Pomegranite Questions? [split from S.F. board]

[Ruth Lafler]

So what's the difference between different varieties? Can you really tell?

[escargot3]

absolutely there's a huge difference!
First of all, I find that the first pomegranates of the season ain't so flavorful.

Second, the variety called "wonderful" is appropriately named. Obviously, some harvests are better than others, but in general they are sweet and juicy. And those are the key words for this fruit.

A not-so-good pomegranate is tasteless and more dry than juicy. Like with oranges and grapefruit, the heavier it is, the juicier it will taste. I'm not sure if the color of the skin indicates the quality of the fruit -- if a darker skin = more flavor. And I'm not sure if the organics taste better than the non-organic.

But those of us who savor the flavor, appreciate the effort to peel the fruit.

[Zeldog]

Escargot is right about the early season poms. They've been available for maybe 4 weeks at the Alameny market, but those I bought a couple weeks ago (from 2 different vendors) were lousy. They should be pretty good by now. Look for pods that are splitting open -- it's a good thing.

[janetofreno]

Well, suddenly I am an "expert" on pomegranates because my new house is blessed with a very productive tree. I have no idea what variety they are, but they are fairly large. I will tell you this: the skin got darker as the pomegranates got riper. So therefore dark skin DID equal better taste....because they were riper. Now, as far as I know my pomegranates are "organic" , as we know the previous occupants of our house and they say nothing has been done to the tree other than occasional watering....

With us it has been a game of picking the pomegranates when they are as ripe as possible without being so good the birds get 'em :-) Actually, we ended up picking most of the fruit left on the tree last week; we had a spell of cold weather and we were concerned about the fruit.

I mailed a bunch to my son in NOLA, and they apparently survived the trip! I never thought I would get sick of pomegranates...but...either this was a VERY productive year or this is just a very productive tree.

[rworange]

If you don't know you can freeze the seeds, I'll dig up the thread that discusses it.

[wolfe]

http://www.chow.com/ingredients/21
In thin layers in freezer bag.

[Robert Lauriston]

Most places in the Bay Area, mailing or otherwise transporting raw fruit off your property without a certificate from a county, state, or federal agricultural officer is a violation of the federal quarantine currently in effect.

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pdep/lba...

[Ruth Lafler]

"janetofreno" does not live in the Bay Area (nor does she live in Reno any longer, but still in Nevada). Still, I hope you checked to see if there were restrictions on sending fruit to Louisiana.

[Robert Lauriston]

The federal order bans transporting fruit, herbs, and plants within the quarantine zone off the property where they're growing without a certificate.

The order applies only to parts of California where the moths have been found, which now includes most of the Bay Area.

http://pi.cdfa.ca.gov/pqm/manual/pdf/...

[Ruth Lafler]

Yes, but as I mentioned, Janet lives in Nevada. Since no one who lives in California has mentioned shipping fruit, your harping on this is off topic.

[Robert Lauriston]

I had no reason to think anyone posting in this topic didn't live here (who else would care about where to find pomegranates locally?), and my second post on the subject was only to respond to the implication in your post that the destination of the shipment would make a difference.

[Ruth Lafler]

I thought my post was quite clear: I clearly said Janet "still lives in Nevada." But as I pointed out, even if it's okay to ship fruit *from* Nevada* it might not be okay to ship it *to* Louisiana. You need to check both ends of the shipment.

[janetofreno]

I replied to a post (within the comment about where to find pomegranates locally) regarding whether the skin color of the fruit made any difference in taste. Since my experience watching my "crop" ripen was that they darkened as they ripened, I wanted to let that poster know that at least for whatever variety I am blessed with skin color does indeed make a difference.

I read the Bay Area posts since I grew up there, and I currently care about anything pomegranate...since I am still looking for ideas and recipes. Sorry to get off topic.

btw, Ruth, it did not even occur to me that shipping fruit out of state might be a problem. My bad, sorry. I guess I've lived outside of California too long.....

[Robert Lauriston]

This page discusses some, tartness, sweetness, seed hardness, and juice color apparently vary:

http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/pomegrana...

[rworange]

I know you weren't asking me, but so far, from my experience ... nope. The thing seems to be to get the largest possible so the seeds are large and there are a lot of them. Opening a bunch of tiny pommegranates is a pain. That isn't to say I wouldn't keep trying different varieties. I haven't seen white pomegranites yet. Other than the color, not really different from red.

[vday]

I went to a Rare Fruit Growers meeting in Davis last year for a pomegranate tasting at the seed bank where they grow about 20 or so varieties. All were available for tasting, and there was a large variation in both color and taste. It was pretty educational and we got to go to the orchards and pick grocery bags full of the very ripe fruit.