My parents are currently on holiday in Iran. It’s been a while since I last went so I decided to spend some time looking at my old photos. I stumbled upon these delicious shots of Persian pomegranates taken a good few years back. My mum assures me that there are still pomegranates on every street corner. I’m a big lover of fruit and pomegranates are one of my all time favourites. Pomegranates are said to be rich in antioxidants and I’m sure you’re all aware that they’re quite expensive here in the UK. You need to be feeling especially fancy to treat yourself to the freshly squeezed stuff. Over in Iran it’s quite a different story.
Iran is known as the largest producer of pomegranates. When you visit the country the popularity of the fruit quickly becomes clear. These photos were taken whilst travelling around the winding mountains out of Tehran (the capital city). My dad’s family live in Tehran which is a vibrant and welcoming city. It’s just as easy to grab freshly squeezed pomegranate juice in the capital as it is in the smaller towns. However, people often buy boxes of the big ruby red fruits to take home, yes they really are that cheap over there. Iran even have a festival to celebrate the fruit, hopefully I’ll have the chance to attend one year.
Although pomegranates are expensive here I still try to buy them as regularly as possible. They aren’t always as good as the fresh Persian pomegranates but they’re still tasty. I’ve heard a lot of you find it hard to remove the seeds from a pomegranate. I’m thinking of doing a video tutorial on this. I add the seeds to salads, juices, breakfast bowls and stews. I suggest avoiding the ones in big supermarkets and ready seeded packs. Go to a local grocers or one of those shops that sells food from all over the world. These are the best places to buy fruit and it’s also where I buy my coconut oil for about £3 too. If you’re in Sheffield I’ll happily point you in the direction of one of my favourite fruit shops.
Iran isn’t quite how the media portray it. I hope that over the next few months I can share some old photos with you and tell you more about the city of Tehran.