Kitchen Tips All About Ingredients How to Pick a Perfectly Ripe Pomegranate Here are the visual cues to help you tell if a pomegranate is ripe or not. Once you know what to look for, you'll be picking out the best ones like a produce pro. By Vanessa Greaves Vanessa Greaves Instagram Vanessa Greaves is a Senior Editor at Allrecipes with nearly two decades of experience helping home cooks gain confidence in the kitchen. A self-taught cook who grew up reading cookbooks for fun, Vanessa lives and breathes the challenges faced by busy everyday cooks to get dinner on the table. Education: Vanessa attended California State University, Dominguez Hills, majoring in English. Experience: While living in Los Angeles, Vanessa co-owned a travel service guiding overseas visitors on adventure tours throughout the Desert Southwest, where she developed a strong instinct for sharing knowledge and discovery. Trading in her hiking boots for high heels, Vanessa made the switch to fashion media, starting at Women's Wear Daily and moving up to W magazine, giving her a deep appreciation for both aesthetics and practicalities. After relocating to Seattle, Vanessa's interests turned to more domestic pursuits: raising a family, gardening, and cooking. Her home garden has been featured in The Seattle Times/Pacific NW Magazine, and she's proud to be part of the team that has grown Allrecipes into the world's largest online community of home cooks. Vanessa holds true to the founding principles of Allrecipes, believing that home cooks are the real experts, and striving to showcase their voices and contributions throughout. Vanessa's favorite recipe on Allrecipes is Lolah's Chicken Adobo. It's a family recipe that her Filipino mom taught her, and her mom taught her, and Vanessa in turn taught it to her son. She probably makes it every other week. To her, it tastes like home, comfort, and love Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on April 3, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Vanessa Greaves/Allrecipes What to Look For in a Ripe Pomegranate 1. Shape The ripest pomegranates aren't shaped like balls. Look for flattened, angular sides rather than perfectly rounded spheres. 2. Skin Tone Pomegranates vary in color from light to dark red. No matter what the color, the real clues to ripeness are the smoothness and firmness of its tough, leathery skin. 3. Weight Pick it up. A ripe pomegranate should feel heavy for its size; an indication that the seeds are full and juicy. Vanessa Greaves/Allrecipes Once you pick out a perfect pomegranate, here's how to cut and deseed quickly and easily. Some of Our Favorite Recipes Featuring Pomegranates Spinach Pomegranate Salad Here's a healthy spinach salad with pomegranate seeds, walnuts, red onions, feta cheese, and a splash of balsamic vinaigrette. It's particularly nice at Christmas. "A taste sensation!" raves a reviewer. "I LOVE this salad! For Thanksgiving, I made candied walnuts and added them to the recipe, and it was even better! I love the different flavors together in this salad." Amanda/Allrecipes Lamb Braised in Pomegranate The keys to this lamb chop recipe are getting a nice dark sear on the chops and de-glazing the pan with pomegranate juice and a splash of balsamic vinegar. You'll take the pan from stovetop to oven for a little flavor-building braising. The lamb comes out tender and succulent. "This pomegranate braised lamb shoulder is about as seasonally appropriate as it gets, and one of the best things I've tasted in a long time," states the intro to this recipe. Chef John/Allrecipes Spiced Pears and Pomegranate "An easy fruit dessert made with fall fruit that can be served with a cheese selection," says this recipe creator. Jennica Reis/Allrecipes Check out more recipes using ripe pomegranates. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit