Granat Apple

Scientific name: Punica granatum

About:

Considered a fruit from the ancient world, Granat Apple is native from northern India to Iran and has been spread all across the Mediterranean region. It is a nutritionally rich fruit that has health promoting characteristics. It has multiple unique qualities of functional foods and are hence, often called super fruits. The trees of the Granat Apple are thought to have originated somewhere in the area of Sub-Himalayan foothills of Northern India and in Persia. Based on the type of cultivar, the fruits of these trees may be round, purple, red or yellowish-orange coloured. The interior structure of this fruit is separated by thin, membranous, white, spongy, and bitter tissues into discrete compartments. Each such section is packed as sacs and are filled with juicy and sweetish pink arils that are encased around an angular, single, hard or soft seeds.

Storage:

Granat apples need o be kept out of moisture, in dry and well-ventilated place that is far away from sunlight. Considering that you refrigerate the entire fruit, it can be kept in its intact state for as long as 2 months. Additionally, you can opt to store fresh seeds or its juice in its fresh form in the fridge for up to 5 days. Its arils can be frozen for long time by spreading the arils on a single layer on the baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Taste and use:

The edible portion of this fruits includes its seeds and a sac that is juice-filled to cover the seeds. It is often used to garnish desserts and salads, or make jellies, puddings, etc.

Nutritional facts:

100 gm of Granat apple has the following nutritional value –

1. Energy – 83 Kcal
2. Protein – 1.67 g
3. Dietary fibre – 4 g
4. Cholesterol – 0 mg
5. Carbohydrates – 18.70 g
6. Total fat – 1.17 g
7. Pyridoxine – 0.075 mg
8. Folates – 38 mg
9. Niacin – 0.293 mg
10. Vitamin A – 0 IU
11. Vitamin C – 10.2 mg
12. Vitamin E – 0.60 mg
13. Vitamin K – 16.4 mg
14. Calcium – 10 mg
15. Sodium – 3 mg
16. Selenium – 0.5 µg
17. Potassium – 236 mg
18. Magnesium – 12 mg
19. Zinc – 0.35 mg
20. Iron – 0.30 mg
21. Copper – 0.158 mg
22. Manganese – 0.119 mg
23. Phosphorous – 36 mg
24. Carotene-α – 0 µg
25. Cryptoxanthin-β – 0 µg