PUNICA GRANATUM
FOR A FRUIT that’s not much used in American cuisine, pomegranates sure figure widely in the fundamental myths and legends of our Western culture. They supposedly grew in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, not only for their fruit but also because they are a beautifully ornamental plant—a small, many-trunked tree with reddish-orange flowers on light green leaves.
The ancient Egyptians enjoyed them. So evidently did their captives, the Israelites, for after their escape from Egypt, they bemoaned the loss of this fruit. Moses (Deuteronomy 8:8) advised them that their promised land was to be “a prosperous land, a land of streams and springs, of waters that well up from the deep in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines, of figs, of pomegranates, a land of olives, of oil, of honey.”
By the Early Bronze Age (circa 2000 bce), Canaanites living in what is now Lebanon and Israel were growing pomegranates, although they aren’t native to that region. Their true home is Iran, where wild species still grow. Around 1250 bce, the Sea Peoples landed on the shores of the Levant, escaping the destruction caused by the eruption of a huge volcano at Thera (now the island of Santorini) in the Mediterranean. They mingled with the Canaanites, and these commingled people were called Phoenicians by the Greeks. After the eruption,
a Dark Age fell over the eastern Mediterranean,
and it wasn’t until about 850 bce that the cultures there revived. The Phoenicians established colonies around the Mediterranean, including at Carthage in North Africa, where pomegranates were widely
grown. The Romans called Carthage Punis—a word derived from Phoenicia. They called the pomegranate mala punica, or “Carthaginian apple.” And punica became the name of the genus to which the pomegranate belongs.
Our name pomegranate comes from the Latin for “grainy fruit.” The first recorded instance of the word in English comes from Chaucer’s time. In 1320, it was written that “A poumgarnet ther she brak,” or as we would say now, “There she broke a pomegranate.” Our word garnet comes from the color of the seeds in a “poumgarnet.”
In the Dahlem Museum in Berlin, there is a magnificent and dramatic painting by Rembrandt of Pluto, the god of the underworld, dragging Persephone into the Stygian darkness below. The painting illustrates a Greek myth, wherein Persephone vowed never to eat while captured but broke her vow by swallowing six pomegranate seeds, condemning her to life in Hades. Pluto later struck a deal with Ceres, Persephone’s mother, that allowed the girl to spend six months above ground and six months below, and this causes our days of summer fruitfulness when Persephone is above ground and our days of barren winter when she is with Pluto.
Today, pomegranates flourish wherever the climate is subtropical or Mediterranean in nature,
including the actual Mediterranean, as well as South Africa, Australia, parts of South America, California, Florida, Texas, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.
THE ORGANIC FACTOR
In the markets, organic pomegranates will carry the USDA Organic seal. Organic pomegranates are available through mail order from Diamond Organics or by searching the web site of the Organic Trade Association, where you can find scads of organic comestibles and products.
NUTRITION
Pomegranates have great stores of antioxidants, and 13 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams of pulp and juice.
TYPES
Seedless varieties are known, but they are grown mostly in the Middle East. I know of no seedless varieties grown in the United States.
SEASONALITY
Pomegranate season lasts from September into December in the northern hemisphere.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
When selecting pome-granates, heft the fruits and select those that feel heavy—they’ll have more juice. The leathery skin should not be dried out or wrinkled. ....read more
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