I have these growing in my backyard, but I'm confused:

[babylonsister]

When you buy them, are the shells hard as a rock, like a gourd? These are; I can't even imagine trying to eat one. x(




Here is a whole one:

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

1. Pomegranates.

I used to love those.

[eleny]

2. How pretty!

I had no idea that they had that lovely "skirt" on the bottom as they grew. Remember when we were kids in NY and they called them Chinese Apples? The juice is supposed to be so good for you. Since they're usually offered in the store around Halloween, my guess is that the skin will soften up. But I don't know all that much about poms. I have a bottle of store bought juice in the fridge and add it to orange juice for a kick.

[babylonsister]

3. Hmmm, store-bought. I think that might be the ticket vs. trying to

figure out what to do with these! And yes, they are supposed to be full of vitamins!

Why Pomegranates Are Better Than Red Wine

NEW YORK, N.Y. and HAIFA, Israel, May 4, 2000 -- In a strong confirmation of the power of pomegranates to fight heart disease, studies of healthy human subjects and mice with atherosclerosis showed why even moderate consumption of pomegranate juice could have significant clinical results.

According to studies at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the cholesterol oxidation process -– which creates atherosclerotic lesions that narrow arteries and result in heart disease -- was slowed by as much as 40 percent when healthy subjects drank 2-3 ounces of pomegranate juice a day for two weeks. Further, the juice reduced the retention of LDL, the "bad" cholesterol that after its oxidation aggregates and forms atherosclerotic lesions.

The study is published in the May issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"Pomegranates are proving to be the most powerful antioxidant available, better than red wine, tomatoes, vitamin E and a variety of other headline makers," says Prof. Michael Aviram of the Lipid Research Laboratory at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, who led the team. Prof. Aviram, who was the first to prove the beneficial effects of red wine on cholesterol oxidation in humans, is an internationally recognized authority on the effect of food on heart disease.

Earlier, pomegranate juice was tested on mice from a special strain susceptible to atherosclerosis. When these mice were fed pomegranate juice for 11 weeks, their arteries had only half as many lesions as did the arteries of the control mice who got no juice. This strengthened the evidence that the juice would also slow or prevent the formation of lesions in humans.

Most recently, using sections of excised human arteries, Prof. Aviram showed that the active ingredient in pomegranates not only slows down cholesterol oxidation but actually minimizes the retention and aggregation of LDL cholesterol, the "bad" cholesterol, two additional processes that create atherosclerotic lesions. These lesions are minimized if the cholesterol is not retained, oxidized and subsequently aggregated.

When the subjects stopped drinking the pomegranate juice, the beneficial effects lasted for about a month.

Aviram chose pomegranates for his study because the fruit has long been in use in folk medicine in the Middle East, Iran and India for treating disease and infections, and he suspected that some of its medicinal value could be due to antioxidants.

[eleny]

4. I always liked them when I was a kid

We would cut them in half, pick out the seeds and munch. Being home grown you can time them for ripening on the tree. Seems like the flavor would be so much better.

[NMDemDist2]

5. ahhh pomegranates! I ruined my school clothes every single year with

the fruit from the tree at the bus stop :rofl:

they're a lot of work but wonderful! quarter them with a sharp knife and pick the seeds out and wear a bib! YUM

[babylonsister]

6. OK, so the only edible part is the seeds? I'm truly stumped!

Also, how do you know when they're ripe, before the shells get hard, during, after? :shrug:

[Duer 157099]

8. Yes, only the seeds

the skin will turn dark red, that's usually how you know it's ripe

[NMDemDist2]

12. the shells get hard, the seeds are sweet and juicy n/t

[kestrel91316]

17. The ones in the store are not rock hard. You can dent them with a

fingernail. I think they are best in the winter?

[Duer 157099]

7. The skin will soften as they ripen

but it's true that the skin is pretty tough

I also remember those from my childhood, a neighbor had a tree that hung over the fence.

Messy though, definitly the kind of food you sit on the front (or back) porch and eat.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

9. They're a terrific source of Vitamin C,

and, when I was a kid, all my books had red splotches from the seeds spurting while I read and munched on those beautiful, glossy, tasty items.

You're so lucky to have them. If I hadn't had great chicken for lunch, I'd be really jealous.

You'll know when they're ripe - the skin will have a nice feel, but it's the weight - when the seeds have some heft to them, you can tell, and they'll be ready.

Just cut into them, and start digging.

Pomegranates in May. That seems so odd. To me, they're an autumn fruit.

A friend of mine, he's a dermatologist closing in on 80, and still working, a native Washingtonian who grew up very poor, told me a story once about how he used to work for a fruit vendor when he was a kid during the Depression. He'd get paid a nickel, and he could have a piece of fruit - that was for one whole day's work!

Harold always took a pomegranate. He said to me, "Do you know why I chose a pomegranate? Because it lasted longer than any other fruit!"

He's one of my favorite people, and that's one of my favorite stories.

Enjoy your marvelous fruit.

[babylonsister]

10. Nice story, OLL. But one last question. If the outside feels like

a hardshelled clam, and it does, am I too late or too early, or don't ya know?
And this is TX. My beautiful flowering garden is almost kaput. By July it gets too hot
to enjoy the fruits of my labors. They're done, and I am also.

Here's one pic:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

11. Wow, how gorgeous!

Oh, well, you're 'way down there, and the skin feels like that?

Hell, cut into it and see what's what. It might be too late, or it might be just fine.

Tricky fruits, pomegranates.

And don't they bring with them something out of the Arabian Nights?

Let us know what happens, OK?

(It hit 93 today in the nation's capitol, and I can't tell you how wiped out everyone is. Happened overnight, so, yeah, the heat get us all. I sympathize.)

[NMDemDist2]

13. they are a fall fruit in central (hot) California

unless you had a REALLY mild winter they shouldn't be ready yet and the get very red (not orangy red but red red) when they are ripe. they should fall off the tree when ready. if you have to cut the stems they aren't ready

[babylonsister]

14. Thanks! That helps! I'll be watching them. nt

[Warpy]

15. People either love 'em or hate 'em

and it's the juicy seeds that you eat, the flesh is unpalatable unless you've got a thing for wet cardboard. The juice is a big health food thing now.

There is no substitute for pomegranates when you're doing stuffed chiles with fresh walnut sauce. They're an essential garnish.

Other than that, I can easily leave 'em alone.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. Those are HIGHLY poisonous. You need to get rid of them FAST

Put them all in a box and send the box to:

Stinky the Clown
123 Hooters Way
Stinkyville

I'll take it from there.

[grasswire]

18. you have a T-shirt saying....

..."Poison Pom Disposal Team"?

[Stinky The Clown]

20. No tee shirt ....

.... but I have the requisite 'two forms of government issued photo ID'

Send me your poms. :)

[Tab]

19. You get the juice

suck it out, squeeze it.

Straight from the pom, though, it makes nasty stains, so be careful.

I do note that in the last 6 months I've seen lots of pom juice in the stores, and also pom juice mixers (like pom + blueberry juice).

[Dora]

21. Very nice paired with goat cheese... (plus deseeding tip)

...and very pretty. You can roll a log of chevre in pom seeds and it will look bejeweled.

I de-seed pomegranates in a big bowl of water. The good seeds sink to the bottom, the pale membrane and bad seeds float to the top, and my hands don't get stained.

[yellerpup]

22. A little mythology about poms..gotta go. Enjoy!

The Myth

The Goddess Persephone, wife of Hades, and daughter of Demeter and Zeus, is symbolized by the pomegranate. In the myth, Persephone is kidnapped by Hades, God of the Underworld, who has taken a fancy to her. Demeter, distressed upon discovering her daughter missing and learning that Hades is holding her, refuses to let plants grow. Zeus tells Hades he has to let Persephone leave the Underworld and return to Demeter, because Persephone has not eaten anything during her captivity. Hades agrees, and lets her go. Once she is back in her mother's arms, though, Hades declares that Persephone did eat something during her time with him--7 pomegranate seeds--which means she must return to the Underworld. Demeter is furious, but agrees to let Persephone return three months of the year to Hades, but during those months Demeter refuses to let anything grow. Thus, Demeter's compromise and Persephone's return to Hades creates winter.

The Symbol

The pomegranate is a symbol of fertility. In the myth, Hades gives Persephone 7 pomegranate seeds to eat, which she accepts. The eating of the pomegranate seeds in Hades' captivity is symbolic of consummation of their eternal union.

The pomegranate tree produces flowers with magnificent yellow stamens that look like male genitalia. The flowers turn into round, red fruit symbolic of the ovary with its multitude of seeds.

I find the pomegranate a powerful symbol, both for its strong fertility connotations, and because of the symbolic continuation of male into female that the tree renders every season. Gender is a social construction, and we hold within us elements of the male and the female. We also could not exist without the potent force of the male and the female, the seed and the egg, out of which we are born.

[TygrBright]

23. Make Smoothies!!

Pomegranate seeds make yummalicious smoothies, with a little lemon ice cream, sherbet, or gelato. Just peel the skin off and pick out the membrane, then dump the seeds whole into the blender with the lemon ice/gelato/etc. and give it a whir.

GOOD for you and most yummy! Wish we could grow them here...

wistfully,
Bright