Pomegranates are native to the Himalayas and India. Since Biblical times, they have been cultivated and naturalized over the entire Mediterranean region. Pomegranates flourish in the drier parts of Southeast Asia, Malaya, East Indies and Africa. The fruit was first introduced to California by Spanish settlers in 1769. Since the pomegranate prefers a semi-arid and mild temperature to a subtropical climate, they are grown primarily in California and Arizona. Some are even grown in greenhouses.

The character of the fruit is quite different from most common cultivated fruits. Pomegranates grow on small trees or shrubs, which typically reach a height of about 12 to 16 feet. The tree has bright scarlet flowers with 5 to 8 petals. They self-pollinate, and are additionally cross-pollinated by insects. Some species of pomegranate have survived up to 200 years, however, fruit production usually declines after 15 years.

This funny fruit will probably outlast most common edible fruits of today, even the genetically altered ones. Most pomegranates are 2 1/2 to 5 inches across in size, and have a leathery skin or rind with a yellow to maroon color. Within the fruit’s jacket are a multitude of juice-filled sacs surrounding seeds. Before the appearance of modern manufactured beverages, the juice was considered to be a desirable refreshment by those who lived in arid regions along the Mediterranean. Its essence is used to make grenadine, a popular component of many modern cocktails. It has also been used in various medicinal forms throughout time.

There are other interesting facts about this ancient fruit. In Thailand, a branch from the pomegranate tree dipped in water is used to spray attendees returing from a funeral, a ritual which was though to free one of any evil spirits that may otherwise follow you. From 14bc to 135bc, the image of three pomegranates appeared on a silver coin used in Jerusalem. The image of the pomegranate was also used in the building of Solomon’s temple as noted in I Kings 7:18

Today, the pomegranate is gaining new acceptance not for its impressive historical virtues but its amazing anti-oxidant value. Besides being placed into many vitamin supplements, its juice is growing in popularity. For good reason! Compared to an orange, the pomegranate possesses nutritional superiority. Trader Joe’s or local health food stores have many versions of its tangy juice. If you thought that the cranberry has a pucker, your lips are in for a new surprise at your first sip of this Biblical berry.

For those who own a tree:
Your fruit will be ripe when the fruit develops a distinctive color and makes a metallic sound. If picked too late the fruit will crack. The apple and the pomegranate have a similar shelf life and can last up to 7 months in cool temperatures. While the sacs can be twisted out and eaten as is, there are several ways in which the juice can be extracted: by a wire press or warming the fruit and rolling it in between your hands to soften. Besides drinking the juice, it can be used for jelly, sorbets and hot or cold sauces. Oddly enough, as the fruit ages, it becomes juicier and stronger in flavor.

Unfortunately, living in an age when consumers expect everything instantly and properly spiked with ample sugar, this amazing fruit most often ends up in a Martha Stewart fruit bowl with a gourds and dried twigs design painted with paints from Ms Stewart’s latest craft corner at the big K. Of course, a few truly adventurous souls will realize that this funny ancient fruit has some amazing value and they will take the time to test its pleasing pucker power!

As we reluctantly watch the exit of summer, Mother Earth is releasing her horde of crisp multi-colored apples. They seem to be spilling over everywhere from the Farmer’s Market, along the roadsides, and brought by in shopping bags by friendly neighbors.

• Apples are cheap, they are plentiful and packed with a nutritional punch. Heathful pectin is abundant in apples, additionally, they are low calories, have high amounts of potassium, and contain only 16 grams of fruit sugars (in a medium size apple). All the more reason you should be chopping one of these delightful spheres of fiber. Unlike many other fruits that demand a tedious peeling, the apple is ready to go without any special preparation. Their versatility is boundless.
• Having lived several years in Santa Rosa, I visited Sebastopol – the self-titled “Apple Capitol of the World” – many times. Sebastopol holds two festivals celebrating the apple each year, in April, the “Apple Blossom Festival”, and in August, the “Gravenstein Apple Fair”.
• Johnny Appleseed was a nickname for the real John Chapman, who spent most of his life traveling and planting his beloved trees throughout the Allegheny Valley to the territories of Ohio and Indiana. He was a gentle and religious man.
• Apples are steeped in tradition and folklore. Apple pie, Apple cider, Applejack and “apples for teacher", just to name a few.
  Apples play prominent roles in our cultural history: one only has to think of Newton and his discovery of gravity, Snow White and her evil stepmother or Eve in the garden chomping on this source of great temptation.
• Apples have a long history of being adulterated with alcohol. Before prohibition Apple Brandy was popular and also referred to as Apple Jack and Jersey Lightning. Who could forget an 1800s-era political slogan like “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!”? William Harrison promised “log cabins and cider” This cider was hard. During long political speeches, the jug was passed among potential voters.
• The longest lasting symbol of the apple lies in New York City. How did the pet name of the “Big Apple” attach itself to New York City and remain so for 75 years? It is now thought likely that the term originated in horse-racing circles and was first popularized by John J. Fitz Gerald, although there are numerous legends surrounding the origin.

Just like every good thing that nature has provided to people, we’ve managed to screw the apple up. In the fall, we like to dip these crisp gems of natural goodness with caramel coating. Thousands of commercial pie companies place them inside a
pastry shell half – cooked and heavily sugared, especially during the holidays. For preservation purposes many are coated with wax. Some are stored a little too long and taste mealy. All the above seems to be part of living in a modern automated society. Regardless, the apple cannot be changed and it promises a savory flesh within its protective skin. Nutritional data on apples and other fruits is available at www.bestapples.com.

Here are some easy rules and suggestions for getting all the benefits from this wondrous fruit phenomenon. If possible, buy from a grower’s or farmer’s market where prices are usually most reasonable. At home, store them is cold place like the bottom of the refrigerator (please take them out of any plastic bag). Place a few in a place where the family spends time. Keep apples handy when potato chip and cookie cravings become unbearable. Wash, quarter, and remove the seeds of apples before putting them in kids’ lunches – this will keep the school garbage can from being filled with half-eaten apples. It’s even possible to freeze sliced and seasoned slices for busy future days.

Learn to make bottomless apple pies: Recruit family members to peel and cut into small pieces enough apples to fill
a 10 inch glass Pyrex or even a long glass lasagna pan. Add only 3 tablespoons of sugar along with teaspoon of cinnamon and 2-3 tablespoons of flour.Sprinkle over apples and cover with thin pie crust. If you wish, piecrust is available in the freezer case, or make your own (look inside the Joy of Cooking for crust-making directions). Apples are already sweet, so the addition of minimal
sugar is meant only to provide a base for the cinnamon and flour to adhere to. Here the true sweetness of the apple brims in glory.

Homemade apple sauce is a good way to utilize those apples waning in flavor: add a little lemon, about ¼ cup of water, place in a double-boiler. Cook down gradually, the use of a double-boiler will prevent the apple sauce from scorching.

Recently I’ve revisited the Waldorf Apple Salad. The original recipe was retuned for a client, who wanted to introduce more walnuts and celery into her diet. I cut up lots of apples and combined them with celery bits and dried softened cranberries. To this mixture I then added the walnuts. Use a simple dressing of canned cranberry sauce and equal yogurt, and if desired, a bit of low-calorie sour cream. Easy is the key word. By keeping routines simple you will see in time that preparing an apple pie can be a piece of cake.

As mentioned before, apricots, nectarines, cherries and peaches have all been growing abundantly this year. I have seen more fresh fruit in the last couple months than I have seen all last year. A couple of things to remember when buying fruit: fruits like watermelon and cantaloupe are best eaten fresh, whereas plums, apricots and other similar fruits can have a much longer life span if frozen or cooked.

The easiest and fastest method of preserving fruit is to wash them when fresh. Once washed, place them in plastic cartons (available at any Smart & Final or restaurant supply store) then put them in freezer. I prefer to leave out the sugar. Freezing fruit preserves their quality and taste. You generally can keep frozen fruit for a year. Once thawed you can make the fruit into jam, cobbler, pie or fruit topped cake Also, red plums can be pureed and be used as a natural gelatin mold.

If you have a very small freezer and don’t mind a little extra work, canning is certainly a viable option. Canning is like riding a bicycle; once you get the hang of it, you have it for life. I was once asked by a household in Santa Rosa to can 48 lbs of apricots. It took us three days to complete the task. We only processed the fruit that was ripe. Our yield was 96 pints and about 4 pies.

Over the years, I have done a lot of research on canning. I have read many resources on the subject, and can recommend the entries covering canning in The Joy of Cooking. The University Home Economics website and the USDA also have helpful information on the subject. However, none of the books I read mentioned sterilizing the jars in the microwave. Most canning instructions (for those who use the open kettle method) recommend boiling the jars for 20 minutes in a pan on the stove. Recently, however, I found out that placing about ½ cup of water into my pint jar for 90 seconds in the microwave also gave me a sterile jar.

An advantage to home canning is being able to control the amount of sugar used. Usually, recipes suggest using ½ cup of sugar to every three cups water. But you can also decide how sweet or wet you want your fruit to be. I prefer my fruit as dry as possible. To can fruit: place the washed fruit into a wide kettle. Add the sugar and water. Each fruit has its own time-frame for cooking. Time-frames vary from 3- 5 minutes. When pouring the fruit into jars, remember to wipe the outsides of the jars with a damp cloth to remove any sugar which might be on the surface. The stickiness might attract ants.

I would love your comments and suggestions. While canning may seem like a dead art, it can save you oodles of money and provide you with quality foods. Whether you preserve food or not, don’t miss out on the fabulous fruits and vegetables at your local farmer’s market. My prize for the week: juicy beefsteak tomatoes full of flavor. Bon Appétit!

It is one of key purposes of this website to introduce you to the wonderful world of fresh produce and the endless ways it can be incorporated into your family meals. Fresh produce shall takes inches from your waist and put more dollars in your wallet. From veggie pancakes to fruit-topped homemade waffles, veggies will surprise you with their amazing versatility! Tomato is my produce pick of the week. I have probably used tomatoes more than any other produce. It is not really a vegetable–botanically tomatoes are a fruit. Winter is not the best season of the year to flaunt the virtues of tomatoes but it is the time of the year when extra vitamin C is a plus.
The tomato is one of our best food values. Used in vegetable soup it enhances the other vegetables and provides an easy way to get the USDA’s 5 recommended daily Vegetables. You can find tomatoes in paste, puree, tomato sauce and many forms of canned tomatoes such as plum tomatoes, crushed and quartered. They are excellent in pasta sauces, chili, Swiss steak, home made pizza and salsa.
But the real bonus of tomatoes is their anti-oxidant content. Anti-oxidants are responsible for attacking the free radicals in the body which eventually can cause cancer. The most frequently mentioned is lycopene. However, what is not mentioned it the most lycopene comes from the cooked tomato and there is much less in the raw tomato. Forget raw tomatoes in the winter. So-called “ripe on the vine” tomatoes, while looking wonderful, are hard and tasteless under that blushing beauty. When summer comes you can truly enjoy what a genuine ripe tomato tastes and looks like at your local Farmers Market. Locations are listed on the Internet. www.farmersmarketlocations.com
For the interesting history of the tomato and other curious facts log on….www.tomato.org.