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Pomegranate
Punica granatum
The pomegranate probably
originated in Asia Minor and it has been a favourite fruit in the
mythology of the region since earliest times. Assyrian art and
monuments feature the pomegranate; remains
of pomegranate have been found in Bronze Age
tombs at Jericho, and carbonised fruits have been found amongst the
funerary offerings and gardens of Ramesses II, dating them to 13th
century BC.
Its common name is derived from the Latin poma granita,
seeded apple, but the ancient Romans also called it pomum punicum
as the fruit was introduced to them via Punica, or Carthage, in North Africa.
This link also gave rise to its botanical generic name
with the granatum, many seeds, added as its specific name.
This multi-seed structure has ensured a close link to mysticism since
earliest times, particularly in the fields of life-force and
fertility and it is one of the fruits which has been identified as
the possible ‘forbidden fruit’ of the Garden of Eden.
The Ebers Papyrus, dated at
around 2,000BC mentions the pomegranate, it
appears in the Old Testament and ancient Sanskrit texts also indicate
early cultivation in India.
In Greek mythology, the fruit plays quite an important
part in the story of Persephone’s
abduction and the creation of winter. Demeter,
her mother was so upset that she suspended all growth on earth,
preventing trees and plants from bearing fruit. Whilst in Hades,
Persephone had vowed not eat, but was eventually tempted by a pomegranate
and swallowed just six seeds. When Pluto
finally relented and gave Persephone back to Demeter, he insisted
that she should return to Hades each year, spending a month for each
of the seeds she had eaten, triggering Demeter’s grief and thus
creating winter.
Ironically for the fruit which was associated with the
onset of winter for the Greeks, the Hittites used it as the prime
symbol of their god of agriculture, Ibritz,
and its strong fertility symbolism earned it a place on both the
Royal badge of Katherine of Aragon, one of
the wives of Henry VIII, and the blazon of
the Royal College of Physicians.
The Spanish city of Granada
is named after it, as it was thought that its rather scattered layout
would look like a half-opened pomegranate.
Less pleasant things have also acquired their name from inspiration
taken from this delicious fruit. When ripe, the pomegranate
bursts and scatters its seeds in all directions around it and so, in
the 1590’s, when a bomb was invented which scattered metal
fragments in much the same way, one name seemed appropriate - grenade.
The pomegranate has been used
in healing for centuries with Pliny, the
Roman Encyclopaedist, recommended using pomegranate root bark to
expel tapeworm. The Indian holistic doctrine Ayurveda
uses pomegranate rind to treat dysentery and
its astringent properties are also useful in the treatment of
diarrhoea. Under their classification system, pomegranate is listed
as sour and is attributed with the ability to increase saliva flow,
thus aiding digestion. The juice is also said to be cooling and
nutritious and good in the treatment of bleeding gums. Pomegranate
leaves are also used for their antibacterial properties and were
traditionally applied to open wounds and sores.
Unani Tibb, the eastern
dietetic and medicine philosophy founded by the physician Avicenna,
also uses pomegranate as an astringent,
using its leaves and flowers as a styptic and a tonic. Tibb also
recommends the use of pomegranate for curing worms, although with
care, as large doses can cause vomiting and giddiness. The rind is
used to combat diarrhoea, haemorrhage, cancers and ulcers of the
uterus and rectum and is also used to treat fevers. A tea is also
made from the bark to eliminate tapeworm. Refreshingly, the Tibb
doctrine has only one use for the fruit flesh itself - food.
As a food, the pomegranate is
a very important ingredient in Middle Eastern cookery, used to
flavour meat stews and the dried seeds being used as a garnish.
Indian cuisine uses it too, sometimes using the seeds in stuffings
for savoury breads and pastries and are used as a refreshing change
of taste and texture in salads and drinks. The juice is also used to
make drinks, desserts and is, of course, the base for the liquor, grenadine.
Nutritionally, pomegranate is
a good source of vitamin C and useful for fibre intake when the seeds
are eaten.
100g pomegranate flesh gives and
energy value of 72 kcalories, 1.0g protein, 16.6g carbohydrate, 1mg
sodium, 379mg potassium, 13mg calcium, 12mg magnesium, 0.7mg iron,
0.17mg copper, 0.3mg niacin and 7mg vitamin C |