I had a pomegranate sitting in my fridge that was still (barely) good and decided to try out a tip I originally read in Sunlight Cafe for extracting the seeds. I’m happy to report that it works extremely well, so file this hint away until autumn when pomegranates come back in season:

Fill a bowl with cool water. Cut the pomegranate into four chunks and submerge the chunks in the water. Almost immediately, you’ll be able to start separating the seeds and pith quite easily. The seeds sink to the bottom, the pith floats to the top. It’s a lot quicker and much less messy than the old pick-as-you-eat method.

(And, just for fun, some nutritional information on pomegranates.)