The article describes about Grass Jelly: what it is, where it grows and how, as well as its scope in cooking and composition, calorie content Grass Jelly or herbal jelly (Grass Jelly) is a very popular Asian dessert that is obtained by boiling the stems and leaves of a Chinese plant called Mesona chinensis.
Mesona chinensis
belongs to the genus "mint". It grows in most of East Asia, namely in southeastern China and Taiwan. Gives preference to ravines, grassy, dry and sandy areas. The plant is also grown under fruit trees in orchards. The plant reaches a height of 15-100 cm, has hairy stems and serrated leaves of a tear-like shape. In production, the entire aerial part of the plant is used, which is cut and dried for further use. The main area of application of this plant is precisely the manufacture of herbal jelly.
Typically, the slightly fermented leaves of the plant are mixed with a small amount of potassium carbonate and starch and boiled for several hours. After that, the liquid is drained, and the resulting jelly-like mass is cut into cubes or other forms. Jelly herb is sold in cans.
This product is low in fat and calories. At the same time, it has a rich specific sweet taste. Due to its low calorie content, it can be used as an ideal dessert for those who are watching their weight.
The jelly itself has a slightly bitter taste, a light lavender iodine aroma, and a translucent black color. Dessert is exotic and not everyone adores it, this is not for everybody.
Scope of Grass Jelly
Typically in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, herb jelly is served with sugar syrup, as well as mango, sago, watermelon, melon, and other fresh or canned fruits. Jelly is used to make drinks or desserts and even ice cream. It is worth noting the cooling properties of the product, due to which it is very often consumed in hot weather. In Southeast Asia, jelly herb is used to make a drink called Michael Jackson. To do this, herbal jelly is mixed with cold soy milk.
In Taiwan, the herb jelly is also used to make various desserts and drinks. It is added to various drinks with ice and even melted over a fire to prepare a special thick dessert drink.
In Thailand, jelly herb is used to prepare drinks with ice and natural brown (cane) sugar. It is also served with various types of fruits.
Jelly herb composition
Herbal jelly contains a moderate amount of calories, so there are only 184 calories in a 330 g container, which is 9 percent of the daily calories needed for an adult. This is much less compared to other desserts. You can burn these calories in 19 minutes of running or 22 minutes of ice skating.
The jelly herb is rich in carbohydrates. For every 330 g of grass, there are 44 g of carbohydrates. Of these, only 2 g is allocated to fiber, and the remaining 37 g is allocated to sugar.
Jelly herb also contains protein, but not as much as we would like. Each 330 g of product contains only 2 g of protein. This is equal to 1/4 glass of milk.
There are no fats in jelly herb, which is why it is so low in calories.
