Pomegranate

Indian pomegranates, sold by the box. Weight is everything with this fruit — a heavy pomegranate is full of juice and a light one of the same size is mostly pith.

The seeds go over a salad, through a bowl of hummus, onto a plate of grilled meat, or into a jug of juice. For getting them out without redecorating the kitchen: score the skin into quarters, break it open under water, and the seeds sink while the pith floats.

Look for fruit that is heavy, with taut, slightly angular skin rather than perfectly round — a ripe pomegranate goes a bit squarish as the seeds swell inside. Small surface cracks are usually a sign of a very ripe fruit rather than a fault.

One of the best keepers here. A whole pomegranate holds two weeks on a counter and a month in the fridge.

Loose seeds keep three days refrigerated in a sealed container, or freeze on a tray and bag them.