If you have just purchased grenades for the first time, you may have a couple of questions. Questions like: How to store grenades and how long do they last?
If that is the case, you are in the right place. In this article, I cover everything you need to know about grenade storage. Come on.
How to store grenades
Pomegranates are harvested when they are ripe. That means you don’t have to wonder if you need to let them ripen at room temperature or not (as is often the case with mangoes).
When it comes to whole pomegranates, you should store them in a cool, dry and well-ventilated place, away from sunlight ((UOF)). The best place that meets all those requirements is the refrigerator.
Avoid storing pomegranates in the crisper, where it is often more humid than on the shelves. And leave them unwrapped.
If you only need the fruits to last a couple of days, leaving them at room temperature is fine. Just make sure you don’t leave it out on the counter in direct sunlight.
When it comes to pomegranate seeds, require refrigeration. Place them in a food-safe container, possibly airtight. That last part is so the pomegranate arils don’t pick up any odors from the fridge.
How long do grenades last?
Pomegranates are one of the longest lasting fruits. In that sense, people often compare them to apples.
whole pomegranates can last up to two months in the refrigerator. ((UOF)). Of course, if they’ve already sat unrefrigerated for a couple of days in the grocery aisle, they probably won’t retain quality for as long.
For best results, try not to keep pomegranates in the refrigerator for more than a month.
if you leave grenades on the counter instead (for example, your fridge is full, as is often the case with mine), should be kept for a week or two. Again, try to stick to the lower end of the spectrum for safety.
Last but not least, pomegranate seeds. Once you’ve removed them from the marrow and put them in a container, they should last About a week.
If the mentioned periods are not long enough for your needs, you can always freeze pomegranate seeds.
| Room temperature | Fridge | |
|---|---|---|
| Pomegranate (whole) | 12 weeks | 12 months |
| pomegranate seeds | 1 week |
Please note that the periods in the table are estimates only and stick to the lower extremes for best results.
How to know if a grenade is bad?
Telling if a grenade is bad or not is simple and you’ll usually know right away if yours is or not. However, here is a list of the most common symptoms of pomegranates gone bad:
- Weight. Fruit should feel heavy for its size ((UOF)). If it feels light, it’s probably dry. However, it’s still worth opening it to make sure.
- Dark or soft spots. Some small ones are fine (see my photo below), especially if they aren’t squishy or sagging. If that’s the case, cut the fruit and assess the situation. Large sunken spots mean the pomegranate is past its prime.
When it comes to pomegranate seeds and the interior of the fruit, look for the following:
- Mold. If there is anything inside, discard the seeds.
- black spores. When you see them, it’s obvious that the fruit is unfit for consumption.
- The seeds turned brown or black. Pomegranate seeds are usually ruby red in color. If the color has changed and they look like the photo below (or similar), then clearly something wrong happened here. If only some seeds turned brown or black, in theory, you could eat the healthy ones. Unless there are only a couple of browns and the rest is fine, I just throw it all away.
The last three symptoms do not appear as often. Usually, if the whole fruit seems fine, the seeds are fine too.
If anything in the seeds seems strange, like they smell funny or don’t taste like they should, throw them away.
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