Some people say that the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge was not an apple but a pomegranate (although according to Wikipedia, it may also have been a fig, a carob, an etrog, a pear, a quince, a datura or possibly some grapes or mushrooms). I personally don’t really care, but if it was indeed a pomegranate, I understand Adam perfectly: eat a pomegranate or stay in Paradise? I know what I would have done.

Pomegranate is a wonderful, wonderful fruit. First of all, the beautiful red seeds look exquisite. Every time I see them – and because of my obsession, I see them often – I’m astonished. And the taste is a perfect mixture of sweet and sour, with a voluptuous fruitiness and a very, very slight bitterness on the background, adding interest. Pomegranates are also much more practical and useful than one might think.

You can of course just eat them and I do, but pomegranates make everything better. They enhance every salad, make a boring Pavlova (especially if strawberries are not in season) look and taste positively decadent, turn plain white rice into a bejewelled wonder and give a kick to Georgian eggplant rolls.

One of my favourite salads is a Persian-inspired number with tarragon, parsley, coriander, random salad leaves, cucumber and tomato. You chop everything relatively finely, add pomegranate seeds and some lime juice and everyone will think you’re an inspired cook, when all you really are is good at chopping and keeping some pomegranates ready at all times.

Pomegranates can also be turned into another, equally wondrous thing: pomegranate molasses or reduced pomegranate juice. If you think pomegranate seeds taste intense, you should try this: it’s very sweet and sour, but because it’s both, it’s well balanced. It’s also more complex than most syrups or similar condiments. It works beautifully as a glaze for meat, especially duck, but I mostly use it as a salad dressing. Not even as one ingredient in the dressing, just on it’s own. You can turn a a bunch of baby spinach leaves into a luxurious salad simply by adding a couple of spoonfuls of molasses.

The only downside pomegranates have is that if you need a bigger quantity of the seeds at once, it can be tedious to pick them from the fruit. But that’s what family members are for. And if they know that’ll result in a pomegranate salad, they’ll be almost happy to oblige.