# Why are pomegranates so hot all of a sudden? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 25, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367 "2007-01-25T03:38:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/1 "2007-01-25T03:38:50Z")
Pomegranate juice – solo or combined with [blueberries](http://www.dolejuice.com/Products/Sparklers/PomegranateBlueberry.asp). [Pomegranate-scented](http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2590433&cp&sr=1&origkw=pomegranate&kw=pomegranate&parentPage=search) products at Bath & Body Works. Why has pomegranate become the sexy fruit of the moment? Is it a fruit fashion – like when kiwi got hot? Or is there something else? Antioxidents? The Pomegranate Mafia? A new cultivar that produces a lot of juice? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/2 "2007-01-25T03:45:24Z")
There’s another nutritional company out of Utah that developed the hot new multi-level marketing craze with pomegraite juice, but I can’t think of the name. When you have a bunch of LDS families calling all their relatives all over the world, that’s a lot of word of mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/3 "2007-01-25T03:56:03Z")
[QUOTE=Lamar Mundane] There’s another nutritional company out of Utah that developed the hot new multi-level marketing craze with pomegraite juice, but I can’t think of the name. [/QUOTE] [Pom (Wonderful)](http://www.pomwonderful.com/juice.html) There is also [Pama liqueur](http://www.pamaliqueur.com/index.html?Section=), which is popular. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/4 "2007-01-25T03:59:41Z")
I was into them before they were cool. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/5 "2007-01-25T04:30:30Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] [Pom (Wonderful)](http://www.pomwonderful.com/juice.html). [/QUOTE] Yep, it is. Darned expensive, too. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/6 "2007-01-25T04:35:17Z")
I think the MLM people are promoting mangosteen juice, not pomegranate juice. The Pom Wonderful people sell the juice in retail stores (not through any kind of MLM program) and sell a specific variety of pomegranate also called Pom Wonderful. And I think the current interest in pomegranates comes from the health benefits, mostly from the antioxidants. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/7 "2007-01-25T04:40:19Z")
It’s the new uberfruit, didn’t you hear? Berries are so last season for cancer-fighting properties. Pomegranate also has LDL-lowering properties ([article abstract](http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/71/5/1062)). I think it’s sorta funny you used “sexy” as a descriptor; in the past the pomegranate has been a symbol of chastity and righteousness. It was for this reason the personal emblem of Catherine of Aragon (and many many others). ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/8 "2007-01-25T05:16:15Z")
[QUOTE=pool] I was into them before they were cool. [/QUOTE] I loved them when I was a kid. My grandmother had a small pomegranate tree in her yard that produced just a handful of ripe fruit each year. Fortunately for me, no one else liked them much. I still enjoy them, but somehow it’s not quite the same now that I can just go to the store and buy one. I didn’t realize they had become a fad fruit. Oh, and as far as I can tell, **freckafree** , _all_ pomegranates produce lots of juice. The fruit is basically a shell filled with [little pods of juice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pomseeds2.jpg), with a seed in each. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/9 "2007-01-25T05:31:04Z")
[QUOTE=pool] I was into them before they were cool. [/QUOTE] Me too. I introduced my wife to them years ago and she loves them. I was actually just commenting to her the other day that pomegranates seem to be all over the place these days. It reminds me of when chipotles starting popping up everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Mork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/51bf81/32.png) [@Peter\_Mork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Mork)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/10 "2007-01-25T06:27:30Z")
Pomegranate cannot replace raspberry as the trendy flavor fast enough for me. My mom bought all the products - raspberry vinaigrette, raspberry baking chips, etc. - and I hated them all. Actual raspberries I like, but the flavor should be confined to places where it is wanted, like Trix and Kool-Aid. Admit it, you always threw out the raspberry creams in a box of Russell Stover chocolates. Pomegranate flavor on the other hand appeals to me, and I will gladly give pomegranate potato chips and motor oil a try. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/11 "2007-01-25T06:36:49Z")
Global warming? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/12 "2007-01-25T06:51:00Z")
It coincides with the popularity of Persephone and being forced to live in the Underworld for three months each year while that bastard Demeter won’t let the plants grow. Either that or the anti-oxidants. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/13 "2007-01-25T11:46:30Z")
Blame it on heavey marketing to the the financialy affluent, because in this town they want about $6 for a pint of the stuff. I don’t like the taste, and it’s not going to grow on me as I can’t afford the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Lush\_Puppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Lush\_Puppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lush_Puppy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/14 "2007-01-25T12:50:19Z")
Yup, long-time pomegranate lover, but all-time grenadine hater. I recall that Oprah featured pomegranates on her show. Antioxidant levels and a bowl of them makes a great centerpiece! So there you go. O. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pomegranates-so-hot-all-of-a-sudden/389367/15 "2007-01-25T17:24:51Z")
IIRC, most of the non-artificial cherry flavor in our food and drink is actually derived from pomegranates.