Connie Ollis heard from her grandmother that a pomegranate is ripe when its skin starts to crack.
Later, the Modesto resident learned that a little drying at the crown is the key.
Whatever the indicator, it's clear that pomegranate season has arrived, closing out the year's fruit harvests in distinctive style.
• HEALTH: Pomegranates are a good source of antioxidants, which are believed to help protect people against cancer and heart disease. They also provide vitamin C, potassium and fiber.
• HANDLING: Whole pomegranates keep well at room temperature for several days, away from sunlight, and up to three months when refrigerated in plastic bags. The seed sacs or juice can be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for up to six months.
• HISTORY: The fruit is believed to be native to Iran and northern India. Cultivation started perhaps as long ago as 3500 B.C. and eventually spread to the Mediterranean region and other parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. Spanish missionaries planted the first pomegranates in Mexico in the 1500s and California in the 1700s.
• NAME: The word "pomegranate" derives from Middle French pomme garnete, which means "seeded apple." The plant's botanical name is Punica granatum. It is in the same plant family as crape myrtle and henna.
Source: Pomegranate Council, www.pomegranates.org
• Roll the pomegranate around on a hard surface to loosen the skin.
• Slice off the crown and cut the fruit into segments.
• Using a bowl to catch the liquid, pull out the juicy seed sacs, also known as arils.
• Eat the arils, seeds and all, and drink the juice.
"They're a little bit different," Ollis said Thursday at the Modesto Certified Farmers Market. "They're kind of a sweet-tart. And pomegranate juice is good for you."
The crop in the Northern San Joaquin Valley is tiny compared with fruits such as peaches, cherries, apricots and apples. But several growers have found a niche for pomegranates, aided by research into their health benefits.
"They're very good for you, for one thing, and they're lovely this time of year," said Lorraine Nicholson, who grows two acres with her husband, Gordon Nicholson, east of Modesto. "We have people haul them out to decorate their Thanksgiving table."
The crop has made its most recent splash through POM Wonderful, a juice made near Fresno. Smaller juice producers have entered the market, too, while many growers sell the fruit fresh via grocery stores, farmers markets and produce stands.
"Last year there was a lot of press about the good antioxidants," said Joye Inzana, who sells the fruit at the farmers market. "Pomegranates are full of them."
Charles Harris expects to have about 600 pomegranate trees by spring at a North Ripon Road farm that grows a variety of fruits and nuts.
"They're such an ideal crop," he said. "They take less water than anything we have. We really don't have to spray them."
Like many valley crops this year, pomegranates were delayed a few weeks by erratic weather. But they made it in time for Thanksgiving, good news for people who might want to turn the fruit into centerpieces or sprinkle the arils — the juice-packed seed sacs — onto a holiday salad.
The Nicholsons sell pomegranates for 30 cents a pound at their Milnes Road farm, which also is a Christmas tree lot. Lorraine Nicholson said they are popular among people from various backgrounds, notably Mexican and Assyrian.
Ollis, the farmers market patron who mentioned her grandmother, has grandchildren of her own who have eaten pomegranates.
"It's a good treat for kids — good finger food for the little ones," she said.
Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at jholland@modbee.com or (209) 578-2385.
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