When Moses’ scouts returned from their foray into the Promised Land, they brought with them pomegranates so that they could prove the fertility of the land. If the pomegranate is proof of abundance, then Azerbaijan is the land of plenty.
Azerbaijan grows over 100 types of pomegranate and its bright red juice has coloured the culture of the nation. If you stay in a Baku hotel, you are likely to find the fruit in the dishes at their restaurants and the drinks at the bar. However, the centre of pomegranate agriculture is the city of Goychay, which is inland from Baku and that Caspian Sea. Each autumn the city hosts the Pomegranate Festival. There are music and dances and a parade and everything is pomegranate themed. There are art compositions inspired by the pomegranate. There is food cooked with pomegranate. Pomegranate juice is consumed in large quantities. There is a competition for the biggest pomegranate and another to see who can consume the fruit the quickest. The fireworks are even pomegranate coloured, some of them anyhow.
Each year 5,000 to 7,000 people come to the festival. In 2011, the ambassadors of Turkey, United States, Russia, Latvia and Belarus, in addition to representatives of the embassies of Ukraine and Japan, attended. Of course the locals of Goychay reciprocate. When Madera, California hosted its own pomegranate festival, the Consulate General of Azerbaijan arranged to have an Azeri pomegranate stand.
The sweet-sour taste of the pomegranate makes it an amazing ingredient for many recipes, adding complexity and depth to dishes. In Azerbaijan fish is often cooked or served with a sauce from pomegranate juice. Lamb stew is also commonly made with pomegranate juice and then garnished with pomegranate seeds.
Whether you are dining in a restaurant or in a hotel Baku cuisine will predominately feature the pomegranate. While some biblical scholars believe the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden was not an apple as commonly depicted but a pomegranate, I say enjoy.
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