Pumpkin goodies
Pumpkin ordinary or dining( garbuz) - annual herbaceous plant. Root stem, branching. Stems are weak, creeping, weakly rooted in the nodes, rough, furrowed, with mustaches, clinging to other plants or objects. Leaves are large, kidney-rounded, triangular, long-petioled. Flowers large, single, same-sex on one plant - male and female, yellow. The fruit is berry-shaped, many-seeded. Seeds are large, flat. Blooms from June to autumn. Fruits ripen since August.
Pumpkin is a melon plant, widespread in the culture in the south of the European part of Russia, Ukraine.
In 3000 BC, the people of Mexico already used pumpkin for food. Some species of pumpkin were well known in ancient Egypt. At present, the pumpkin is grown everywhere as a vegetable and because of oily seeds, as well as animal feed. The pumpkin is 92% water. Fruit pulp contains sugar, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron salts, zinc, vitamins C, B, B1, PP and provitamin A, in seeds 30-50% of fatty oil, phytosterols, resinous substances, organic acids.
One of the best diuretic food plants is the pumpkin. It contains salts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, as well as sugar, vitamins C, B, B1, PP, carotene, protein, fiber. From the pumpkin, a substance that suppresses the growth of a tubercle bacillus is isolated. Pumpkin seeds are a popular anthelmintic. Pumpkin is especially useful in diseases of the heart, kidneys, obesity, hypertension, constipation, with cholecystitis.
Medicinal raw materials are seeds stored for no more than 2 years, as well as pulp.
Seeds contain essential oil, phytosterol( cucurbital), protein, phytin, sugar, salicylic acid, and also a resin with hydroxycinic acid. Pumpkin pulp contains salts of potassium, calcium, iron, there are vitamins B1, B2, B6, PP, a lot of carotene( provitamin A), vitamin C, sugar.
Rich in pumpkin and pectin substances. They have a positive effect on the digestive processes, for example, adsorb and remove from the intestine toxic substances that come with food and are formed during the life of the microflora of the intestine. To some extent, pectins contribute to the excretion of cholesterol, they are not devoid of bactericidal properties. That is why it is useful to include a pumpkin in the diet with suffering atherosclerosis and chronic colon diseases.
Use pumpkin in boiled and brewed form. Boiled is recommended in medical nutrition for diseases of the digestive system. The fact that it has little fiber and organic acids, so it does not cause excessive peristalsis of the intestines, does not irritate the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines.
A small amount of fiber( 0.7%) and organic acids allows you to include pumpkin in the diet in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, and a large amount of pectin has a particularly positive effect in inflammation of the large intestine. Since pectin helps to remove cholesterol from the body, the pumpkin is very useful for atherosclerosis. Raw pumpkin pulp improves the functioning of the intestines.
Pumpkin is very useful for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, kidney and bladder diseases. When insomnia and anxious sleep advise to take a glass of pumpkin broth with honey. Kashitsej from the crumbed pulp treat eczemas and burns. Despite the diverse application of the flesh pulp, the main medical value for about 150 years is retained for pumpkin seeds. Even in the Middle Ages, they knew about the antihelminthic effect of seeds, and now this property of seeds is used to treat children, because it is safe and easily tolerated by the sick.
In diseases of the prostate gland, as well as for the prevention, you should regularly eat pumpkin seeds, which are one of the best sources of zinc( zinc is found in large quantities only in oysters).Zinc is needed for men from birth to old age.
Due to its chemical composition, the pumpkin is widely used in dietary nutrition. From it you can cook a variety of dishes, and not just all the famous millet porridge with pumpkin. Her marinate, cook jam, use as a filling for pizza, prepare salads, soups.
There are especially many in the pumpkin potassium salts, more than in the colored and white cabbage. Therefore, the pumpkin dishes are very useful in cardiovascular diseases and various kidney diseases. To improve urination and combat swelling, doctors advise drinking fresh pumpkin juice one-and-a-half cups a day.
Pumpkin is low in caloric content, so pumpkin dishes are recommended for those suffering from obesity and prone to fatness.
In medical practice, pumpkin seeds and preparations prepared from them are used against various banded worms( pork, bovine and dwarf chain, broad ribbon, etc.), they are inferior in activity to drugs from the male fern, but do not have harmful effects on the body.
Pumpkin pulp improves bowel function with constipation, intensifies diuresis and is a good diuretic.
In kidney diseases, juice from raw pulp is sometimes drunk( 0.5 glasses per day).
In folk medicine, the purified pumpkin seeds( up to 3 glasses per day) have long been used as anthelmintic. Fresh flesh obkladyvayut inflamed places for burns, rashes, eczema. The result is always good. Pumpkin stem is an effective diuretic for edema of cardiac and renal origin.
In homeopathy apply the essence of fresh pumpkin seeds.
300 g of seeds( for adults), peeled from the hard skin, but retained a soft greenish membrane, grinded in small portions in a mortar, after the last portion, the mortar is washed with 50-60 ml of water and poured into a plate of ground seeds,for taste) 50-100 g of honey or jam and mix thoroughly. The resulting mixture is taken on an empty stomach, in small portions, for 1 hour.3 hours after the last dose, they give a laxative, then after another half an hour, irrespective of the action of the intestine, they put an enema.
Children are given at the rate of 15-18 ml per year of life;for example, a child of 3 years - give 50 ml per reception;child 10 years - 180-200 ml.
During the days of treatment it is necessary to observe such a diet: on the 1st day( preparation for treatment) the patient should eat rubbed or liquid food( soups, liquid porridges, vegetable purees, yogurt, etc.).
The worms sometimes do not come out right away, but in the next 1-2 days. Therefore, on the 2 nd and 3 rd day, it is recommended to put a cleansing enema once a day.
If there are pumpkin seeds( in summer, autumn or winter), not dried, unpurified, then you can prepare anthelmintic medicine and in this way: take 500 g of seeds, chop in a meat grinder with the shell, pour 5 glasses of water and evaporate for 2 hours on a lightfire, not bringing to a boil. Decoction, thickened in this way almost to half, strain through cheesecloth and remove from the surface of the spoon an unnecessary layer of oil.
For children under one year, take 30 grams of seeds. Pumpkin powder( ready-made drug) completely replaces seeds;adults - 60-80 grams, children - 30-40 g. Powder should be mixed with a small amount of water until the density of sour cream and take for 15-20 minutes.
The diet is the same as when treated with seeds of ordinary pumpkin. Powder from a pumpkin or just seeds is recommended to apply in cases where the treatment with drugs from male fern is contraindicated( in diseases of the heart, kidney and liver, peptic ulcer of the stomach or duodenum, acute gastrointestinal and febrile diseases and pregnancy( see Fern male)
Seeds of gymnosperm pumpkin are prepared for treatment in the same way as ordinary seeds, only in a moderate dose: 150-200 g. Diet - see above. With insomnia and anxious sleep as a sedative, pPumpkin decoction with honey
Pumpkin pulp is a good diuretic and improves bowel function:
• with a disturbing sleep and insomnia drink decoction of pumpkin and pumpkin juice;
• pumpkin pulp is a good antiemetic in case of toxemia of pregnancy;
• pumpkin seeds are useful for takingwith prostate adenoma and prostatitis
Pumpkin decoction softens cough and chest pains of colds. Squeezed pumpkin juice calms the ear pain, especially if it is mixed in equal proportion with rose oil. Juice is useful for sore throats and tumors in the brain.
Salads
1. The first salad can be cooked in 15 minutes. To do this, '300 g of pumpkin grate. Add chopped kiwi( 2 pieces) and gently mix everything with honey( 2 tablespoons).
2. The second is also prepared for 15 minutes. To boil( 250 g), 1 apple, 1 red bell pepper finely chopped and add 250 g of pickled pumpkin. Then pour the sauce: vinegar-2 st.spoons, mustard -1 tsp, greens -1 tbsp.spoon, salt, sugar and pepper to taste.
Workpiece for future use
1. Clean, cut with large pieces, pour boiling apple juice. For 1 liter of juice 200 g of sugar, add, if there is, cardamom or ginger. We withstand until the complete cooling, boil again 20 minutes, put in jars and pour the same boiling solution, roll.
2. Pumpkin in sea buckthorn juice. Pumpkin cut into slices, poured sea-buckthorn juice with sugar.1 kg of pumpkin, 1L of sea-buckthorn juice, 1 kg of sugar. We put on a slow fire, cook until ready, at the end of cooking, you can add orange peel.
Pumpkin Varieties
Courgettes. Brought to us in the country in the XIX century. Zucchini is a close relative of the solid-grained pumpkin. Vitamins, microelements( especially a lot of potassium, copper), fiber, are contained in vegetable marrows. They are easily absorbed by the body. Zucchini contains very soft dietary fiber, not causing irritation of the stomach and intestines, which have a stimulating effect on bowel function. In addition, zucchini dietary fiber absorbs toxic substances, excess cholesterol and water well and removes them from the body.
Courgettes are important for the prevention of obesity. They are especially useful for the elderly, as they activate the digestive processes, improve the motor and secretory functions of the stomach and intestines, favorably affect hematopoiesis, inhibit the development of atherosclerosis.
Squash is recommended to use in food in an immature form( mature become hard and less tasty).They can be stewed, fried, stuffed, used to make pancakes, caviar, salads, etc. At the same time take the young zucchini, carefully wash them, cut both ends( remove the seeds and cut the peel is not necessary, but if more mature fruits are caught,then they must be cleaned and remove the seeds).
Salads
1. Take 200 g of zucchini, processed as above, grate them on a large grater, add grated apple, finely chopped pickled or salted cucumber, onion and dill greens. Season 30 g of sour cream( or mayonnaise) and mix well. Salad of courgettes and tomatoes. Squash on a large grater, chop tomatoes and onion into thin circles, mix with chopped dill and lemon zest, season with mayonnaise or sour cream and salt. Calculation of products: zucchini - 150 g, tomatoes - 200 g, onions - 1 head, 1 bunch of dill, 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, mayonnaise( sour cream) and salt to taste.
Pancakes from courgettes. Squash to clean, remove the core, grate on a fine grater and gently squeeze out. Mix with flour, add the yolk and beaten egg white. From the prepared mass bake pancakes. Calculation of products: 600 grams of zucchini - 1 egg, 30 grams of wheat flour, 20 g melted butter, salt to taste.
Vegetarian soup and a number of other dishes are prepared from zucchini.
Billets for future use
1. Cut into chips, put in a three-liter jar, pour boiling solution: 1 cup of apple juice, 1 cup of vegetable oil, 1 glass of water, 30 grams of sugar and 30 grams of salt, 50 grams of grated garlic - and roll.
2. Cut in circles, put in a three-liter jar, pour boiling solution: 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 glass of red beet juice, 1 cup apple juice, 2 g ascorbic acid or 3 g lemon, 1 tbsp.a spoon of powdered dill seeds - and roll.
3. Zucchini, carrots, apples cut into beautiful slices, put into a three-liter jar and pour a boiling solution: 0.5 liters of apple juice, 0.5 liters of water, 50 grams of honey or sugar, 30 grams of salt and 10 pcs.leaves of magnolia vine and lactinide.
4. Zucchini cut slices, put into jars, pour boiling solution - red beet juice, 2 tbsp.spoons of mashed seeds of coriander, 30 g of salt, 3 g of citric acid, or 2 g of ascorbic acid. Fill 3 times and roll.
Kruknek is a cluster variety of hard stone pumpkin. The bush is compact, 50-70 cm high, the fruit looks like a mace or a pear. Kruknek in English is a crooked neck.
Fruits are intensely yellow in color, and during ripening they have an orange color and a tuberculate surface, and the curvature is leveled. The flesh of the krukenkas is dense, it tastes better than zucchini and contains more nutrients. Kruknek is rich in potassium, copper, up to 30 mg% of vitamin C. The seeds of kruknek, like other types of pumpkins, contain a lot of fat. Kruknek, as a vegetable crop, is very common in North America, Canada;from the countries of Europe kruknek is popular in the Netherlands, and especially in Holland. In Russia kruknek has not received wide distribution, basically it grows in collection nurseries and at vegetable growers-fans.
The fruits of kruknek strengthen the intestinal peristalsis-and this prevents the absorption of cholesterol-and is shown to people suffering from obesity. Kruknek is rich in potassium, copper, has a diuretic effect and, therefore, is useful to people with various heart diseases, kidneys suffering from atherosclerosis and diabetes.
Ways to use
Unripe fruit is used for food. Of these, exactly the same dishes are prepared, as well as from courgettes. They are fried, cook caviar, pancakes, marinated.
LAGENARIA( Indian cucumber, gourd, bottle, or chicken, pumpkin) is a kind of solid-grained pumpkin. This annual plant comes from Asia and Africa. In Russia, lagenaria was recognized in the 15th century, when it was described in its work by Athanasius Nikitin, "The Journey of Three Seas."In Russia, it did not take root, and you can meet it only in collector's kennels and vegetable growers-lovers. In the food use young fruit-herbs, and from the ripe make souvenirs.
Luffa, or the pumpkin bast. Luffa acute-angle is used for food. Its fruits contain vitamins, salts of potassium, calcium, organic acids and many other valuable substances. Eat young fruits, greens, when they are fragile, tender, fragrant and very tasty.
There is a luff from the tropical region of Asia( India) and Africa. Cultivate it in the tropics and subtropics. It grows well in India, the Egyptian states of Indochina, Asia Minor, the tropical regions of South America, and also in Japan and China. Not bad for her and the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, the North Caucasus and Crimea.
Patisson is a cluster variety of the solid pumpkin of the pumpkin family.
Patisson is an annual plant of shrubby and semi-shrubby form, not externally similar to zucchini, except for fruits. The fruit of the patisson is campanulate, plate, round or flat, white or yellow, without pattern or with a pattern of green stripes or spots. Seeds are white or cream, much smaller than a zucchini. Patisson was born in Central America, came to Russia in the late 19th century.
The nutritional quality of the patisson is higher than that of the zucchini. The flesh is more dense, contains easily digestible carbohydrates, pectin substances, vitamins( about 30% ascorbic acid), alkaline mineral salts that promote better absorption of protein foods and maintenance of alkaline blood reaction.
Ways of using
The healing properties of the patisson are similar to zucchini. Dishes from patissons are especially useful for kidney, liver, catarrh and peptic ulcer diseases, as well as for atherosclerosis. Young ovaries( 8-12 days old) are used for food. They can be fried, wrapped in flour and served with sour cream. Very tasty and pickled squash.
Salad of tomatoes and squash in Polish
3 servings of
4 tomatoes, 400 grams of patissons, 1 onion, 3 tbsp.spoons of vegetable oil, salt, black pepper, parsley.
Patissons to peel, thinly cut along, then - across. Onion cut into rings, and peeled tomatoes cut into 4 parts. In a sauté pan, fry the onions, then patissons. Add salt, pepper, a little water, close the lid and stew for a few minutes. Mix the squash with tomatoes, season with salt, pepper, vegetable oil. Salad chill and sprinkle with parsley.
Canned shrimps. Small canned whole, large cut into pieces. Patissons thoroughly wash, especially ribbed, edges, cut off the peduncles.
Put in a colander, blanch in hot water 3 min. Cool and tightly put in jars. Pour brine( 1 teaspoon of salt into 2 liters of water).Cork and sterilize for 15 minutes.
Patissons can be harvested for future use like zucchini.