Posted by Marc BailesA pomegranate is a red, almost perfectly round fruit. It’s smaller than a grapefruit but larger than an orange. When a pomegranate is sliced open, it reveals hundreds of seeds and a dark-red juice with deliciously sweet-tart flavor. But in this fruit, the seeds are what’s edible. In fact, that’s the only part that’s edible.
The pomegranate is one the first fruits ever cultivated, having first been cultivated in ancient Persia, near the birthplace of civilization. In fact, it’s been suggested that the first apple eaten by Eve was actually a pomegranate. And so today they thrive in warm, dry climates. California’s San Joaquin Valley is where almost all American pomegranates are grown. The botanical name for the pomegranate tree is Punica granatum. Granatum, its species name, is Latin for “many seeds.” So pomegranate could be said to mean “apple with many seeds.” Granatum is also the source of grenadine, because the dessert mixer was originally made only from the juice of pomegranates grown in Grenada, the island in the Caribbean. Pomegranates are in season through January. But November is National Pomegranate Month, the perfect time to try out this odd fruit that’s packed with vitamin C and potassium.
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