What is the largest pomegranate in the world?

A ripe and fresh pomegranate is the size of an orange, heavy and hard to the touch, with a scarlet shiny skin without dents or scratches. I remember that as a child, pomegranate certainly reminded me of summer, although its peak season was deep autumn. I even liked peeling this fruit – it was like taking apart an unusual puzzle. Pomegranate has always been considered a healthy lifestyle product. But if previously they mostly preferred to eat it just like that or make juice, now they are increasingly adding it to dishes: for greater benefits, depth of taste, brightness and appetizing contrast. By the way, I recommend not taking faded and pink fruits – most likely they have not had time to ripen.

Guinness World Record and Punicalagins

Translated from medieval Latin, pomegranate means “apple with seeds.” The homeland of these fruit trees is the region from modern Iran to Northern India. From there they were brought to the Mediterranean and began to be cultivated since ancient times. The pomegranate was very popular in Ancient Greece: Homer mentions it in the Odyssey, and Herodotus talks about a special army whose soldiers carried a golden fruit at the tip of spears – the highest sign of honor. It also symbolizes eternal life, fertility and prosperity, and in completely different cultures. This concept was taken as a basis by Salvador Dali in the painting “The Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate, a Second Before Awakening,” about which he said: “All life-giving biology arises from a bursting pomegranate.” In November 2017, the fruit was included in the Guinness Book of Records – the largest pomegranate was grown in the Chinese province of Sichuan: weighing 2,5 kg and girth 59 cm. Doctors in Ancient Greece and Rome spoke about the medicinal properties of the product. One pomegranate contains half the daily requirement of vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant and protector of our immunity. To obtain it, it is better to eat the fruit raw, because the micronutrient is destroyed during heat treatment. The product contains most vitamin K, which promotes blood clotting, bone hardness and blood vessel flexibility. High content of folic acid – for the production of new cells and “repair” of existing ones, as well as DNA synthesis. Pomegranate also contains good amounts of potassium and magnesium for cardiovascular health, and phosphorus, a structural component of bones and teeth. But what makes the fruit special are punicalagins – powerful antioxidants found in pomegranate juice and peel. The skin itself, unlike the seeds and thin white membranes, is inedible, but extract and powder are often made from it. Due to these substances, pomegranate has strong anti-inflammatory properties and protects against chronic diseases, including oncology and diabetes. Studies have also shown that just 150 ml of pomegranate juice per day can significantly reduce blood pressure in people suffering from hypertension within two weeks. Therefore, pomegranate is now considered a superfood.

Salad with arugula, pomegranate and spicy dressing without oil

I love this salad for the harmony of flavors: the delicious spiciness of arugula, the neat bitterness of radicchio, the sweetness of apple and pear, the uniqueness of pomegranate, the slight sourness of lemon juice and the spicy note of ginger. Olive oil replaces avocado in the dressing, and walnuts add more fat. Both products are sources of the rarest and most vital omega-3 fatty acids. What you need (for 4 servings):

• Pomegranate – 1 pc.
• Rucola – 80 g
• Radicchio or chicory – 20 g
• Williams pear (very ripe) – 1 pc.
• Apple “Gala” – 1 pc.
• Avocado “Hass” – 1 pc.
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice – 1 tsp.
• Dijon mustard – 1 tsp.
• Ginger – cube 1 x 1 cm
• Filtered water – 150 ml
• Walnuts – 20 g
• Pink salt – to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper – to taste

What to do:

• Wash and dry arugula and chicory. If the leaves are very large, tear them by hand.
• Peel the pomegranate.
• Peel the ginger and cut into small cubes (you can put it through a garlic press).
• Peel the avocado and remove the pit. Cut into large cubes.
• Add the avocado, water, ginger, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the bowl of a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
• Chop the walnuts.
• Peel the apple and pear, remove the cores and cut into medium cubes.
• Place the greens in a salad bowl, add the apple, pear and pomegranate seeds (keep a handful for serving) and mix gently.
• Pour the dressing in a zigzag pattern over the salad and scatter the remaining pomegranate seeds and walnuts on top.

Instead of tomatoes and balsamic

In the Middle East, pomegranate was used instead of. tomatoes. Just like tomatoes, it immediately gives dishes an interesting, deep and rich taste. Be sure to try Iranian fesenjan – pieces of any meat or poultry in a sauce made from evaporated pomegranate juice and chopped walnuts with turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom and orange zest. I prepare a plant-based version with eggplant, and replace white rice, which is usually served with this hot dish, with healthier brown rice. It also works well with green lentils – a thick, flavorful autumn bowl.

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By the way, pomegranate sauce is one of the fastest ways to “revive” many dishes: even fish and side dishes. And in a salad it can replace balsamic vinegar. The most popular version is the traditional Persian narsharab, which has become part of Azerbaijani cuisine. Add pomegranate juice, unrefined Demerara cane sugar and fresh lemon juice to the saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally. At the end of cooking, you can add basil, cinnamon, coriander and pepper. And if you add a little narsharab to cranberry sauce, you get a very interesting and unusual seasoning.

Persian pomegranate soup

Every pomegranate season, I make at least once ash-e anar, a traditional soup of Iranian and Iraqi cuisine. It’s cozy, light and quick to prepare. And the combination of peas and rice makes it filling and no worse than meat – they create a “complete” protein with all nine essential amino acids.

I recommend soaking peas overnight to get rid of phytic acid, which interferes with the absorption of vitamins and minerals. And be sure to add pepper to get curcumin, the beneficial active ingredient in turmeric.

What you need (for 4 servings):

• Onions (medium) – 3 pcs.
• Carrots (small) – 1 pc.
• Celery – 1 stalk
• Garlic – 5 cloves
• Yellow split peas – 200 g
• Brown rice – 40 g
• Pomegranate juice – 300 ml
• Turmeric – 1 tsp
• Filtered water – 700 ml
• Parsley leaves – 20 g
• Cilantro leaves – 20 g
• Mint leaves – 20 g
• Green onions – 20 g
• Unrefined extra virgin olive oil – 1 tbsp. l.
• Pink salt – to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper – to taste
• Pomegranate seeds for serving

What to do:

• Peel onions, garlic, carrots. Cut them into medium cubes and the garlic into small ones.
• Cut the celery into thin slices.
• Add ½ onion, carrots and celery to the mixing bowl and process until pureed. You can do this in a blender bowl by adding additional water.
• Add olive oil to the pan, heat over medium heat, add 2/3 of the onion, add salt and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add garlic and turmeric and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Add vegetable puree and water and stir well.
• Add peas and rice, add salt, bring to a boil, skim off the foam, cover with a lid and cook until the cereals and legumes are ready for about 30 minutes.
• Wash and dry the greens. Cut green onions into rings. Finely chop the parsley, cilantro and mint, set aside a little for serving.
• Add pomegranate juice and herbs to the soup and cook for another 30 minutes.
• Serve the soup in bowls, sprinkled with the remaining herbs and pomegranate seeds.

Detox Smoothie and Sweet Potato Topping

If you don’t like pomegranate seeds, I recommend making a smoothie or a thicker version – a smoothie bowl for breakfast. The only thing is that you will need a powerful blender to grind them. I love the combination of pomegranate with orange, coconut yogurt and berries – strawberries, blueberries, blueberries, cherries or raspberries. In the summer I prepare a refreshing detox version – with peeled cucumber, ginger and lemon juice. For sweetness, I add banana and cinnamon or a few dates to the smoothie. Sometimes I add a generous handful of greens – spinach or romaine – but in this case I sacrifice the appetizing color for the sake of benefit.

Also known as Fanta garnet or simply spessartite garnet, the bright orange tangerine spessartite garnet is extremely rare. In fact, it is the rarest and often most expensive garnet of the spessartite family. This is a must have for any collector. Although spessartite occurs in various shades of yellow-orange, orange-red and reddish-orange, only pure orange stones are given the name Fanta o Mandarin.

This stone was discovered in Africa in the 1990s, and nothing new has emerged in terms of materials since its first discovery. Fortunately, there are some fine examples of this first find on the market today.

Colors and shades of stone

Spessartine garnet is ideochromatic, meaning that it is colored by one of the main elements in its composition. This element is manganese, which gives the orange color. Remove the manganese and it ceases to be spessartine. Thus, spessartine has only one primary color – orange.

In this case, the color can be slightly changed by mixing with iron in the form of almandine. This produces a deeper, more reddish color.

Spessartines come in three primary colors. There are light and bright stones that come from Nigeria, Ramona (California), and deeper reddish-orange stones that also come from Nigeria. There are also stunning tangerine-orange garnets from Namibia that stand out.

Stone color under different lighting

Because of its orange or red-orange color, spessartine garnet usually looks best under incandescent light. When purchasing any gemstone, it is always a good idea to examine it under different light sources to ensure there are no future surprises.

Clarity and inclusions in spessartine garnet

Spessartine from most sources is fairly pure. The exception is mandarin spessartine from Namibia, which often contains small, colorless tyrodite fibers, giving the minerals a sleepy appearance. If only small quantities are present, the effect can be very beautiful, masking the fading and allowing the beautiful tangerine orange color to shine fully across the entire facet of the stone.

Cutting

The cut of spessartine is generally similar to that of other colored stones, with ovals, cushions, trillions and emeralds being the most common. The lack of pleochroism means that orientation is not an issue, and the equilateral shape of the rough usually provides good raw-to-cut yield. Cabochon-cut spessartines are sometimes found, especially Namibian mandarin spessartines, which tend to have a higher degree of inclusion.

Cost of spessartine garnet

Prices for spessartine, like any other gemstone, depend on quality. However, we can make a few generalizations. The influx of Nigerian spessartines has resulted in what was once essentially a collector’s stone becoming more affordable but still unique. Nigerian spessartites typically retail for $100-250 per carat in small weights of 1-4 carats, and 15-20 carat examples can retail for up to $900 per carat.

Prices for rare tangerine spessartines from Namibia are even higher: small stones (1-2 carats) cost up to $800 per carat, and small samples weighing more than 5 carats cost over $1000 per carat. The largest tangerine-colored garnet presented at Pala was an 8-carat stone that retailed for $2400 per carat.

Stone sizes

Although spessartines cut over 100 carats are known from both Brazil and Madagascar, fine minerals over 15-20 carats are rare. As for mandarin garnets from Namibia, small stones weighing more than 5 carats are rare.

Geography of production

Gemstone natural spessartine has been found in a number of locations around the world, including Brazil, Burma, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and the United States (San Diego County, California and Amelia Court House, Virginia). Of these sources, the most important today are Nigeria and northeastern Namibia, in the area of ​​the Marienfluss River.

Properties and characteristics of spessartine

Spessartine garnet has the following composition:

• Chemical formula: Mn3Al2(SiO4)3
• Hardness (Mohs): from 7 to 7,5
• Specific weight: 4,15 (+ 0,05; – 0,03)
• Refractive index: 1,810 (+ 0,004; – 0,20)
• Crystal system: Isometric; usually found as massive pebbles or dodecahedron/icositetrahedron combinations
• Color: Due to its ideochromatic nature, spessartite always has an orange hue. The color is due to manganese.
• Pleochroism: Absent
• Variance: 0,027

Mixed pyrope-spessartite garnets containing vanadium have been discovered that exhibit a dramatic color change from green (in daylight) to red (in incandescent light). Such stones come from East Africa and Sri Lanka.
Ultrasonication: Generally safe, but risky if the crystal contains liquid inclusions.
Heat treatment: unsafe
The best way to care for spessartite is to wash it with warm, soapy water. Avoid exposure to heat or acids.

Buy spessartine garnet. A Guide to Choosing the Best Mineral for Your Jewelry

As a leading company in the jewelry industry, we pride ourselves on our extensive experience in the gemstone industry. We specialize in sourcing the highest quality spessartine garnet for your jewelry, whether you are looking for a statement piece or an investment grade stone. Our team of professional gemologists are always available to provide expert advice and confirm the authenticity of our stones.

Spessartine garnet price. Best Features

When it comes to choosing spessartine garnet for jewelry, there are several factors to consider, including color, clarity, and cut.

• Color: Spessartine garnet is prized for its vibrant orange-red hue, which can range from pale peach to deep reddish orange. The most valuable stones are those with pure, intense color, without brown or gray tints.
• Clarity: Like all gemstones, spessartine garnet may contain inclusions or internal defects. While some inclusions are acceptable and can even enhance the beauty of the stone, others can reduce its overall value. The highest quality spessartine garnet should have minimal or no visible inclusions.
• Cut: The cut of a spessartine garnet can greatly affect its beauty and value. A well-cut stone exhibits maximum brilliance, fire and color. The most popular cuts of spessartine garnet are round, oval and cushion.

Investing in spessartine garnet

Spessartine garnet is not only a beautiful gemstone, but also a smart choice for investment. As with any investment, it is important to do your research and work with a reputable dealer to ensure you are purchasing a high-quality stone.

When investing in spessartine garnet, look for stones that meet the minimum requirements:

• Size: The larger the stone, the rarer it is and the higher its value.
• Professional cut: A well-cut stone maximizes the beauty and value of the stone.
• Certificate: Make sure that the stone has a reputable gemological certificate confirming its authenticity and quality.
• Reputable mediatorto: Work with a qualified gemologist

At our company, we understand that purchasing spessartine garnet can be a daunting process, especially for those new to the world of gemstones. That’s why we have a team of professional gemologists who are committed to helping you make informed decisions and find the perfect stone for your needs.

Our gemologists can provide expert advice on the following:

Color and purity: Help you understand the different color and clarity grades and choose the best quality stone within your budget.
Cut and shape: Will recommend the best cut and shape for your jewelry design, taking into account your personal style and preferences.
Investment value: Provide information on market trends, prices and investment potential so you can make an informed decision.