Mohammed Daftari could be an ambassador for pomegranates.

“I have spent 30 years in the bay area, but I grew up in Persia (Iran),” said Daftari, who lives in Napa. “Pomegranates are used in a lot of Persian dishes because the pomegranate originated in Persia. There are many recipes for using pomegranates, from appetizers to chicken and fish dishes. They make the best baklava. Pomegranates can also be made into a paste and used in soup.”

Daftari, who is in the import/export business, wants to spread the word about pomegranates.

“It is good for you, because it’s full of antioxidants,” said Daftari. “We call it a gift from God. In Iran, we have wild pomegranate trees. I’ve found an Armenian producer of pomegranate wine. It is so delicious, mild, not sweet.”

Daftari cites the success of Stewart and Lynda Resnick, who parlayed a 100-acre pomegranate grove into a $91 million industry when they started selling POM Wonderful pomegranate juice in 2002. The company has invested more than $17 million into research about the health benefits of pomegranates and found, in one study, that the juice had higher antioxidants than red wine. Another study showed pomegranates slowed the rate of increase of PSA levels in prostate cancer patients. Studies also indicate that the juice can lower blood pressure, may improve cardiovascular health and reduce cholesterol.

Their marketing efforts included hiring a mixologist to invent the POMtini martini and launching a line of teas. Since the Resnicks started, according to Productscan Online, over 350 new pomegranate beverages have come on the market.

The pomegranate’s biggest fan, Daftari, isn’t surprised. “Pomegranates are enjoyed all over the world because they are delicious and good for you.”

Custom

Both sweet and tart, the pomegranate is quite a contradiction. It has been called the fruit of the underworld in Greek mythology and the fruit of paradise in the Muslim Quran. Some biblical scholars believe it was a pomegranate, not an apple, that set about the unfortunate chain of events in the Garden of Eden.

It is Jewish tradition to believe that pomegranates have 613 seeds, the same number of commandments in the Torah. The word pomegranate is from Middle French “pome garnete” which means seeded apple. It is mentioned throughout the bible (six times in the Song of Solomon alone), Homer talks about the fruit in the Odyssey and Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet.

Spanish conquistadors brought pomegranates to America, and Spanish padres had pomegranates with them when they came to California, where the plants were grown at the missions.

Egyptians, Greeks, Indians and Romans used the pomegranate as medicine. While the pomegranate skin and bark of the tree have been used medicinally, only the seeds are edible. The pomegranate fruit provides potassium, high fiber, vitamin C, vitamin B6, polyphenols, potassium and niacin.

The parts of a pomegranate

The shiny rubies inside a pomegranate are the arils, containing the juice. Inside each is an edible seed. The white membrane around the arils is bitter and not recommended for eating.

The Pomegranate Council (www.pomegranate.org) says that pomegranates don’t have to be messy, and they offer a three-step process to seed them:

1. Cut off the crown, then cut the pomegranate into sections.

2. Place the sections in a bowl of water and roll out the arils with your fingers. Discard everything else.

3. Strain the water and eat the arils whole, seeds and all.

The season for fresh pomegranates is September through January.

The Pomegranate Council recommends three different methods for juicing a pomegranate:

• Cut the fresh pomegranate in half as you would a grapefruit. They recommend using a hand-press juicer to juice a pomegranate. If you use an electric juicer, take care not to juice the membrane, so the juice remains sweet. Strain the juice through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve.

• Place 1 to 2 cups seeds in a blender and blend until liquefied. Pour through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve.

• On a hard surface, press the palm of your hand against a pomegranate and gently roll to break all of the seeds inside (crackling stops when all seeds have broken open). Pierce the rind and squeeze out juice, or poke in a straw and press to release juice. Rolling can be done inside a plastic bag to contain the juice that leaks through the skin.

The Pomegranate Council also reminds consumers that pomegranate juice stains.