Pomegranate question

Michel Boucher said:

How can you tell when it's ready to eat? Doesn't exactly come with a manual.

Manual: crfg.orgpomegranate.htmlOpen ↗

[excerpt] Harvest: The fruits are ripe when they have developed a distinctive color and make a
metallic sound when tapped. The fruits must be picked before over maturity when they tend to crack
open, particularly when rained on. The pomegranate is equal to the apple in having a long storage
life. It is best maintained at a temperature of 32° to 41° F. and can be kept for a period of 7
months within this temperature range and at 80 to 85% relative humidity without shrinking or
spoiling. The fruits improve in storage, becoming juicier and more flavorful.
---

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Michel Boucher said:

How can you tell when it's ready to eat? Doesn't exactly come with a manual.

I buy them all the time and I've never hit upon one that seemed to be unripe.

Past it, yes, or without very many good seeds. but where I live they seem to come to the store ripe.

Naomi D.

Michel Boucher said:

How can you tell when it's ready to eat? Doesn't exactly come with a manual.

They'll yield slightly to gentle pressure on the side. But it's a tough call, because a few days
later, when you open them, you'll begin to see dull-colored seeds rather than the bright ones from
a perfectly ripe fruit. Doesn't materially affect the flavor, just some beginning dehydration and
loss of juice.

Typically, by the time they hit the stores, they're ready to eat.

Pastorio

On 11 Dec 2003 00:33:43 GMT, Michel Boucher <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

How can you tell when it's ready to eat? Doesn't exactly come with a manual.

I always choose ones that are an even, deep ruby color. You want it plump looking, and round. If it
is irregular and the skin looks dried and leathery, pass it by.Come to think of it, I don't remember
ever having a bad one.

A Persian friend taught me how to enjoy them....wash the surface & roll the pomegranate back & forth
across the table, using enough pressure to break open the seed packets inside. You'll be able to
feel them crush and you can help this along by squeezing with your fingers on it. You must be
careful not to break the skin during this stage.

ONce the fruit has been pretty well squished inside, take a knife & make a very small incision on
the side, being careful to hold a paper towel near by to catch any juices. Put that little baby to
your lips and suck the juice out of it, squeezing as you do so. Delightfully [censored] and sweet. I had
one just last night.

Boron

Michel Boucher said:

How can you tell when it's ready to eat? Doesn't exactly come with a manual.

--
"The problem with the French is they have no word for entrepreneur."

attributed to George W. Bush by Tony Blair via Baroness Williams

I take it you mean the ones you buy in the store and not ones you've grown in your greenhouse. I've
never come across one that is not ripe, but some of them are too old and have some soft spots. A
good pom. should be large (size of a large orange or a little larger) and a nice deep bright (semi-
?) shiny red. If they are small or have a lot of brownish areas or are dull in appearance I would
forego them, although you might still get good fruit out of one it's not worth the trouble. Even the
nice ones will occasionally have some small area(s) of seeds that look a little cloudy and soft. I
am just careful to not use those seeds, but they're probably fine if you are just going to juice the
thing - as long as they're not actually turning brown. I usually use the whole seeds in my orange-
pomegranate compote so I want them to look perfect. Kate

--
Kate Connally “If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.” Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that
smiles back, Until you bite their heads off.” What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all
about? "][email hidden]

[email hidden] (PENMART01) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Michel Boucher said:

How can you tell when it's ready to eat? Doesn't exactly come with a manual.

Manual: crfg.orgpomegranate.htmlOpen ↗

[excerpt] Harvest: The fruits are ripe when they have developed a distinctive color and make a
metallic sound when tapped. The fruits must be picked before over maturity when they tend to crack
open, particularly when rained on. The pomegranate is equal to the apple in having a long storage
life. It is best maintained at a temperature of 32° to 41° F. and can be kept for a period of 7
months within this temperature range and at 80 to 85% relative humidity without shrinking or
spoiling. The fruits improve in storage, becoming juicier and more flavorful.

Thanks, Shel. My wife and I both tested it and neither one of us thinks it sounds metallic, but the
long shelf life is reassuring.

--
"The problem with the French is they have no word for entrepreneur."

attributed to George W. Bush by Tony Blair via Baroness Williams

In article <[email hidden]>,

Michel Boucher said:

[email hidden] (PENMART01) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Michel Boucher said:

How can you tell when it's ready to eat? Doesn't exactly come with a manual.

Manual: crfg.orgpomegranate.htmlOpen ↗

[excerpt] Harvest: The fruits are ripe when they have developed a distinctive color and make a
metallic sound when tapped. The fruits must be picked before over maturity when they tend to
crack open, particularly when rained on. The pomegranate is equal to the apple in having a long
storage life. It is best maintained at a temperature of 32° to 41° F. and can be kept for a
period of 7 months within this temperature range and at 80 to 85% relative humidity without
shrinking or spoiling. The fruits improve in storage, becoming juicier and more flavorful.

Thanks, Shel. My wife and I both tested it and neither one of us thinks it sounds metallic, but
the long shelf life is reassuring.

Michel,

If you decide that Bob's method of consuming pomegranate juice is too violent for your taste, here's
one way to get the seeds out without squirting juice all over the place. Score the skin of the
pomegranate in several places from north to south end and set it in a deep bowl of water for a few
minutes. Then pull the fruit apart at the scores and tease the seeds from the membranes. The
membranes will float, while the seeds sink.

Cindy, who's going to try a spinach-pomegranate seed salad tomorrow night for dinner

--
C.J. Fuller

Change the sprinkle to a spring to email me

Boron Elgar said:

being careful to hold a paper towel near by to catch any juices. Put that baby to your lips and
suck the juice out of it, squeezing as you do so. Delightfully [censored] and sweet. I had one just
last night.

Ohboy!

---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon
```````````` "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

[email hidden] (PENMART01) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks, Shel. My wife and I both tested it and neither one of us thinks it sounds metallic, but
the long shelf life is reassuring.

I've always called them Chinese Apples, usually appeared profusely in NYC markets beginning just
prior to Halloween... and "Chinese Apples" is how they were labeled at the produce stands (there
were no supermarkets then)...

We called them "pommes de Grenade" (Granada apples). And yes I remember when there were no
supermarkets. I'm almost 60, so I have to go back some to the early fifties here. We did shop and an
A&P when I was young but those things were rare and not that big anyway.

--
"The problem with the French is they have no word for entrepreneur."

attributed to George W. Bush by Tony Blair via Baroness Williams

Michel Boucher said:

[email hidden] (PENMART01) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks, Shel. My wife and I both tested it and neither one of us thinks it sounds metallic, but
the long shelf life is reassuring.

I've always called them Chinese Apples, usually appeared profusely in NYC markets beginning just
prior to Halloween... and "Chinese Apples" is how they were labeled at the produce stands (there
were no supermarkets then)...

We called them "pommes de Grenade" (Granada apples). And yes I remember when there were no
supermarkets. I'm almost 60, so I have to go back some to the early fifties here. We did shop and
an A&P when I was young but those things were rare and not that big anyway.

Latin name for them is Punica granatum. I have a couple as bonsai. They're popular with bonsai folks
because of the flowers and the fruit. <http://www.bonsainl.nl/BPG/BS_A0081.HTM>

The fruits last a long time refrigerated, but they develop the most flavor at room temperature.
Downside is that they can go from picking to full ripe within a couple weeks.

Pastorio