From Peggy Trowbridge Filippone,
Your Guide to Home Cooking.
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Pomegranate Selection

Early fall is prime time for pomegranates, October and November in the northern hemisphere, but they are usually available into early winter. The whole fruit is about the size of an orange. The rind color can range from yellow-orange to deep reddish-purple.

Fruits should be plump and round, heavy for their size, with a rich, fresh color and should be free of cuts and blemishes. Larger fruits promise more juice.

The seed sacs are about the size of your pinky fingernail. The pips are very similar in appearance to a corn kernel, but reddish, a bit translucent, and have a thinner skin.

Pomegranates are not a fruit that will ripen once picked, so once harvested, they will not continue to develop sugar. Yet commercial crops are harvested before they are fully mature, in order to avoid excess bruising during transport.

Pomegranate Storage

Whole fruits can be stored for a month in a cool, dry area or refrigerated up to two months. The seed pips can be frozen in an airtight bag up to one year. Fresh juice should be refrigerated and used within two to three days.

More about Pomegranates:

• Pomegranate Cooking Tips and Measures
• Pomegranate Selection and Storage
• Pomegranate Peeling and Juicing
• Are pomegranate seeds edible? FAQ
• Pomegranate History
• Pomegranate Legend and Lore
• Pomegranate Recipes
_{Pomegranate Photo © 2006 Peggy Trowbridge, licensed to About.com, Inc.}