A Love Story Written in Seeds

What is red and full of love? Why, pomegranates of course!

Move over Cupid, pomegranates are the real gesture of love / Photo: Simon Berger on Unsplash

Cut open a pomegranate, and you'll find a bounty of red, round juicy seeds that have a sweet-but-slightly-tarty taste. They have been an ancient symbol of love, since the time when in Greek mythology, Goddess Persephone ate the juicy red seeds and was lovingly bound forever to Hades the God of the Underworld (bear with me here - we’re conveniently skimming over the bit where he abducted her and the fact that he was slightly related to her). But in actual fact, love-eyed Persephone was on to something - those seeds are a magic potion!

So juicy! So full of love! Photo: Karyna Panchenko on Unsplash

When you open a pomegranate (from Old French meaning 'an apple with many seeds', you find a bounty of red, round juicy seeds that have a sweet-but-slightly-tarty taste. They are the world’s most potent polyphenols! Polyphenols are natural compounds in fruit and veg that are packed with health benefits. They are like tiny bodyguards protecting your cells from damage, feeding your gut microbes and supporting your overall health. And so those little tiny pomegranate sacks of red juice are amazing security guards. This is what they do:

• They prevent inflammation in our body

• Keep bad bacteria from growing in our gut

• Reduce aging

• Protect the skin from the inside

• Improve our memory

• Boosts heart health

• Helps digestion

• Fights oral germs that cause bad breath (and we don't want that on Valentine's week do we?

This Valentine's say it with pomegranate / Photo: Andrej Lisakov on Unsplash

Pomegranates are a symbol of love because they are the ultimate gift of health. In fact, I suggest you give roses a miss this Valentine’s Day and give your loved one a wholesome pomegranate instead. No, it's not weird at all. They flourish from October to December but a hardy constitution keeps them available in shops even through to February.

It's so versatile - you can eat the seeds as dessert while gazing into each other's eyes. Or you can add it to your salads. Ottolenghi has some amazing recipes - this Baked Mint Mint Rice with Pomegranates is just one of my favourites. The only tricky thing might be how to cut it without coming out of it like a scene from Psycho. Here's the best way to do that:

Easy peasy! Enjoy discovering the goodness of this little-thought-of of fruit, and enjoy the love in the air. K x