Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.)

Flower of pomegranate (ornamental breed with full flowers)

Ripening pomegranate

The pome­granate tree is an ancient cultigen in Western Asia; it is mentioned in the oldest part of the Old Testament (the Penta­teuch). Although the Old Testament is not a collection of cooking recipes, it names many plants of everyday or cultic usage in ancient Israel; the New Testament, though, has less descriptive character, and plants are, consequently, named much less frequently.

If one wants to set up a collection of biblical spices, one must not forget that there are three millennia between the language of the Old Testament and ours; therefore, exact translations are sometimes impossible. The following quote (Isaiah 28,27) may illustrate the difficulties of translation:

כִּי לֹא בֶחָרוּץ יוּדַשׁ קֶצַח וְאֹופַן עֲגָלָה עַל־כַּמֹּן יוּסָּב כִּי בַמַּטֶּה יֵחָבֶט קֶצַח וְכַמֹּן בַּשָּׁבֶט׃

kî lô vẹḥārûṣ yûdạš qẹṣạḥ vəʾôfạn ʿăgālâ ʿạl-kạmmōn yûssāv kî vạmmạṭṭê yēḥāvẹṭ qẹṣạḥ vəkạmmōn bạššāvẹṭ.

Ki lo vecharuts yudash qetsach vʿofan ʾagala ʾal-kammon yussav ki vammatte yechabet qetsach vekammon basshabet.

Qetsach is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over kammon; qetsach is beaten out with a rod, and kammon with a stick.

Because of the dialectic structure, we may infer that the two plants are similar enough to allow for comparison, but differ in the way how the seeds are harvested. The term kammon [כמן] is related to Greek kyminon [κύμινον] and English cumin, and obviously has the same meaning, as similar forms with the meaning cumin appear in a multitude of European languages (mostly originating from Greek via Latin); but note that also the name caraway comes from the same root. Qetsach [קצח] is more difficult to analyze. Probably it means nigella, sometimes also called black cumin, whose seeds ripen in a closed capsule, which must first be opened (this is also the Modern Hebrew meaning of the word).

Yet in translating the Bible, botanic accuracy is less an aim than general matters of style. Black cumin is less elegant than cumin, and nigella is not an English word at all. Therefore, English Bible translations render qetsach as dill, caraway or fitches, which is an old orthographic variety for vetch, a plant not edible at all (Vicia sativa). German translators, on the other hand, who don’t have a traditional, elegant word for cumin, commonly translate kammon as caraway (which is almost certainly wrong), and have to resort to dill for qetsach, which is even wronger.

The goddess of Berlin (6.th century BC, Attica) holding a pomegranate fruit in her hand

Comparing dif­ferent trans­lations of the Old Testa­ment, one finds some or all of the follow­ing spices (Hebrew terms are given in fully vocalized writing): garlic (shum [שׁוּם], usually rendered in archaic spelling garlick), onion (betsel [בֶּצֶל]), nigella (qetsach [קֶצַח], also rendered as caraway or dill, quite obscure), cumin (kammon [כַּמֹּן], usually rendered in archaic spelling cummin but also trans­lated as caraway), coriander (gad [גַּד]), caper (abiyonah [אבִיוֹנָה], also translated desire), cinnamon (qinnamon [קִנָּמוֹן]), cassia (qiddah [קִדָּה] and qətsiʾah [קְצִיעָה], also interpreted as a synonym of cinnamon or cassia buds), hyssop (ezov [אֵזוֹב], frequent but very obscure), myrtle (hadas [הֲדַס]), olive (shemen [שֶׁמֶן] olive oil and zayith [זַיִת] olive berry; olive tree; very frequent), juniper (bərosh [בְּרוֹשׁ], also given as fir, cypress or pine), almond (shaqed [שָׁקֵד]), lemon (possibly citron but usually translated apple, tappuach [תַּפּוּחַ]), pomegranate (rimmon [רִמּוֹן]), bay (probably meaning just young tree, also rendered cedar, ezrach [אֶזְרָח]), rose (chavatstseleth [חֲבַצֶּלֶת], very obscure) and saffron (karkom [כַּרְכֹם]). Of these plants, only a few also appear also in the Quran; see ginger for a list of Koranic spices.

Similarly, the New Testament has not been translated by biologists — the latter would not have assumed that birds live in mustard plants (sinapi [σίναπι]). Other plant names from the New Testament include the following (original Greek given in parenthesis): mint (hedyosmon [ἡδύοσμον], this is not the common name of mint in Old Greek), cumin (kyminon [κύμινον], also translated caraway), anise (anethon [ἄνηθον], better rendered dill), lemon (thyinos [θύινος], possibly citron but uncertain), rue (peganon [πήγανον], probably a close relative is meant), cinnamon (kinnamomon [κιννάμωμον]), hyssop (hyssopos [ὕσσωπος], referring to the obscure word in the Old Testament) and olive (agrielaios [ἀγριέλαιος] olive tree, elaia [ἐλαία] olive fruit and elaion [ἔλαιον] olive oil). See also mugwort for linguistic notes on another plant mentioned in the New Testament, wormwood (apsinthos [ἄψινθος]).

Pomegranate flower

Ripening pomegranates

Today, pome­granate seeds have culi­nary im­por­tance as a spice only in North­ern India, where they are dried and used as a fla­vouring. For this purpose, seeds of wild pome­granates are col­lected that are too sour to be eaten fresh. This spice fea­tures a subtle, sweet–sour and at the same time tart flavour which is most popular in the union states Punjab and Gujarat in India’s North­west. Pome­granate seeds are mostly used for vege­tables and legumes; some­times, they show up in Moghul-style non-vege­tarian food.

Gujarat’s cook­ery differs from all other regional cuisines of India by its marked preference for spicy and sweet combinations. Due to a sizable Jain minority and the influence of Mahatma Gandhi, who was born in the small city of Porbandar in central Gujarat, its inhabitants are generally strict vegetarians, stricter than in other North Indian states. Fiery vegetable curries with more than a simple hint of sweetness are often decorated with fresh pomegranate seeds as a contrasting garnish.

Ripening pomegranates

Grenadine is a reduced juice from fresh pomegranate seeds. It is common in Northern India not only for desserts, but also to marinate meat; due to its content of proteolytic enzymes, it acts as a meat tender­izer. Either as fresh-ex­tracted juice or in the more dur­able form of syrup (dibs ar-rumman [دبس الرمان]), pome­granates are a common souring agent in Western Asia and may be used, e. g., in the Turkish salad kısır made from precooked cracked wheat (bulgur), parsley and possibly raw vegetables. A similar product in Georgia is called masharabi [მაშარაბი]. Pomegranate concentrate is particularly common in Iran, where it suits the local preference for spicy yet sweet–fruity flavours; a famous example of its use is khoresht fessenjan [خورشت فسنجان], duck or chicken pieces braised in a thick sauce made of pomegranate and walnuts.

Lastly, dried pomegranate seeds make an interesting alternative for raisins in cakes and other European sweets.