Pomegranates - Winter"s Superfood
Nothing enlivens the Christmas season more than going into the store and seeing heaps of colorful ripe pomegranates.
They are an elegant and beautiful reminder of Winter and make a wonderful addition to holiday centerpieces and a great alternative to common holiday fruit such as oranges.
Not only are pomegranates fun to eat and taste great, they are an immensely healthy fruit to add to the diet, rich in vitamin C and antioxidants.
Pomegranates are native to Iran, India and the Mediterranean and have been cultivated there for thousands of years, both for their seeds and their juice.
They have long been a symbol of winter-Most familiar is perhaps the Greek myth of Persephone, the goddess of the Underworld, also prominently features the pomegranate.
In one version of Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife.
Her mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter and thus all green things ceased to grow.
Zeus, the highest ranking of the Greek gods, A cup of Pomegranate for Tea Time could not leave the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone.
It was the rule of the Fates that anyone who consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there.
Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating four pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner and so, because of this, she was condemned to spend four months in the Underworld every year.
During these four months, when Persephone is sitting on the throne of the Underworld next to her husband Hades, her mother Demeter mourns and no longer gives fertility to the earth.
This became an ancient Greek explanation for the seasons.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painting Persephona depicts Persephone holding the fatal fruit.
In recent years, pomegranates have become popular in the West, both as a fruit and as juice.
The health benefits of pomegranates are numerous and studies conducted in the last few years have shown pomegranates to be high in Vitamin C and rich in polyphenols, a group of potent antioxidants.
Preliminary studies have shown pomegranates to reduce blood pressure, act as an antibacterial against dental plaque, reduce heart disease, and inhibit viral infections.
Further studies are being conducted on the use of pomegranate as an inhibitor of prostate cancer.
The fruit is also a good source of vitamin B5 and potassium.
Pomegranates are a fun fruit to eat but it is messy work picking the seeds out one by one.
If you find you don't have the time, energy, or inclination for the work, it is easy enough to find pomegranate juice in most grocery stores.
It tastes great alone, like a slightly sweeter cranberry juice, and goes well in martinis and other mixed drinks.
If you want to experiment with using pomegranates in your cooking, as many Middle Eastern cultures do, go here for some wonderful recipes ranging from salads, to relishes, to desserts.
They are an elegant and beautiful reminder of Winter and make a wonderful addition to holiday centerpieces and a great alternative to common holiday fruit such as oranges.
Not only are pomegranates fun to eat and taste great, they are an immensely healthy fruit to add to the diet, rich in vitamin C and antioxidants.
Pomegranates are native to Iran, India and the Mediterranean and have been cultivated there for thousands of years, both for their seeds and their juice.
They have long been a symbol of winter-Most familiar is perhaps the Greek myth of Persephone, the goddess of the Underworld, also prominently features the pomegranate.
In one version of Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife.
Her mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter and thus all green things ceased to grow.
Zeus, the highest ranking of the Greek gods, A cup of Pomegranate for Tea Time could not leave the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone.
It was the rule of the Fates that anyone who consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there.
Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating four pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner and so, because of this, she was condemned to spend four months in the Underworld every year.
During these four months, when Persephone is sitting on the throne of the Underworld next to her husband Hades, her mother Demeter mourns and no longer gives fertility to the earth.
This became an ancient Greek explanation for the seasons.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painting Persephona depicts Persephone holding the fatal fruit.
In recent years, pomegranates have become popular in the West, both as a fruit and as juice.
The health benefits of pomegranates are numerous and studies conducted in the last few years have shown pomegranates to be high in Vitamin C and rich in polyphenols, a group of potent antioxidants.
Preliminary studies have shown pomegranates to reduce blood pressure, act as an antibacterial against dental plaque, reduce heart disease, and inhibit viral infections.
Further studies are being conducted on the use of pomegranate as an inhibitor of prostate cancer.
The fruit is also a good source of vitamin B5 and potassium.
Pomegranates are a fun fruit to eat but it is messy work picking the seeds out one by one.
If you find you don't have the time, energy, or inclination for the work, it is easy enough to find pomegranate juice in most grocery stores.
It tastes great alone, like a slightly sweeter cranberry juice, and goes well in martinis and other mixed drinks.
If you want to experiment with using pomegranates in your cooking, as many Middle Eastern cultures do, go here for some wonderful recipes ranging from salads, to relishes, to desserts.
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