In the shoe store frequented regularly, I did not know that a concentrate of Armenia was hiding on the shelf behind the counter. In the course of the conversation, the kind owner showed me a modest fruit and then appeared all the facets of this smooth and shiny ball...
… The fruit had been on the shelf since January 6 of this year, an Armenian Christmas ritual. Named pomegranate - pomegranate meaning "abundant in seeds", it would contain, some say, 365 grains with red pulp, one grain for each day, a promise of abundance for the year. Thus, it is just as important to keep a pomegranate at home as to mix it with the dishes of traditional festivals or to throw one against a wall, on wedding days. (see examples and recipes).
... You then have to savor raw or cooked, salty or sweet, in juice, the arils with their precious virtues. Consumed naturally, the pomegranate gives us antioxidants, vitamin B, vitamin C. It strengthens our bones and muscles, protects us from cataracts, cardiovascular diseases and supports athletes.
… The pomegranate, cultivated for three millennia, is still present on our shelves. It is even experiencing a resurgence of interest for people concerned about their good health. Its organic virtues give it the symbols of fertility, prosperity and abundance. These symbols have traveled with the pomegranate tree: originating in the Caucasus and Central Asia, it is cultivated in the Mediterranean basin. The conquistadors brought it to America. This is why they are found in various religions or among Freemasons.
… In Armenia, since Antiquity, the pomegranate has been prized for ornaments (jewelry, architecture, wood carvings). It was chosen for the logo of the XVII Francophonie Summit in Yerevan in 2018, in addition to being the symbol of peace and prosperity for La Francophonie. … Carla Luciani sang it to evoke feminine strength, a grenade ready to explode. Let’s not forget the courage of the harvesters who have to face the bears, also great lovers of the fruit with ruby juice! Red participates in the symbolic force contained in the arils: color of blood, life and death. … With his film, “The Color of the Pomegranate”, Sergei Paradjanov offers a remarkable celebration of the poetry of Sayat-Nova, the great Armenian poet of the 18th century.
From the first images, we are seized: we first see 3 grenades placed on a white tablecloth. Their juice fuses on the canvas, drawing a unique shape. Then, a dagger that bleeds or sheds blood... It's hard not to see in these images or those of the bunch of grapes crushed by a bare foot on a tomb, the history of Armenia. The symbol of the pomegranate takes on its full meaning: a somewhat austere envelope, quarters, grains, representing the Armenians, united, welded by their history, carrying it here and there where they were able to settle. … As Nrnadzor, the “valley of pomegranates”, blazes, the Armenian couple prepares to retire. 42 years of hard work. 42 lucky grenades. The last will follow them for this new stage of their life. Other fruits full of vitality are to come.
Now, let's go to the kitchen ! 😋
The pomegranate is found on many Mediterranean tables. Vegetarian or not, you will find a recipe to your liking! To begin, method to collect pomegranate arils without damage:
open the fruit
shell it in a large bowl or a salad bowl filled with water,
let the fleshy grains fall into the bottom the fleshy grains (the whitish bark floats on the surface),
empty the water and the bark,
your arils are ready for all kinds of recipes! Bonus: the skin of the dried pomegranate can be drunk as an infusion!
Pictures created by Diane Lagadec
About Sergueï Paradjanov's film : watch it in VO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLZ4GSxP9eo https://www.courrier.am/fr/arts-et-culture/la-couleur-de-la-grenade-de-serguei-paradjanov-le-royaume-des-livres-des-mots-de
Article written by Solange Noyé
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