Pomegranate Taste Test
I was checking out my pomegranate trees earlier this week, and even though I know its early, some of the fruits looked so good I just had to try them. I picked one of the Garnet Sash, and one of the 'Unknown' pomegranates.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had ordered a Red Silk pomegranate online from Growquest, and even though they immediately charged my credit card, they never sent me my tree. I called and emailed and hounded them, and only after reporting them to American Express and the BBB did they ship me a very sad little pomegranate tree. It was bent in half and crammed into a box, with no label. Someone had written 'Grenada' in pencil on the inside of one of the cardboard flaps. So it could be a Red Silk, a Grenada, or something else. They taste good though.
I got the Garnet Sash from the Arbor Gate in Tomball. I wanted this variety because Urban Harvest describes the fruit as being "large, dark red fruit with deep-red, partially edible sweet-tart seeds." I have since learned from Pomegranate expert Lee Sharp that the variety marketed as Garnet Sash is really the variety Elf, which is described as having a "mottled greenish-yellow" rind. How's that for a bait and switch? The fruit gets badly sunburned, but the taste seems largely unaffected, and it is a very productive little tree.
I brought the fruit in, cut them in half. There was a little coloration inside the Unknown pomegranate but not much. The arils tasted very very tart, with just a little sweetness. Hopefully they'll get sweeter with a little more time on the tree. The Garnet sash had no color inside, but the arils tasted very very sweet, with hardly any tartness. I mixed the arils from the two fruits together, and popped a small handful into my mouth. The result was an almost perfect blend of flavor, tartness, and sweetness. Very refreshing in this scorching weather. I'll check the pomegranates again around the end of the month to see if there's any change in ripeness.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had ordered a Red Silk pomegranate online from Growquest, and even though they immediately charged my credit card, they never sent me my tree. I called and emailed and hounded them, and only after reporting them to American Express and the BBB did they ship me a very sad little pomegranate tree. It was bent in half and crammed into a box, with no label. Someone had written 'Grenada' in pencil on the inside of one of the cardboard flaps. So it could be a Red Silk, a Grenada, or something else. They taste good though.
I got the Garnet Sash from the Arbor Gate in Tomball. I wanted this variety because Urban Harvest describes the fruit as being "large, dark red fruit with deep-red, partially edible sweet-tart seeds." I have since learned from Pomegranate expert Lee Sharp that the variety marketed as Garnet Sash is really the variety Elf, which is described as having a "mottled greenish-yellow" rind. How's that for a bait and switch? The fruit gets badly sunburned, but the taste seems largely unaffected, and it is a very productive little tree.
I brought the fruit in, cut them in half. There was a little coloration inside the Unknown pomegranate but not much. The arils tasted very very tart, with just a little sweetness. Hopefully they'll get sweeter with a little more time on the tree. The Garnet sash had no color inside, but the arils tasted very very sweet, with hardly any tartness. I mixed the arils from the two fruits together, and popped a small handful into my mouth. The result was an almost perfect blend of flavor, tartness, and sweetness. Very refreshing in this scorching weather. I'll check the pomegranates again around the end of the month to see if there's any change in ripeness.
Unknown Pomegranate (Red Silk?)
Inside the Unknown Pomegranate
Garnet Sash Pomegranate
Inside the Garnet Sash
Down the hatch!
