Pomegranate

The crimson fruit, Punica granatum, of a tropical tree, with a thin, hard rind and as many as 600 tart, juice-filled seeds. Pomegranate juice is used as a flavoring in summer drinks, and in parts of the Middle East, it's included in soups. Its indelible red juices are used to dye the beautiful handmade rugs of the area and to make "true" grenadine. (Most of the "grenadine" now on the market is made with sugar water, and artificial color and flavor.)

In the West Indies, it's used widely in cooking and preserves. The word pomegranate comes from the Old French pomme garnete, meaning "seedy apple", although it bears no botanical relation to that fruit. According to Middle Eastern legend, there are 613 seeds in each pomegranate, one for each of the mitzvahs, or good deeds, of Hebrew tradition. King Solomon had an entire orchard of pomegranate trees, and the pillars of his temple were decorated with carvings of lilies and pomegranates. The prophet Mohammed instructed everyone to "eat pomegranate, for it purges the system of envy and hatred." In Syria and Lebanon, it's traditional for a new bride to stamp on a pomegranate at the entrance of her new home for fertility, abundance and a happy life.

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