When I was a kid there was a huge pomegranate tree in the neighborhood that we kids would get the fruit from the owner and even sometimes without the owners knowledge.
Now they are available in the Publix Store but only from Nov-Dec. I buy and eat all I can get while they are available. I will get about 10 at the end of the season and they last into maybe early Feb. Why are they not available year round?
I know they grow all over the world. Is there just not enough demand?
Mundane and pointless but if Mods think this should be in Cafe Society so be it.
The one I see growing in southern New Mexico ripen in the fall. I don’t know if they’re amenable to cold storage. If not, you’d have to find a place to import them from in off seasons.
I’ve always assumed that they are firstly, seasonal, and secondly, enough effort to eat that they aren’t a mega-popular fruit, and so aren’t worth the trouble to import year round.
I love 'em. Little ruby jewels of bliss! They’re worth the trouble, and some part of me sort of enjoys the whole satisfying process of extracting the seeds.
I went today and bought nine. All that were out. They are a big export product of Afghanistan. They grow all over the Middle East.
They also grow in my zone which is 10. Extreme south Florida. The Keys. I have found a nursery that sells trees and may try to grow some. Hubby knows of a house where there are a couple of dwarf trees w small fruits and the owner told us to go get all we could as they will not be here this year
Basically, this.
From my experience working for a big wholesale grocery firm, they make arrangements to import fresh fruits as needed – if there is demand for it. Apparently there isn’t that demand for pomegranates at this time.
Fresh produce is an important item for grocery stores for several reasons:
it brings in the customers. People often say they prefer a certain store because ‘their produce is better’. And when they’re there they buy other groceries.
it keeps customers coming in frequently. Produce doesn’t last long at home, so people need to come in often.
it can be a very profitable item; people will pay high prices for produce, especially at the start of the season or off-season. (But this depends on the store keeping spoilage losses low. The good stores use them in their bakery or deli: bananas didn’t sell well this week and you have lots starting to turn brown? Send them to the bakery and tomorrow you have a special on fresh-baked banana bread. etc.)
it increases sales of other items. People see green peppers & onions on sale, and decide to fix swiss steak, so they buy the meat in the meat department. Also, even without such tie-in sales, the sight & smell of fresh produce inspires people to buy more (that’s why it is usually right at the front of the store).
Note that the availability of fresh produce year-round is a fairly new practice, due to a worldwide economy and reduced transportation costs.
My parents remembered that a common Christmas gift was a whole case of fruit: oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, pears, apples, etc. And it was a real special gift – it had to be ordered weeks in advance, for special delivery at that time. Because otherwise such fruits hadn’t been in stores for months and wouldn’t be available again for months to come.
I recently read a story where a character said that one of the expenses of Nero Wolfe’s household was the high cost of fresh figs in March, flown by air from South America – and I thought ‘but I saw them in my local grocery store this week, on special!’. That is something we are accustomed to currently. If pomegranates become more popular, they too will soon be in grocery stores year-round.
Thank you for this. They are a little time consuming to eat but they are very healthful. I hope more people will try them and like them so they will be more available.
I’ve already enjoyed three this fall, and #4 is sitting in my fridge now. I have noticed that the ones we get here don’t reach their peak sweetness until December.
