석류(pomegranate)

석류(pomegranate/pomegranates):

얇은 가죽 같은 껍질을 가진  분홍색 또는 진한 빨간색이 섞여 있는 과일로 커다란 오렌지정도 크기이다.

내부에는 크림색 막에 의해 분리되는 작고 수많은 씨앗들이 있는데, 이 씨앗이 바로 석류의 달콤한 핵심과일이다.

수분이 많은 이 달콤한 씨앗은 요리의 장식으로 또는 주스, 시럽을 만드는데 사용된다.

북부 인도에서는 신선한 석류 씨앗에서 짠 주스는 디저트뿐만아니라

고기를 재우는데에도 사용하는데, 단백질 분해 효소가 들어 있어 고기 연화제 역할을 하기때문이다.

제철 : 10월에서 11월까지

선택하는 방법 : 무거우면서 밝은 색과 껍질에 흠이 없는 것을 선택한다.

잘 익은 과일껍질을 톡톡 두들기면 금속 소리를 낸다.

보관 방법 :냉장고에서는 최고 2 개월 까지, 서늘하고 어두운 곳에 서는 최장 1개월.

준비하는 방법 : 수직으로 여러번 깊이 잘라 손에 들고 먹을수 있고, 

씨앗을 꺼내고 남은 과일껍질 주머니도 요리에 장식으로 쓸수 있다.

쥬스를 짤때는 껍질을 제거하고 블랜더에 씨앗을 갈아 채에 걸러내 쓴다.

석류와 잘 어울리는 요리재료 : 바나나 , 치즈 , 초콜릿, 크림 치즈, 자몽 , 요구르트

석류의 민간 의학적 사용;

인도에서 석류 는 광범위 수천 년 동안 전통적인 치료제로 사용되었다.

석류껍질은 설사, 이질, 장내 기생충 에 대한 전통적인 치료제로,

씨앗과 즙은 심장과 목을 위한 강장제로 간주되었다.

달콤한 석류 열매 는 특히 조혈 시스템에 대한 영양제, 혈액 제조기로 알려져 있다.

꽃즙과 과일껍질은 피부토닉, 코피와 잇몸 출혈,

겨자 기름과 혼합 후 쳐진 가슴을 맛사지하는데 또는 치질치료제등으로도 쓰였다.

석류 즙은  백내장 의 발전 을 느리게 하는 안약으로도 사용되었다.

석류의 약용 효과;

석류즙은 심장 질환의 위험 요인을 감소시킨다.

수축기의 혈압 강하 및 치석에 대한 항균 효과.

항산화 효과 추정;

석류는 비타민 C와 비타민 K, 플라보노이드 등의 

폴리 페놀(카테킨, 안토시아닌, 시아니딘)을 포함하고 있다.

석류씨앗은 식이 섬유의 훌륭한 소스이므로 씨앗을 통째로 먹는 것이 좋다.

석류의 탄닌은 산화 방지제 역할을 값을 하지만 인간에서의 효능이나  결정적인 증거가 부족하다.

많은 영양제 식품업체에서는 석류즙대신 페놀 추출물을 사용하는데,

석류즙의 엘라그산은  혈액에 축적 되지 않고 빠르게 배설되기때문이다.

따라서, 석류즙의 엘라그산 은 생체 내에서 중요한 것으로 표시되지 않는다.

A fruit about the size of a large orange with a thin leathery skin or rind that is typically yellow overlaid with a light or deep pink or rich red. The interior is separated by bitter cream-colored membranes backed with hundreds of seeds. The tiny edible seeds are surrounded by a translucent, bright-red pulp that has a sweet-tart flavor. The juicy, sweet seeds are eaten on their own, used as a garnish, or squeezed to yield a juice. Grenadine, a reduced juice from fresh pomegranate seeds, is common in Northern India not only for desserts, but also to marinate meat; due to its content of proteolytic enzymes,it acts as a meat tenderizer.

plural: pomegranates

Nutrition Facts
Calculated for 1 pomegranate (4" dia)
Amount Per Serving %DV(Daily Value)

Calories 234
Calories from Fat 29 (12%)
Total Fat 3.3g 5%

Saturated Fat 0.3g 1%
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 8mg 0%

칼륨 Potassium 665mg 19%

Total Carbohydrate 52.7g 17%

식이섬유 Dietary Fiber 11.3g 45%
Sugars 11.3g

단백질 Protein 4.7g 9%

Season: October - November

How to select: Choose fruit with a bright color and blemish-free skin. The ripe fruit makes a metallic sound when tapped.

How to store: The fruits improve in storage, becoming juicier and more flavorful. Refrigerate for up to 2 months or store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 month.

How to prepare: Can be eaten out of hand by deeply scoring several times vertically and then breaking it apart. The clusters of juice sacs are removed out and eaten. The sacs also make an attractive garnish when sprinkled on various dishes. To juice: Remove the sacs and put through a basket press or extract the juice by reaming the halved fruit on an ordinary orange juice squeezer.

Matches well with: bananas, cheese, chocolate, cream cheese, grapefruit, yogurt

In medicine/

In the Indian  the pomegranate has extensively been used as a source of traditional remedies for thousands of years.

The rind of the fruit and the bark of the pomegranate tree is used as a traditional remedy 

against diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal parasites.

The seeds and juice are considered a tonic for the heart and throat.

Thus Pomegranate is considered a healthful counterbalance to a diet high in sweet-fatty (kapha or earth) components.

Especially when sweet, pomegranate fruit is nourishing for particularly the hemopoietic system, and is known as a blood builder. The astringent qualities of the flower juice, rind and tree bark are considered valuable for a variety of purposes, such as stopping nose bleeds and gum bleeds, toning skin, (after blending with mustard oil) firming-up sagging breasts and treating hemorrhoids.

Pomegranate juice (of specific fruit strains) is also used as eyedrops as it is believed to slow the development of cataracts.

Health Benefits/

Juice of the pomegranate may be effective in reducing heart disease risk factors, 

consumption of pomegranate juice for two weeks was shown to reduce systolic blood pressure by inhibiting serum angiotensin-converting enzyme.

 Juice consumption may also inhibit viral infections while pomegranate extracts have antibacterial effects against dental plaque.

especially for putative antioxidant health benefits.

Pomegranate arils provide 12% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin C and 16% DV for vitamin K per 100 g serving, and contain polyphenols, such as ellagitannins and flavonoids.

 Pomegranate arils are excellent sources of dietary fiber which is entirely contained in the edible seeds. 

People who choose to discard the seeds forfeit nutritional benefits conveyed by the seed fiber and micronutrients.

The most abundant polyphenols in pomegranate juice are the hydrolyzable tannins called ellagitannins formed when ellagic acid binds with a carbohydrate. 

Pomegranate ellagitannins are tannins with free-radical scavenging properties in laboratory experiments and with potential human effects and absorbed into the human body and may have dietary value as antioxidants, but conclusive proof of efficacy in humans has not been shown.

During intestinal metabolism by bacteria, ellagitannins are converted to urolithins, which have unknown biological activity in vivo.

Other phenolics include catechins, anthocyanins, cyanidin etc..

Many food and dietary supplement makers use pomegranate phenolic extracts as ingredients in their products instead of the juice. 

 ingested ellagic acid from pomegranate juice does not accumulate in the blood in significant quantities and is rapidly excreted.

Accordingly, ellagic acid from pomegranate juice does not appear to be biologically important in vivo.