Sharp Velvet Pomegranate
All of the pomegranates we've picked this year have little to no pigmentation inside. My Garnet Sash pomegranates were yellow-gold, and the unknown variety pomegranate had only the slightest hint of pink. I thought this was just due to the heat and sunburn, but then I found a single fruit hiding in the upper foliage of the Sharp Velvet tree. The rind of the fruit was pink and yellow-green mottled, and nowhere near as red as those on my unknown variety, so at first I didn't think it was fully ripe.
I decided to cut it open just to see what it looked like, and imagine my surprise when I saw deep crimson juice! The fruit's rind may not have been deep red, but the arils inside sure were. This could only mean that climate conditions weren't preventing my other poms from coloring, the Garnet Sash and unknown varieties just didn't develop interior pigmentation. My recent research suggest they may both be ornamental varieties, and are heavy producers of showy, but poor-quality fruit.
So why all the fuss about color? If they taste good it shouldn't matter, right?
That's correct, taste is far more important than coloration. Before I had said that the Garnet Sash just tasted sweet with no flavor (insipid), but that the unknown variety tasted pretty good. Not compared to the Sharp Velvet. The flavor of the Sharp Velvet was delicious, well balanced, and rich, with soft easy-to-chew seeds. There really is no comparison. I may have been content to eat the other poms before, but now my taste buds have been enlightened. Boy #1 was very impressed. This year I will be either removing or top-working the Garnet Sash and unknown trees to other varieties recommended by local growers such as Eve or Texas Pink.
I decided to cut it open just to see what it looked like, and imagine my surprise when I saw deep crimson juice! The fruit's rind may not have been deep red, but the arils inside sure were. This could only mean that climate conditions weren't preventing my other poms from coloring, the Garnet Sash and unknown varieties just didn't develop interior pigmentation. My recent research suggest they may both be ornamental varieties, and are heavy producers of showy, but poor-quality fruit.
So why all the fuss about color? If they taste good it shouldn't matter, right?
That's correct, taste is far more important than coloration. Before I had said that the Garnet Sash just tasted sweet with no flavor (insipid), but that the unknown variety tasted pretty good. Not compared to the Sharp Velvet. The flavor of the Sharp Velvet was delicious, well balanced, and rich, with soft easy-to-chew seeds. There really is no comparison. I may have been content to eat the other poms before, but now my taste buds have been enlightened. Boy #1 was very impressed. This year I will be either removing or top-working the Garnet Sash and unknown trees to other varieties recommended by local growers such as Eve or Texas Pink.
Look at that beautiful color!
Colorful, delicious, and soft seeded.
Sharp Velvet (left) vs. Garnet Sash (right)
Whoa! Boy #1 was clearly impressed with Sharp Velvet.
