Celeberating the New year ( MEHREGAN) with Pomegranates

Are pomegranates the new miracle food?



Pomegranate juice works against prostate cancer cells in laboratory tests and in mice, according to new research.
The Qur'an describes a heavenly paradise of four gardens with shade, springs and fruits, of which the pomegranate is one. Each fruit contains one seed that has descended from paradise, according to Islamic legend. The prophet Mohammed decreed that followers should eat pomegranates 'to purge the body of longing': a sort of anti-aphrodisiac or a pre-bromide substitute for monks, perhaps.In Judaism, the seeds are supposed to number 613, one for each of the commandments. Pomegranates adorned the pillars of King Solomon's Temple and decorated the robes of Jewish kings and priests. Pomegranates feature in paintings and on statues of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. They are also mentioned in The Bible2. According to some legends, the pomegranate was the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' in the Garden of Eden.In Buddhism it is one of the three blessed fruits (the others are the citrus and the peach). The pomegranate represents 'the essence of favourable influences' in Buddhist art and according to Buddhist legend the demoness Hariti, who ate children, was given a pomegranate to eat by Buddha in order to cure her of that dreadful urge.

http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/fishandseafood/r/persianchicken.htm

Fruit of the Magi - Pomegranates


Listen to this item
4,000 years ago a farmer somewhere on a rocky Mesopotamian hillside was planting pomegranate trees. In the ancient world pomegranates were one of the most highly prized of fruits.