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The juicy and somewhat bitter fruit I have enjoyed with intrigue since childhood - we have always luxuriated with a few pomegranates when they were in season. Researching the fruits' lore and recipes led to exciting discoveries, for instance, did you know that the original French Grenadine is made of Pomegranate syrup? See the recipe below:
Take about 2-1/4 pounds of
pomegranates and separate the seeds from the pulp and
membranes.
Cook the seeds in one pint of water. Run through a sieve or cheesecloth, pressing out the juice into a pan and removing the seeds. Measure the juice and add an equal amount of sugar. Bring to a low boil and cook gently for ten minutes. Cool and bottle.
Grenadine is a thick,red syrup made from pomegranates originally. It is non- alcoholic but used in cocktails. There is now a hybrid variety of Pomegranate which produces clear and not red juice. The juice does stain and is used as a natural dye as well.
This fruit is a symbol for many cultures,often thought of as a symbol of fertility and abundance. There is a wonderful link in About.com (Pomegranate Legends and Lore) which will tell you almost everything you imagined possible about pomegranates. There you will find that the pomegranate is supposed by some researchers to be the original apple eaten by Eve in the Garden of Eden ; the original tree of good and evil.
The story of Adam and Eve comes from earlier Babylonian
tales and describes the naked Adam and Eve confronting a
serpent winding around a fruited tree. The snake seduced
Eve into trying the apple ("it is to die for",
said Eve) and she bit into its lusciousness, tempting
Adam into trying it only to find out what the shame of
nakedness meant! The shame of it !They were forced by
this to leave the heavenly Garden of Eden and their
innocence.
You can find this juicy tidbit in The Old Testament of The Holy Bible, should you never have run into this silly story. Having often partaken of the roseate,ruby-like fruit, I can vouch for the banality and wholesomeness of its actual benefits. The pomegranate is medicinal and about the only sexy thing about it, besides its gorgeous looks and flowers is that it is in its experimental stage as an HRT alternative, which is made entirely of the Pomegranate (Punica granatum, or Punicaceaea granatum). Plants which help replace lost hormones during the menopausal* cycle of women are called phytoestrogens.
The marvellous discovery based on
research in the world of Pomegranates is that the HRT
medicine produced by Pomegranate substance not only meets
the needs of menopausal woman but also provides breast
cancer prophylaxis!!! I just can't wait to try it.
Estrogen pills somewhat scare me, so I take them sparingly.
Recently, I found that I could get whole-fruit Pomegranate juice in the supermarket.
I haven't taken triple estrogen since a month before I found this. After three months I have no hot flashes, but feel a little fatigue. Perhaps a combination of natural sources and a little HRT enhancement could work better wonders!
I see by the web site that the inventor is looking for investors at this stage. So, arise ye women (for your time has come!)and taketh of the sweet potato , the lichee fruit, and also of the bright fruit of the Pomegranate!(And by all means, invest) Natural means are always the most rewarding!!
Berber women used
pomegranates to predict the number of their offspring.
They drew a circle on the ground and dropped a ripe
pomegranate in the center. The amount of seeds which
landed outside the ring prophesied the number children to
be born in her life.
Mohammed believed pomegranates purged the spirits of envy and hatred from the body. He urged all his disciples to eat many.
When Persephone (the Greek
goddess of spring and fruit ) was the hostage of Hades,
she swore she would not eat until her release. She could
not resist the pomegranate, though,and left only six
seeds uneaten. Some mystical researchers found a belief
that our yearly cycle of six months of growth and harvest
plus six months of winter sprang from the need of
Persephone.
Ancient Egyptians were buried with a pomegranate to herald rebirth.
Speaking of which, I found further research, although in abstacts that you can't actually link to: The pomegranate is an antioxidant, inexpensive, and apparently has some interest in a provider of activity against phytopathogenic fungi. Link to a botanical abstract here:
This is quite interesting.
The white rind which surrounds the red pips inside a
pomegranate is useful not for food (masochist!) but to
save for a skin cleanser. Wonder what to boil that white
stuff with for an interesting soap?
I just love looking for
plant lore.Not only is it richly annotated on the net and
in herb books, it gives me an exciting and holy feeling
about the medicines and fruits we so sweetly share around
the world.
There are so many stories to cherish, in just
the "Grace" of giving some notice to the foods
we enjoy. I am not that holy-holy anymore, but I always
meditate on my medicines' origins, to see the stories
involved in the medicines' evolution. Some of the
incidents are awe inspiring. Perhaps it would not be such
a bad idea to say Grace before popping the inevitable
pill, when you're ill.
I have seen some Doctors hanging
upside down in caves by their heels, just about, to bring
to you the horticultural wonder of a preserved fossil
answer to some ancient plague which is still bothering us
today, for want of its' turnaround in the natural kingdom!
Surely those people deserve some merit!
A Holy event is in store
for Judaism. This is Tu B'shevat- a day of rejoicing over the fine
fruits of Isreal. The festival of fruits is meant to be
held on the 15th Shevat (22-23 of Jan). I just about
always have my fruit blowout in January since that is when
I need it desperately after all the "good"
cheer of yesteryear has fallen away. The seven species of
mention in the article entitled "You are What You Eat" (NB) are:
Wheat, Barley, Wine, Grapes, Figs, Pomegranates, Olives and Dates.
Prayers said on this day will"bear fruit"
(NB) I have linked both Tu B'shevat and the Holiday page title so that you can access the rest of this site, or tour further into the traditions of Judaism.
"The great feast of the "Jewish Pentecost" is kept in remembrance of the giving of the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai, 50 days after the liberation of the slavery from Egypt (the Passover)".
The great feast of the "Christian Pentecost", after Acts 2, is celebrated on a Sunday, 50 days after the Resurrection of Christ
Before the episode of Mount Sinai, the Jews already had a Pentecost Feast, the Feast of the First-Fruits, or the Feast of Harvest, celebrating the harvest, 50 days after the sowing. How fitting then to have been chosen the Christian Pentecost as the Day for the First-Fruits"
Here is a beautiful Madonna image by Botticelli: LINK TO: Madonna of the Pomegranates
For we Canadians, this will be a nice retreat from the ice and snow of the season. I always celebrate this, but I call it "A trip to Mexico in a basket". Having found a title for my mad folly, which consists of pic-nicking in my living room on a picnic cloth with ocean wave albums ,or 'The Bear' (a rock radio station) on, and strews of seashells for company, I will now solemnize the event having discovered a formalized day of rejoicing!
Not only Judaism and Christianity honour the Pomegranate in their lore. This page is a must: A page from Wiccan custom to celebrate the night of Samhain tells of prayers and an altar set with pomegranates and other Fall fruit to honour the Spirits of the netherworld. A most beautiful offering.
And I don't know what connection this site
has with pomegranates, except for the several mentions of
the "First Fruits" and of Christ Jesus (1 Cor
15:22,23), but the site I explored was listed with
Christian religion and pomegranates, so I am including it
from home.pe.net,{ formerly linked at: http://home.pe.net/~mjagee/ } , the predictions and clock pages about
seven millenium "days", or thousand year
"days". According to a writer (M.J. Agee) we
are in the 7th "day" of seven thousand year
periods. The seventh and final millenium is called "
The Day of the Lord". Too bad the writers' interest page is not archived.
The name in India for the Pomegranate is: Daadimi ( Anaar)
Daadimi is believed to protect a pregnancy, and to be a cure for dysentry.
(A Puja is a prayer session)
Ganesha chathurthi falls on the fourth of the first fortnight of the month Bhaadrapada. (August-September).
Hindus worship Lord Ganapathy on \Ganesha chathurthi for guilt-free prosperity and success.
This festival has a greater importance for science;for Ganesha Puja one should procure the leaves and flowers of twenty-one different plants, trees and shrubs.
This is called Ekavimshati Patra Puja.All these leaves have medicinal value, so that a teaching defining the prophylactic and therapeutic properties of the 21 botanicals is implied.
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Personally, I look at the magic of a fruit like a pomegranate, and feel there is a sacredness in the formation of all the most exquisite fruits and flowers of our world. Life is holy.