It’s Pomegranate season! Last week, I wrote about the new fruits to enjoy in the Jewish New Year, but I wanted to save the best, and most special, fruit for its own feature.
I have a long, personal history with Pomegranates. When my parents moved into our home in 1958, they planted many fruit trees in our huge backyard, alternating between Pomegranates and Feijoas.
As young girls, Jackie and I found interesting ways to use Pomegranates. Our Pomegranates would ripen in mid-October, so we would bag them for door-to-door selling to our neighbors. Can you tell I started my selling career at a young age?
We’d have the most fun when Halloween came around. My mom and dad did not like the idea of giving out sugary candy to trick-or-treaters, so we handed out freshly harvested Pomegranates. The unintended consequence was red-stained sidewalks since ripe Pomegranates are very fun to throw at other kids!
Pomegranates are known as the “fruit with the crown,” and are actually a ritual food for the Jewish New Year. It is believed that Pomegranates grew in the Garden of Eden, and scholars purport that Pomegranates have 613 seeds, which is the number of commandments in the Old Testament.
Here is a photograph of a ceramic Pomegranate my daughter Alex brought back for me from her trip to Israel in 2006. Each time I look at it, I am reminded of her trip, Israel and of course, her smiling face!
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If you’re looking for more reasons to enjoy Pomegranates, check out this recent article about the Top 10 great reasons to love the pomegranate.
Right now, you will see displays of fresh Pomegranates in your produce department, as well as Pomegranate juice and small tubs of Pomegranate arils in the refrigerated section. Pick up some Pomegranate this weekend and enjoy!
Karen