Taste Test Results and Cultivar Descriptions

Fruit available in the 2011 and 2012 field days at Water Conserv II was presented to attendees for tasting. Generally, a whole fruit was available for examination along with extracted seeds. After tasting, evaluators were asked to select either a green, yellow or red slip of paper to reflect their like, uncertainty or dislike, respectively, of the seeds. Those ballots were counted and are presented in the tables of results available by clicking here. Also, in most instances, a handful of seeds were crushed within a piece of cheesecloth over a beaker. The Brix value of a sample of expressed juice was then measured with a handheld refractometer. Fruit available for tasting in other events such as the 1st and 2nd Florida Pomegranate Association Annual Meeting was also evaluated and the results are posted here.  

Note that the number of people tasting the seeds varied between tastings. Therefore, the interpretation of the information leading to decisions regarding which cultivars appear to be the most promising should be based largely on the consistency of results. A further caveat: Virtually all Florida-grown fruit have so far been sampled in late August to early September. It is clear from the results that that time period is not ideal for some of the cultivars that are later-maturing and, therefore, have not developed their fullest color or flavor. The tendency to dismiss those low-scoring cultivars should be resisted.
Cultivar taste results and descriptions of fruit grown in Georgia are available here.

Taste test results:  Florida Pomegranate Association 3rd Annual Meeting, 2014

32 cultivars were assembled for tasting.  Many selections were obtained from Georgia, some from Florida and a few from California.  All fruit had been harvested in early October 2014.  Ratings and Brix data were collected as described above.  The taste results [Table 7] are presented in rank order based on the number of “likes” or “green” ballots.  The descriptions of the seeds and juice flavor [Table 8] are presented in alphabetical order by cultivar name.

Taste test results:  Florida Pomegranate Association 4rd Annual Meeting, 2015

15 cultivars were assembled for tasting. Most selections were from Georgia with a few from Florida. The Georgia fruit were harvested at the end of September and put into storage. The Florida fruit were harvested on October 21, 2015, which is a late harvest date. Ratings and Brix data were collected as described above. The taste results [Table 9] are presented in rank order based on the number of "likes" or "green" ballots.