The pomegranate has been growing since ancient times in areas from Iran to India. I saw one once as a child (now that was ancient times ) in Australia and I was told it was an ornamental delicacy. But now I read that it is a sacred symbol of human civilisation. In Buddhism it is considered a blessed fruit and in Judaism it is considered a symbol of fertility and abundance.... hence “ may you have as many children as there are seeds “. It also seems to have featured heavily in Greek mythology and Helen of Troy used the juice as rouge ! Who knew ?
Now they are literally a dime a dozen...or dirham should I say ! When in season they flood the market in Morocco and are on every street corner. You can even have them juiced on the spot for you by the barrow man, the ruby glistening seeds becoming a vitamin filled local style smoothie. And of course in culinary circles, they literally are flavour of the month with the words “pomegranate jus” included in lengthy precocious foodie descriptions . Then those insipid (to me)seeds are always scattered deliberately in an artistic manner over all desserts, especially the ones also topped with an Everest high mound of decorative sugary pink Persian candy floss . I just don’t feel this fashionable world sweeping pomegranate love. For me, this fruit should remain an ornamental delicacy and on that note, I am off to eat an apple, an ancient forbidden fruit.
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