Pomegranates are delicious! Underripe ones, however, can be bland and sour. They're always imported where I live, so it's a gamble on ripeness. What should I look for in an imported pomegranate at my local grocery store?
To answer this question, you must be logged in.
Already have an account? Login.
By Signing up, you indicate that you have read and agree to Sage's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
You must be logged in to perform this operation.
You must be logged in to perform this operation.
Answers ( 1 )
Yes, it's that time of year- pomegranates are in the stores and looking- odd. "Oh, yes, that one that has all the seeds and is such a mess to eat. Neat. Let's not get one."
Pomegranates were mostly used to make simple syrups; which was still a great deal of work. Grenadine is made from pomegranates, along with other, cherry-ish scented syrups; pomegranate comes from the roots pom meaning apple and granat meaning seed. They can be eaten neatly with a bit of practice, there are lots of videos to show you how and where to score the fruit and pull away the rind and pith, while filling a bowl with those ruby-red, juicy seeds.
Which you hope are ripely sweet bursts of flavor. You hope, because, short of tasting, you do not know how to tell if a pomegranate is ripe.
Here's the deal: Look for the less-than-perfect pomegranate specimen, one that is rather lumpy, has a generally even red shade all around, and is less shiny than the others. Rather like a guava, a fruit that the ugliest one is usually the best, pomegranates that are ripe and ready are no longer perfectly round and smooth, shiny fruits, but lumpy, becoming a dull red all over, and heavy for their size. There's a thump test I've read about, too, but never us
ed- an unripe pomegranate sounds hollow when thumped, a ripe one does not. I've never been able to hear much difference, so I go more by feel- once I've narrowed by appearance, I pick the one that feels heaviest and the rind feels... thinner-- rather like the difference between a green lemon and a ripe lemon.
I do okay picking ripe ones, and have managed the score, peel and spoon method of seed removal, but my Mother had a pomegranate tree while she lived in New Mexico and she would make pomegranate jelly every year. Pick, peel, clean of pith, cook in a hot muslin bag, add sugar or agave and squeeze out juices, do it again, and again, add a bit of Surejel and fill the jars; seal and label, then give away as holiday gifts.
She had far more patience than me.