I don't know anything about pomegranate. It seems such an exotic thing. It is a wonderful muted red color that exudes sophistication, such does it's name. Pomegranate. It is the color of the duvet cover you want from Pottery Barn, or the new moisture wicking shirt you bought from Prana. It is the color of my leather flats from Aldo. It the color of the ultralight couch you drool over in the L.L. Bean catalogue.
I have never eaten a pomegranate and admit that I would have to Google "how to eat a pomegranate" before I got a knife out of the block.
A week ago I bought seltzer that was pomegranate. I was worried I wouldn't like it, and was pleasently suprised at its mild taste. Today I bought Arizona's Pomegranate Green Tea. I don't know if it tasted like pomegranate, but I guess it did. It also had caffeine, which is to blame for my current manic state.
So, the pomegranate. Let's learn something, shall we? I will turn to Wikipedia for my facts:
- The Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 5–8 m tall
- The fruit is between an orange and a grapefruit in size, 7–12 cm in diameter with a rounded hexagonal shape, and has thick reddish skin and around 600 seeds. [1] The edible parts are the seeds and the red seed pulp surrounding them; indeed, the fruit of the pomegranate is a berry. There are some cultivars which have been introduced that have a range of pulp colours like purple.
- A common nickname for the pomegranate is "Chinese Apple"
- After opening the pomegranate by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the arils (seed casings) are separated from the skin (peel) and internal white supporting structures (pith and carpellary membrane). Separating the red arils can be simplified by performing this task in a bowl of water, whereby the arils will sink and the white structures will float to the top. The entire seed is consumed raw, though the fleshy outer portion of the seed is the part that is desired. The taste differs depending on the variety of pomegranate and its state of ripeness. It can be very sweet or it can be very sour or tangy, but most fruits lie somewhere in between, which is the characteristic taste, laced with notes of its tannin.
- It is more likely that the Forbidden fruit was a pomegranate rather than an apple, given its etymology and the location's assumed habitat. Genesis
- Exodus chapter 28:33–34 directed that images of pomegranates be woven onto the borders of Hebrew priestly robes. 1 Kings chapter 7:13–22 describes pomegranates depicted in the temple King Solomon built in Jerusalem. Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah. For this reason and others many Jews eat pomegranates on Rosh Hashanah.
So, the pomegranate. If you are anything like me, you knew nothing about it, and now you do. I love the bible references. And all of this time we were using an apple to represent the forbidden fruit!
Go out! Be fruitful and buy a pomegranate! Separate the seeds, eat and enjoy!
