 True Name/ Common Names:
Pomegranate, or Chinese apple, from the Latin pomum meaning apple and the Latin granatus meaning seeded.
Pomegranates are sometimes referred to as the Food of the Dead Description of Look and Flavor: The pomegranate grows on a small tree/shrub that reaches 5 – 8 meters tall. It flowers bright red and produces a large fruit, roughly softball sized, that has a thick red skin, which begins to split when the fruit is ripe. The flesh consists of hundreds of small seeds wrapped in juice and packed into a taught little berry of sorts. The softball-sized fruit is almost faceted sometimes, like a rounded hexagon, or just plain round and smooth. The top, where the stem was, is fluted like some sort of flavor explosion has taken place and burst from the fruit leaving behind only as much flavor as the fruit can hold. Growth Period/ Harvest –
It is native from Iran to the Himalayas as well as in the entire Mediterranean region. In the northern hemisphere pomegranates grow from September to January and in the southern hemisphere from March to May. They are drought resistant and can take a mild frost. So you never have to go very long with out a pomegranate. Nutritional Info –One pomegranate gives you about 40% of your daily vitamin c and is loaded with folic acid and antioxidants, which can reduce several heart risk factors such as blood pressure. Pomegranates are also good sources of B5, B6, and potassium Other Uses – The juice from pomegranates can be used as a dye on non-synthetic fabrics and often times becomes one even if you didn’t intend for it to. So be careful not to wear your white gloves when eating these delicious little seeds. History – The pomegranate made its way to California in 1769 when Spanish settlers introduced it. Interesting Facts/ Misnomers -
- An elite infantry unit in Persia used the pomegranate to adorn the handles of their spears. The pomegranates, whether gold or silver, showed a soldier’s rank.
- Pomegranate trees are widely used for bonsai because of their beautiful, ornate flowers and the unusual gnarly bark that the older trees can produce. |
