November is National Pomegranate Month
As November is National Pomegranate Month I thought I would talk a bit about our tree, and pomegranates in general, in my blog.
What sort of tree is that?
We didn’t know we had a pomegranate tree. What we thought was a shrub with pretty leaves began to grow near the fig tree. We left it there as the leaves went a beautiful gold colour in the autumn before falling. After a few years we started to get beautiful flowers in the Spring and then in the autumn fruits appeared and we realised it was a pomegranate tree. This year the fruits are enormous, some the size of a grapefruit like the one shown in this picture!
Are Pomegranate fruits edible?
Apparently all pomegranates are edible, even the ornamental ones but some are sweeter than others. Ours were quite sour initially and we used to leave the fruits for the wild animals and birds. Once the tree matured it produced fabulous fruits with delicious seeds. I spent hours freezing the seeds so we have a wonderful supply of them over the winter. With its golden leaves and fabulous fruits it adds a nice touch of colour to our garden this time of year. We saw a praying mantis on one of the fruits today so clearly he agrees with us.
What can you use pomegranates for?
I had a wonderful salad in a restaurant that had fresh pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top and they were delicious. Of course they are still used to make grenadine by some manufacturers. Think Tequila Sunrise cocktails (there was a cocktail bar in Brighton – tales of my youth for another day). I seem to remember my Mum telling me that she used to eat pomegranates with a pin to pull out each seed (you eat the seed, or rather the juicy jelly surrounding the seed). Now of course there are YouTube videos and blogs telling you how to easily extract the seeds. Having done it I can tell you it is easy once you get into it but messy to start with!
A Few Interesting Pomegranate Facts
- Pomegranates are used as an ingredient in Ayurvedic medicine.
- A 100gm (three and a half ounce) serving of pomegranate seeds gives you 12% of your daily VitC requirement.
- In Ancient Greek mythology, the pomegranate was known as the ‘fruit of the dead’ and said to spring from the blood of Adonis.
- Pomegranates have been popular features in art and appear in many still life oil paintings by the Old Masters including the 18th century Italian painter Tommaso Realfonso.
Before you go
My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.
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Thank you for reading!
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