A kind of soft-seeded pomegranate that tastes super delicious. I won’t let you not know it!

Autumn is here, and temperate fruits are available in large quantities. In the past, people in North China would celebrate the 15th day of the eighth month by honoring the "Moon Rabbit" and cut a portion of fruit mooncakes and place them on a plate as an offering.

The most eye-catching one is the big pomegranate that has been opened. Even though it is troublesome to peel, we still love it.

Image source: pixabay

How did the pomegranate get its name?

Pomegranate trees are quite common. They are short and do not need large tracts of soil like peaches, plums, apricots, and pears. They can grow in the corners of houses and on poor and infertile loess. From the germination of seeds to the first flowering, it only takes three or four years for a pomegranate tree to bloom. The scarlet pomegranate flowers bloom from early summer to early autumn without interruption.

Pomegranate seeds are very easy to germinate. In places where pomegranates are cultivated, you can often see wild pomegranate trees in front of and behind houses. Pomegranate is a native fruit tree in my country. It is speculated that its origin should be in the warm places in West Asia, such as the Iranian Plateau.

Going eastward from its place of origin, pomegranates were introduced to China along the Silk Road very early . Although the earliest record was that Zhang Qian brought it back from the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty, the actual time of its introduction may be earlier. The ancient Chinese called pomegranates "Anshiliu" . The most widely circulated saying is that Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions and brought this fruit back from the "Anshi Kingdom". But the ancients could not tell what country Anshi Kingdom was. However, pomegranates are called "Anar" in Persian, which may be the origin of the word "An".

As for "石" and "榴", there are other explanations. Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty said that "榴" is because its fruit is shaped like a "tumor". The "Qimin Yaoshu" of the Northern and Southern Dynasties said that to plant pomegranates, "stones and dead bones should be placed under the roots, and then the flowers and fruits will flourish." In this way, "石" may be named after its habits: it likes calcareous soil with many stone particles.

Why "fall for the pomegranate skirt"?

As soon as the pomegranate was introduced to the Central Plains, it was sought after. People especially valued its flowers - among the plants that ancient Chinese people admired, there were not many with pure red flowers. What's even more rare is that it has a long flowering period, and the flowers bloom continuously, and can be red for half a year.

In the Han Dynasty, pomegranates were considered rare species in the imperial palaces. By the Tang Dynasty, they had become a common fruit tree. The Tang and Song dynasties were an era of great development of ancient Chinese horticulture, and many ornamental pomegranate varieties emerged. The flowers are rich in color, in addition to red, there are white, pink, orange, and yellow. Those with lush double petals are called thousand-petal pomegranates ; those with pure white flowers and quartz-like seeds are called white jade pomegranates; those with large flowers and orange and white colors are called agate pomegranates.

The disadvantage of pomegranate is that it is afraid of cold. The Yellow River Basin is basically the northernmost limit for open-air cultivation. Going further north depends on luck.

Pomegranate trees are also often planted in Beijing courtyards. Sometimes in winter, when there is a cold snap, many of them will freeze to death. Fortunately, pomegranate trees can tolerate narrow flower pots and can bloom and bear fruit indoors. There are even specially selected bonsai pomegranates, which have a compact plant shape but still beautiful flowers and fruits.

Image source: pixabay

When talking about pomegranates, it is not difficult to think of the saying "fall at the feet of a pomegranate skirt". "Pomegranate skirt" is not a specific dress, but because the pomegranate flowers are brightly colored, with overlapping petals, and look like the skirt of a beauty, it has become a synonym for beauty.

Wu Zetian once wrote the poem "If you don't believe me, I've been crying for a long time. Open the box and check the pomegranate skirt", saying that the red skirt was left with mottled tears of lovesickness. There is also a legend that Yang Guifei complained to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang that his officials were disrespectful to her. Emperor Xuanzong was furious and ordered his officials to kneel down and bow to Yang Guifei when they met her. Thus, the allusion of "bowing down the pomegranate skirt" came into being.

How to peel a pomegranate?

If you look closely at the pomegranate flower, you will see that the five or six smooth and thick calyxes wrap around the petals, and the shape is a bit like that of a rose. Pomegranate flowers have "inferior ovaries" like roses , and the fruits are similar, so in the original plant classification, it was once classified as a rose family.

However, if you cut a pomegranate fruit horizontally, you will find that the crystal clear pomegranate seeds are divided into 5 to 7 chambers by a thin membrane , which is completely different from the rose fruit which has only one chamber. In addition, the leaves of pomegranates are opposite, while the leaves of roses are alternate, which are also different. Therefore, taxonomists let pomegranates become their own family and set up the Punicaceae family .

In recent years, molecular biology research has proved that pomegranates are close relatives of crape myrtles and loosestrife in the park. Therefore, the pomegranate family was disbanded and the pomegranate genus was classified as the loosestrife family...

It is said that pomegranates are difficult to peel. In fact, as long as we understand its special mixed structure, we can skillfully separate the pomegranate seeds: if you cut the pomegranate fruit horizontally, you will find that the pomegranate seeds are arranged in an orderly manner and divided into 5 to 7 petals by a thin film. There are usually several inconspicuous protrusions on the full pomegranate peel, which is the dividing line of the pomegranate seeds. Cut off the top of the fruit, split the fruit into several pieces along the dividing line, and then hit the pomegranate peel hard with the blade, and the agate-like pomegranate seeds will fall off obediently.

Image source: Internet

The transparent and juicy part of the seeds we usually eat is the outer seed coat of the pomegranate. Grab a handful of seeds and throw them directly into your mouth, and you can squeeze out the sweet juice with your tongue. The remaining bone residue is the seed wrapped in the endocarp. The pomegranate endocarp is composed of stone cells, which is very hard and can prevent the seeds from being corroded by the animal digestive tract.

The rise of soft-seeded pomegranates

Pomegranate seeds are sweet and thirst-quenching, but the stony seeds can easily hurt your teeth. Fortunately, we have already cultivated "soft-seeded pomegranates"!

These soft-seeded varieties still have sweet and juicy grains, but the seeds inside are aborted and softened. Although there is still residue after chewing all the juice, it is much less than that of ordinary hard-seeded pomegranates and can be swallowed directly.

Most of the pomegranates in my country are hard-seeded varieties, and there are also a few soft-seeded varieties, but the quality is poor. It was not until 1986 that my country imported six soft-seeded pomegranate seedlings from Tunisia. After more than 10 years of cultivation and breeding, it finally became a stable variety and was named "Tunisian soft-seeded pomegranate" in 2002.

Image source: pixabay

Tunisian soft-seeded pomegranates are large, early-ripening, large-seed, bright-colored, and soft-seed. The fresh-eating experience far exceeds that of traditional hard-seeded pomegranates. Soon, Tunisian soft-seeded pomegranates emerged as a new force in the market. In just 20 years, the planting area accounted for more than 15% of the total pomegranate area in the country, and it is still growing.

Planning and production

Source: Bowu (ID: bowuzazhi)

Author: Amon

Original editor: Happy

Editor: Bai Li

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