The Social Evolution of the Pomegranate

The pomegranate has enjoyed a long social history, and recently has been elevated to elite status by the food and beverage industry.

Cheap Fruit to Top Shelf

I remember the days when the Pomegranate was on the bottom of the produce food chain. Pomegranates used to be not only affordable, but a fairly cheap fruit during season. I used to love to peel open a pomegranate from the outside, and then peel back all of the yellow layers inside, finding the sweet fruit seeds.

Now that Pomegranate is a nutritional big wig, it is one of the more expensive fruits in the produce section.

Pomegranate juice has also found its way to pricey organic and refrigerated juice blends in the grocery store, and even top shelf vodkas.

Why Are Pomegranates Suddenly Popular Again?

The main reason pomegranates have become popular again, and climbed the top of the social food ladder is because they contain some nutritional qualities.

Although they are considered high in sugar (like many other fruits), pomegranates are rich in anti-oxidants. Pomegranates are also rich in both Potassium and in Vitamin C, Vitamin A and Vitamin E. You won't fund much saturated fat in pomegranates.

Pomegranates are also low in sodium and cholesterol. Pomegranates contains anti-inflammatory nutrients. Pomegranates are rich in folic acid.

Social History

So what kind of social reception has the pomegranate, also called the"apple of many seeds" receive throughout history?

In ancient cultures the pomegranate was a symbol of fertility.

The pomegranate makes appearances in Greek Mythology (see the Myth of Persephone), Egyptian Mythology, and in The Bible.

"Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks." - Song of Solomon

Anyone who has accidentally experienced the staining power of pomegranate juice won't be surprised to learn that in ancient times, Pomegranate juice was also used as an ink ( http://www.uga.edu/fruit/pomegran.html).