Wonderful Pomegranate

Believed to have come from areas of the world that weren't big on record keeping, the Pomegranate began being cultivated in the Neolithic era between 10,200 BC to 2000 BC. During this long history, the fruit has become a part of many cultures in the world, each with their own idea of what the perfect pomegranate fruit should be.

Through the centuries, different collections of pomegranates have emerged in developing cultures of Central Asia. Unique Pomegranate varieties to each region began to become the taste of those areas.

Regions like India, the Himalaya's, China, the Middle East and Turkmenistan each favored different fruit and flavor qualities. Some liked high sugar with low or no acid, while another region may have preferred fruit with an acid/ sugar balance or sour and sweet mix. Still, others were selected for physiological traits such as less cracking and softer seeds.

Introduced as early as the mid 1700's by Spanish missionaries, most of the first Pomegranates were confined to the California missions.

The Wonderful Pomegranate is one of the first varieties to become popular in America and was reported to be discovered in Florida, but how is not clear. Credit to its introduction is given to a location in Porterville, California in about 1896. It should be mentioned that a similar variety by the same name is grown in Israel, but more recent comparisons suggest they are not the same fruit.

Though popular throughout the world, the Pomegranate in the United States was slow to gain appeal. Research was done at Harvard in 1991 and continued at Tufts University; along with University research studies in Europe to test the health benefits of small fruits. All tests concluded there was tremendous health benefits from the small berries and cane berries. These studies included the Pomegranate due to the fact that a Pomegranate is an inverted fruit with each one of the berries inside an individual fruit.

The results showed that Pomegranates were among the most beneficial of all the fruits tested. As the results of the studies began to become public, the popularity of the Pomegranate exploded thanks to the health-conscious consumer.

The Wonderful Pomegranate's demand grew overnight because of its good flavor, bright red color, large size and somewhat resistant to cracking. Only a few other choices were available to the home gardener or the commercial grower in the mid 1990's. Wonderful' s became the lead variety for the health movement with a new appreciation for this commonly overlooked fruit type.

Today, Wonderful Pomegranate remains the first choice for juicing and fresh eating in both the commercial and the home garden market.