E A T R E A L F O O D - Because the latest craze of eating *all natural* is actually what our ancestors did all along!
Years Ago ...
In the wonder-filled, cultural goldmine that is the country of Greece, men and women turned to wonderful stories - myths - to explain the goings-on of the natural world in which they lived.
One of these great myths told the story of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, and only her daughter, Persephone, the maiden of the spring.
This story is so important that is found in both the classic reference book for all stories of Ancient Greece, Mythology by Edith Hamilton (link), as well as the cornerstone of every cook book collection, The Joy of Cooking (link). And here it is:
One day, the god of the underworld, the terrible Hades, saw the beautiful young lady and abducted her, carrying her off with him back to his home.
Both mother and daughter despaired over Persephone's capture, the former even more so since she had not been with Persephone when it occurred and she knew not where she had gone.
With the grief of a mother, Demeter wandered for nine days, not taking care to even feed herself, as she searched for the answer of what had happened to her daughter. Finally, the Sun told her the awful truth - that Persephone had been taken to the underworld, and now lived among the "shadowy dead."
The truth made Demeter's heart ache even greater, and she left her home on Mount Olympus to wander in even sadder solitude (there is actually a bizarre little side story here, but it does not pertain to our topic, so ...).
That first year after Persephone's abduction was "dreadful and cruel for mankind over all the earth. Nothing grew; no seed sprang up." Due to the actions of the gods, mankind suffered greatly. Finally, Zeus sent different gods to Demeter, to convince her to stop her abandonment of man's harvest. But it was in vain. "Never would she let the earth bear fruit until she had seen her daughter."
So Zeus finally turned to his brother Hades. He dispatched the messenger god Hermes to the underworld to tell Hades he must return Persephone to the living world.
When Hermes found Hades and Persephone, he saw that she, like her mother, looked terrible and unhappy. But she grew ecstatic at the news that she should return home. Hades knew better than to disobey Zeus, but before he let his wife return to her happier home, he bade her eat of a pomegranate.
Source: Tate Britain (link)
It seems she only ate one seed, however this little morsel sealed her fate. She returned to her mother, and the two rejoiced together. However, as soon as Demeter heard the story of the pomegranate seed, she knew the sad truth.
Since Persephone had eaten while in the land of the dead, she would, in a sense, be forced to "die" every year, and return to Hades. Her sentence was to spend four months a year away from all that was good and alive, a time during which her mother perpetually despaired.
The Greeks used this story to describe the changing of the seasons, with winter being the period during which mother and daughter were forced to live apart. Like Demeter could find no happiness during these months, the ground was useless for crops. Fall was significant in that Demeter began to foresee her daughter's departure, and nature reacted accordingly. Spring, therefore, was the sunny rebirth of the maiden, and it proved to be as beautiful as Persephone herself.
(Direct quotes taken from Mythology by Edith Hamilton)
I remember reading and discussing this myth in middle school. Mythology was even on our summer reading list one year. I was obsessed with Greek myths back then, and I have continued that love into my adult life. Unfortunately, I have not retained a good memorization of most of these stories, however the tale of Demeter and Persephone is one that I have never entirely forgotten.
Every time I see a pomegranate at the grocery store, the images and emotions that the story above evokes come back to me ... and it makes the fruit that much more intriguing, fun, and appetizing!
Source: pomegranates.org
My mother never bought pomegranates when I lived at home, so it was only as an adult that I first purchased one for myself. I absolutely love them, and believe they are well worth the effort it takes to get to their juicy goodness.
Pomegranates are also wonderfully healthy! They are high in:
- Vitamin C
- Potassium
- Antioxidants
while also being a good source of fiber and low in calories! (Source: pomegranates.org)
Please keep a look out for at least one pomegranate recipe to come in the near future (my pomegranate is sitting in my fridge as I write this!). But in the meantime, I highly recommend watching the following video (not mine) for an EXCELLENT explanation of how to get the seeds out of this little fruit:
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic, as well as any pomegranate recipes you have to share. Feel free to comment below or send me an email at fourscorerebecca@gmail.com.
Guess what! I am on Pinterest and you can view my pages here: http://www.pinterest.com/fourscoreheaven/boards/. Be sure to follow me for all things I find pinteresting :)
Until next time ...
Rebecca
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