Pomegranates have a short, but delightful, season. Sweet, tart, and fun to eat out of hand, they are also a great addition to salads and other dishes.
Pomegranate Season
Photo © Molly Watson
Pomegranate trees need plenty of heat to grow and ripen fruit. Most pomegranates grown in the United States come from California and are in season from the end of September through November. Luckily, they store well and are often available through December.
Grow Your Own Pomegranates
Grow Your Own Pomegranates
Buying Pomegranates
Look for plump, rounded pomegranates (they dry out as they're stored, and older specimens will have started to shrink a bit) that feel heavy for their size and are free of cuts, slashes, or bruises.Pomegranates do not ripen after they're picked, and yet bruise relatively easily when ripe. This means a lot of commercial pomegranates are picked a bit under-ripe. You are much more likely to find truly ripe, fresh pomegranates at farmers markets, co-ops that get deliveries directly from farmers, and farm stands.
Storing Pomegranates
Pomegranates store beautifully. Keep them on a countertop for up to a week or two, in a cool, dark place for up to a month, or refrigerated for up to two months.The seeds (really arils--flesh-covered seeds) can be kept in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week, and frozen up to a year. Note: defrosted arils are a bit mushy so they work in cooked recipes, but aren't great to eat out-of-hand.
Preparing Pomegranates
The edible part of a pomegranate is its arils (flesh-covered seeds). Separating the arils from the peel and internal white membrane is a bit of a task, but not a complicated one.Pomegranate Nutrition
Pomegranates have come into dietary favor recently for their high antioxidant levels. They are also full of vitamin C and potassium.Pomegranate Nutrition Information
