The pomegranate is one of the world’s oldest fruits, and one plant is growing and producing in the Garden Creek area of Mathews. Its cultivation dates to 2,200 B.C.E. in the Tigris and Euphrates Valley, which is now Iraq. For thousands of years, it has been a vital provider of food and medicine across different cultures and civilizations.

Through the years the pomegranate has become used as various symbols and was used in many situations other than food and medicine. In Greek mythology it was a sign of death. In ancient Greece and Rome it was a sign of fertility. In the Quran pomegranates grow in the Garden of Paradise and are referred to as God’s good creations.
The pomegranate is a shrub or small tree growing to 33 feet high. The red-purple edible fruit is a berry. When mature its size is between a lemon and a grapefruit in diameter with a rounded shape and a thick reddish husk.
The seeds are used as a spice known as Anar. The juice is used as a cooking ingredient. It’s now also a...