Rhubarb: benefit and harm to the body. cooking recipes

Rhubarb - a perennial plant of the family Polygonaceae with direct above-ground stems and very large leaves. It is considered the birthplace of Tibet, where its beneficial properties found out for 3000 years BC. Currently, the diversity of its species of rhubarb grows in Asia and Europe.

Edible species of rhubarb are used in food and as a vegetable, and as a fruit: rhubarb successfully replaces spinach, apples, boiled jam out of it and make a filling for pies. In medicine, the rhizome is mainly used 4-6 year old plants, but also in the petioles contain many useful substances.

It should go deep into its structure in order to understand what is, from the perspective of traditional medicine, it is interesting Rhubarb: benefit and harm of its composition is not as well covered as other, more traditional medicines plants.

Useful properties of rhubarb

CIS residents until rhubarb is significantly underestimated. Most people know about the culinary use of this plant, but the healing properties of rhubarb known to few. Let us examine them in detail.

Medicinal properties of rhubarb is used for ailments:

• It nourishes the neurons in the brain and prevents hypoxia;
• cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease, PIS, Pre-stroke conditions), rhubarb restrains heart attacks;
• strengthening bone healing mucosa;
• prophylaxis of hypertension;
• improves eyesight and promotes resorption eyesore;
• protection against spring avitaminosis as antiscorbutic;
• restoring skin regeneration, psoriasis, after burns;
• appetite enhancer (including children);
• antispasmodic like pain in the liver, kidney, gall bladder, spleen, uterus;
• for the prevention of anemia;
• liver, thanks to its excellent cholagogue, in hepatitis;
• the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis;
• tachycardia;
• increases the body's resistance to many infections (SARS, influenza, pneumonia);
• inflammation of the stomach, intestines, dispersions, intestinal atony, flatulence, constipation;
• in lesions of bladder;
• as a cleanser and laxative remedy for excess weight and weight loss (in small doses, it has the effect of fixing, in large - laxative).

Contained in the leaves and roots of vitamins and minerals are found in high concentrations, so have a strong effect on the body, making up for the lack of importance for all life processes of substances:

1. Calcium - strengthens bones and joints, improves heart function.
2. Potassium - normalizes blood pressure (hypertension), heart muscle and strengthens blood vessels, reduces the swelling (water outputs from the body).
3. Sodium - is responsible for the kidneys and regulates the mineral composition of the body fluids (blood, lymph, etc.), Water retention in the body (useful when increased physical activity).
4. Iron - regulates the chemical composition of the body, it affects all processes.
5. Selenium - a protective function in the body, strengthens the heart and muscles, prevents the development of cancer (particularly breast cancer in women), strengthens the joints.
6. Magnesium - regulates energy processes inside the body cells and tissues provides nutrient substances, regulates metabolism, improves the reproductive ability of the body, strengthens the nervous and the immune system.
7. Phosphorus - improves the digestibility and the decomposition of sugars, strengthens bones and teeth, it is necessary for the functioning of muscles, strengthens the nervous system.
8. Vitamin A (carotenes) - regulates and normalizes metabolism, has a positive effect on the organs of vision, strengthens bones and skeleton, improves the immune system (like taking a tincture of echinacea), increases the regenerative capacity body.
9. B vitamins - regulate all the processes in the body, involved in the formation and construction of new cells, strengthen blood vessels and nerve cells, give the body energy and strength.
10. Vitamin C - a natural antioxidant (struggling with cancer and radiation exposure), prevents aging process, dissolves fat cells (herbs slimming, fat-burning), detoxifies and slags.
11. Vitamin E (tocopherol) - strengthens the muscular system (muscles involved in construction), regulates the monthly cycle in Women (prevents premature pregnancy), improves the immune system (the strengthening of the recipe) in all organs and tissues.
12. Vitamin K - increases blood clotting, regulate blood processes, strengthens the cardiovascular system.

In large quantities of the drug from the root can be toxic. It is safe to use only the petioles in a variety of culinary dishes. Rhubarb enters into finished pharmaceutical drugs "Holafluks" (as choleretic) and "Chrysarobin" (to treat psoriasis).

What products combine

In cooking, mix the rhubarb with the following products is considered to be the most harmonious:

• cereals (rice);
• juices (apple, strawberry, orange, peach) - sour taste of rhubarb will go perfectly with any sweet fruit juices;
• nuts and dried fruit (hazelnuts, walnuts, figs, raisins);
• bakery products (cakes) - rhubarb is traditionally used as a filling for pies and rolls;
• meat (lamb, pork, beef) - as an ingredient for chutney sauce or as a separate side dish;
• fish and seafood (mussels, perch, cod);
• fruits (apples, pears, sweet plum, lemon);
• spices (cardamom, caraway, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla);
• vegetables (pumpkin, cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini, eggplant);
• dairy products (milk, cheese) - in combination with milk rhubarb is most safe for the stomach.

What can rhubarb render harm to the body?

Home health hazard that lurks in the rhubarb is oxalic acid. Its content is higher, the older and tougher stalks. But also in the young stems of her is enough to harm the body

1. Should not eat large amounts of plant women during gestation unborn baby. It is also not advisable to use for people who suffer from diseases such as diabetes, rheumatism, peritonitis, gout, and if there are bladder inflammation, bleeding in the stomach and intestines and kidney stones.
2. In the application of this plant should be attentive to the reactions of the organism, it is necessary to watch its temperature, not to increase it happened. This is due to the fact that the plant stems contain oxalic acid have on the body sufficiently adverse effects.
3. Should not be included in your diet in a large number of people suffering from hemorrhoids accompanied by bleeding. In such cases, the harm this plant much more than good, it is in order to avoid side effects should abandon its use.

In addition, the rhubarb can cause severe allergic reactions, but its use in regular as a laxative can weaken the activity of the large intestine and lead to inflammation.

Rhubarb - cooking recipes

In this product you can prepare these dishes and drinks:

1. Salad. Take lettuce, wash them, shake hands and Narva. Rhubarb also wash and cut them into sticks by ten centimeters, and then - on a thin longitudinal chips. Next vypoyte apples, peel them from the skin and core, then cut into thin slices. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Wash strawberries and remove it from the stalk and beat with olive oil and wine vinegar in a blender. Mix all the ingredients and sprinkle salad with chopped nuts.
2. Compote. To make a compote of rhubarb to start take six hundred milliliters of water and dissolve in it four hundred and fifty grams of sugar. Place a container with a fire solution and bring to boil. After completely cool and hold a couple of hours in a refrigerator. In the cooled syrup add the four hundred and fifty grams of chopped rhubarb, put the pan on the heat and bring to a boil under the lid. Boil for a couple of minutes, even remove the fire. Add to the broth to taste strawberries. After cooling compote can be consumed as food.

Rhubarb pie

In May and June, rhubarb stalks can be the most succulent and please their household favorite rhubarb pie.

products

• Rhubarb - 750 g (I have 4 large root)
• Sour - 200 g of cream
• Baking Margarine - 200 g
• Flour - 2 cups
• Sugar - 350 g
• Semolina - 2 tbsp. spoons
• Baking powder - 1 packet or 1 tsp baking soda, vinegar extinguished
• Eggs - 2 pcs.

How to cook? Step by step recipe below:

• Rhubarb my, clean and cut into slices.
• In a water bath melt the margarine, add sour cream, 200 g of sugar, 1 egg, baking powder and flour 1 cup. Knead the dough. Add the remaining flour gradually. The dough is soft, well behind the dishes walls.
• Cover the baking parchment and grease smazhem. Share on him half the dough. Flatten your hands and make bumpers.
• Sprinkle with semolina dough. Rhubarb is very juicy and semolina will keep the juice. Publish his rhubarb and sprinkle the remaining sugar.
• The second part of the dough on the parchment or foil smoothed her hands over the value of the pan gently, we cover the pan and remove the foil.
• All smoothed and corrected, smazhem beaten egg and deliver rhubarb pie in a preheated 180 degree oven for 45-50 minutes.
• Cake should be well redden.
• Let us give the rhubarb pie to cool down and then we shall take out and will cut slices.

Ready rhubarb pie. Bon Appetit!

To choose and store rhubarb

If you do grow rhubarb in my garden, the harvest, consisting only of young stalks - zadubevshey tasteless. This was a lot of people write in their comments about the plant.

When choosing a product in a shop, pay attention to the appearance - the stems should be smooth, red color and fresh, poured juice. Podvyavshy goods do not buy.

Important: the thicker the stem, so it is less useful. And another important point - the maximum benefit is filled with rhubarb collected from April to August, not later.

Keep rhubarb can be up to several weeks in the refrigerator, in advance of its having prepared for this:

• thoroughly wash the stalks;
• blot the water using a paper towel;
• wrap in a plastic bag;
• Lay vegetable container in a refrigerator.

The freezer plant will retain its properties up to a year. But before you put it in there, it is necessary to wash, cut into pieces (about 2 cm) and pour into the bag. If the product will be at room temperature, it will stay fresh and healthy only a few days. But at the same time it should not be exposed to direct sunlight.

Rhubarb in the ground and dried form is stored in a glass bowl under a tight lid in the kitchen cupboard away from the edge.