Forbidden Fruit

To say I quite adore food is an understatement. The idea of the Garden of Eden with fruit and vegetables everywhere is heavenly, and fantasizing about the gardens has gotten me through more than one Sunday School lesson. The species of the forbidden fruit is a somewhat contentious topic, and I find it pretty intriguing. If it is interpreted as a literal piece of fruit, there's a wide range of possibilities.

The apple is the first thing that comes to mind for me. According to the great Wikipedia this is where the anatomical term "Adam's Apple" comes from, and it's most commonly used food in artistic representations. However, according to this article, and pretty much every other piece of research and speculation, there are quite a few different traditions. 

One that stuck out to me is the Judaic tradition of wheat. According to the aforementioned mentioned article, "...wheat was originally meant to grow on a tree, not as a grain, but as bread already baked. After the sin, this tree which would grow ready-made baked goods was reduced to a lowly plant which had to be harvested and processed to produce flour." 

 

Other theories include pomegranates, figs, grapes, and according to this  13th century French fresco a giant mushroom. I find it rather interesting that there are so many theories about a single little piece of food, and I'm still trying to figure out how to combine them into a pie.

Do not read this

          And here you are--reading--despite being told not to. Can't help it, right? What makes this post so forbidden, you ask?
          The answer: nothing.
          But please do read on, by all means.        

          Much of my post is essentially summed up in this pretty bit of poetry by our friend Milton:

One fatal Tree there stands of Knowledge called,
Forbidden them to taste: knowledge forbidden?
Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord;
Envy them that? Can it be sin to know,
Can it be death? And do they only stand
By ignorance, is that their happy state,
the proof of their obedience and their faith?

          Now, I don't think God was intentionally giving Adam and Eve a hard time by placing the biggest and prettiest tree right in the middle of the garden with very strict rules attached--(NO TOUCHY)--but I do think it was a test of faith and obedience that He personally needed.

(Also...have you heard the bird is the word?)