

Please post some kiwi fruit recipes.

5 stars
Hi,

I like this website very much. Its so useful for new mother like me. I was really worried what to feed my 10 months baby.
I really missed at the time after my baby 6 months old. I would have searched this website 3-4 months back so that I could give her variety available on this website. It a really really helpful and a guide for me.
Thanks a ton.