Praise for the Pomegranate

The ancient fruit with modern influence

- SAMANTHA FISCHER

The pomegranate is one of civilization’s oldest cultivated foods, dating as far back as 4,000 BC Hailing from Persia— modern day Iran—and the Western Himalayas, the pomegranate has been an integral part of the human diet since ancient times. The name pomegranate comes from a Medieval Latin term meaning “seeded apple.” It has been mentioned in many ancient texts such as the Quran, the Book of Exodus in the Torah, and the Mesopotamian records; remnants of pomegranates were even “taken to the afterlife” by ancient Egyptians—including famous royals like King Tut.

Pomegranates were adored in ancient Egypt and served many uses. Not only were pomegranates one of the ancients’ major sources of food, but they also used its juice to kill parasites in the body—such as intestinal worms. They used the blossom to make red dye and the peel to dye leather. This is only one example of a civilization from millennia ago that demonstrates the pomegranate’s reputation as a highly regarded superfruit.

Pomegranates also played a major role in the story of Persephone (daughter of Zeus, in Greek mythology), and in the Bible it has been speculated that the forbidden fruit eaten by Eve was, in fact, a pomegranate. The pomegranate is considered a blessed fruit in Buddhism, and it represents sanctity, fertility, and abundance in Judaism. Indeed, pomegranates have truly proven to spread their wealth of benefits to people and places throughout the world.