Health Pomegranate - Protects against cancer and keeps us young!

What are we actually eating??
Juicy, refreshing, healthy - with these words, the fruit of the pomegranate tree can be aptly described. However, to get to the up to 1,000 juicy seeds of a fruit, one must first fight through a leathery shell. Anyone who has eaten the extraordinary fruits fresh knows that this is worthwhile. But why does the fruit make it so difficult for us and how is it actually classified botanically?

It is vital for the pomegranate tree (Punica granatum) that the fruit does not break loose. Protected by a smooth shell and up to 5 millimeters thick, the roughly pea-sized, edged seeds ripen inside the fruit. They serve the tree for reproduction and thus for survival. If the fruits on the tree ripen and are not harvested, the shell that has become dry bursts open and the seeds are eaten and distributed by birds.

Pomegranate: A healthy wonder of nature. Picture: pilipphoto - fotolia

As the fleshy shell of the pomegranate dries leathery with increasing maturity, botanists also refer to the fruit as "dry berry". Inside, this has another special feature: The many individual seeds are close together in several fruit cavities, which are separated by tough walls from each other. It is the small seeds that provide the edible aromatic sweet and tart portion of the fruit and therefore the healthy ingredients. The outer part of the small seed kernels becomes fleshy red and juicy with maturity, the inner part becomes woody and becomes hard.

The seeds contain a lot of vitamin C, minerals such as potassium, trace elements such as iron, B vitamins, fiber and in high amounts also phytochemicals such as polyphenols. The latter are said to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects.

When buying pomegranates, make sure that the fruits with a diameter of up to 12 cm are intact and mature, as they do not ripen. Recognizable are ripe fruits on the color formation of the shell. Most of them are red-skinned varieties; however, there are also varieties with yellow fruits. These should then have a uniform yellow color.

Healthy and healthy fruits can be kept at home at room temperature for one to two weeks. Even if the shell gradually shrinks, the cores remain fresh inside. In the fridge, pomegranates are longer lasting, about two to four weeks.
Pomegranate seeds are very versatile in the kitchen. They taste great pure and are also as a decoration or ingredient of savory or fruity salads, creams, puddings or ice cream very refreshing. Pomegranate juice can be used very well as a marinade for game, lamb or poultry. It also tastes refreshingly delicious in fruit drinks, sorbets, water and milk ice or jellies.

By the way: There is no special tool required to open a pomegranate. It works very well if you first cut a thin slice with a sharp knife at the top of the fruit, the goblet. Then carefully scrape the bowl several times from the goblet to the stalk. It should be ensured that the juicy seeds are not injured as possible.

Now the fruit can be broken from the cup to the stem. If you want to get to the pips without juice splash, you can break the fruit in a bowl of cold water. Important: The fruit should be completely covered with water. Heike Stommel, bzfe