Pomegranate Season Guide: Catching Anar at Its Peak in Quetta
By Panjtan Juice · Published 20 October 2026
Some fruits are available all year and excellent in none of it. Pomegranate is the opposite: a short, glorious season, and a long wait outside it. When the anar crates arrive in Quetta's markets in autumn, regulars at Panjtan Juice, Barma Road, Hazara Town, Quetta, start asking for Pomegranate Juice (Rs 500) by name — because they know the glass they get in peak season cannot be repeated in spring at any price. This guide is about timing: when the season runs, how early, peak and late fruit differ, and how to buy and store anar so the season lasts as long as it possibly can in your kitchen.
When the Crates Arrive
Pomegranates ripen on the tree through late summer and reach Quetta's markets in earnest in autumn, with the heart of the season running through the early winter months. Balochistan's own orchards — the Kandhari anar from the province's valleys is famous across Pakistan — supply some of the finest fruit, alongside crates from other growing regions. The season's shape is the same most years: the first fruit arrives expensive and uneven, quality climbs week by week to a rich peak, then the last crates of the season grow tired as storage, not the tree, starts deciding the flavour. Knowing where you are in that arc is worth more than any single buying trick.
Early, Peak and Late Fruit
Early fruit looks the part — deep colour, handsome skins — but often juices pale and tart, picked to catch the first high prices rather than full ripeness. Buy small quantities and taste before committing. Peak fruit is a different creature: heavy, hard-skinned, with arils that are plump, dark and sweet-tart in balance, and juice that pours a true ruby red. This is the fruit to buy in quantity, for eating, juicing and storing. Late fruit has usually spent weeks in storage; the skins toughen and dull, and the arils inside can dry at the edges even when the fruit looks sound. Late anar is not useless — it is often cheaper, and sound fruit still juices acceptably — but it should be opened and checked before it goes anywhere near a juicer.
The Peak Tests
- Weight first: a peak pomegranate feels surprisingly heavy for its size — that weight is juice. Our pomegranate juice guide calls this the test that never lies, and it is.
- Skin: look for firm, tight, slightly leathery skin with a deep colour. Soft spots, mould at the crown or cracks weeping juice are rejections.
- Sound: tap the fruit with a fingertip. A ripe anar gives a firm, almost metallic ring; a dull, soft thud suggests dry arils inside.
- Shape: peak fruit often looks faintly squared or angular rather than perfectly round — the packed arils inside are pressing outward, which is exactly what you want.
Storing the Harvest
Pomegranate is one of the great keeping fruits, which is how a short season can stretch. Whole, unwashed fruit keeps for weeks in a cool, dry place and longer in the fridge, its thick skin protecting the arils inside — one reason anar was treasured on long journeys long before refrigeration. Once opened, the clock speeds up: arils keep a few days refrigerated in a sealed box, and they freeze surprisingly well, spread on a tray and then bagged, ready to scatter over desserts or blend into drinks for months. Buy peak fruit boldly, store most of it whole, and work through it steadily — that is the season, extended by simple patience.
The Glass at Peak
All of this timing exists for one moment: a glass of juice pressed from fruit at its peak — dark, fragrant, sweet and tart in the same sip, with a depth that bottled versions only imitate. That is why our Pomegranate Juice (Rs 500) is a seasonal pleasure we point to proudly while the crates are good, pressed fresh to order like everything on our menu. General information only, not medical advice: anar is widely valued in everyday diets, but the reason to chase its season is flavour. Catch the peak weeks, and you will understand why Quetta waits all year for them.