Citrus Research and Education Center

Pomegranates for Now

Water Conserv II

Foundation Block. Click Here for a collection of photographs and Information regarding the past and current status of the plants at this location. The Foundation block was removed in 2016.

August 30, 2011 Taste Test Results and Caveats. The first taste test was held on this date using fruit carefully selected from 14 selections for representative size and apparent maturity among the plants established in May 2009 [Caveat: It was evident later that the fruit varied in maturity based on taste and color development].

For tasting, the arils were extracted from a typical fruit or two and put on display. Colored slips of green, yellow or red paper were placed by each bowl of arils. After tasting, participants were asked to select a slip of paper that matched their reaction to the tasting where GREEN = acceptable with good flavor, YELLOW = marginal taste and flavor, and RED = unacceptable. Participants were also asked to briefly note on the paper slips the reason(s) for selecting a particular color, e.g., good flavor, too acid or soft or hard seeds. Later, the slips were tallied and the outcome is reported in Table 1. [Caveat: Note that the number of participants varied for each selection because of differences in the sample size available among cultivars. Post-tasting interviews indicated that the reactions to the selections varied considerably.]

The juice of arils from a fruit or two of each selection was tested for its Brix value using a handheld refractometer. Those data are also presented in Table 1 and ranged from the low 11.0 value for Surh-anor to 15.3 for Kazake.

Observations [by participants and Bill Castle] on fruit size, peel color development, aril size and color, seed hardness and flavor are presented in Table 2. The cultivars are listed alphabetically. [Caveat: Some of the ratings are subjective and relative such as fruit size, others were readily apparent like aril color and some ratings were mostly subjective like flavor. It must also be noted that no good measures of fruit maturity was used in rating the fruit. Many fruit may not have been at peak maturity. Therefore, it is very likely that certain traits would change as the season progressed.]

What’s noteworthy? Despite Florida’s hot, rainy and humid summer weather, several cultivars developed good aril color and the peel was clearly undergoing color change. Noteworthy in that regard were Desertnyi and Wonderful. The fruit of a few cultivars had good sugar [Brix] development, but also still had high acid values while others had comparatively good sugar content and mild or pleasant flavor.

The cultivars in Table 1 are listed according to the number of GREEN slips. Some cultivars rated relatively high. [Caveat: In reviewing the results, note that a high percentage of GREEN slips does not necessarily mean that the cultivar was the best one. The taste test did not account for differences in fruit maturity. Cultivars with many GREEN responses may have just been early ripening and, thus, better tasting than those that ripen later. For example, Surh-anor had low Brix, but large fruit and very few of its fruit had succumbed as of the field day to the rot caused by the fungus, Botryosphaeria.]