Like most fruits, pomegranates are only in season during a certain time of the year, so the seeds can be difficult to get hold of out of season, especially if you live somewhere that doesn’t grow them.
Pomegranates can be quite expensive even when they are in season, but they are packed full of nutrients and antioxidants.
Even when you can get them – on offer or not – recipes rarely call for more than a handful of seeds at a time, and if you’re not sure what else you’ll do with them, this can get expensive very quickly.
Luckily, you can freeze pomegranate seeds. In order to freeze them properly, you need to be picky about the pomegranates you choose.
Only go for those which look perfectly ripe, and don’t have any signs of damage. It also helps to buy them in bulk when there’s a glut, as they will be much cheaper, and because you can freeze them, this will save a lot of time in the long run.
How Do You Freeze Pomegranate Seeds?
You can either freeze pomegranates completely whole, or you can just freeze the seeds, taking out the hard work and saving you some time later.
The easiest way, of course, is to freeze them whole. Simply put the whole, undamaged fruit into a heavy-duty freezer bag, and stick it in the freezer.
What if you want to save yourself some effort later on? In that case, the best thing to do is to only freeze the seeds, but preparing them can be a bit tricky, especially if you’ve not done it before.
How To Prepare Pomegranate For The Freezer
To begin, cut off the top of the pomegranate, and slice the fruit into quarters. There’s no need to peel the pomegranate for this, as you’ll be discarding that part anyway.
Get a reasonably large bowl, and fill it with cold water. Submerge the pomegranate pieces, and let them soak for up to 30 minutes.
Let them soak for at least 10 minutes. Using your fingers, separate the seeds underwater from the pith.
It’s much easier to do when both parts of the pomegranate are in water, as pomegranate seeds are much denser than the pith, so they’ll sink to the bottom of the bowl, and the pith will float to the surface.
This also stops you accidentally eating chunks of pomegranate pith.
While you can eat the pith, it’s not a pleasant experience as it has a bitter taste, so you’re better off discarding it.
Scoop the pith off the surface, and discard it. Drain the water through a fine sieve or cheesecloth, and dry off the seeds. The next step, in order to make them last longer, is to flash freeze them.
How To Flash Freeze Pomegranate Seeds
Make sure the seeds are completely dry. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, and place the seeds into a single layer, trying to keep them apart if you can.
Transfer the baking sheet into the freezer and leave it for about 20 minutes, until the seeds are firm. Flash freezing prevents food from clumping together as it freezes, making it difficult to portion it.
Once frozen, take the tray out of the freezer, and transfer the seeds into a resealable freezer bag. Label it, squeeze out all of the excess air, and put the bag into the freezer.
With the flash freezing method, there’s no need to separate the pomegranate into portions, as you’ll be able to separate them easily.
You can keep whole pomegranates or just the seeds in the freezer for about 6 months, but for the best quality possible, aim to use them within a month of freezing them.
How Do You Thaw Frozen Pomegranate Seeds?
If you freeze the pomegranate whole, transfer the whole bag into the fridge, and let it thaw overnight. This will make cutting them open easier.
Pomegranate seeds can be used from frozen, if you’re cooking them. If not, you can transfer them straight into the fridge to defrost.
It’s worth noting that the sooner you use them, the better they will be, so aim to use them within 3 days of defrosting.
While the seeds will lose some of their crisp texture during the freezing and thawing process, this is a small price to pay for having pomegranate seeds whenever you want them, especially when it comes to having them out of season.
Conclusion
Pomegranate seeds are easy to freeze, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t freeze them, as the change in texture is barely noticeable, if at all.
It also prevents food waste, and saves you time and money in the long run, as you’ll be able to buy them when they are cheaper, and save them for when you really need them.
