Not so long ago, a very interesting fruit called "feijoa" appeared on the shop windows. Our article will tell you everything about this delicious fruit. Feijoa or Akka Sellova is a small evergreen tree of the Myrtle family. It grows to a height of about 4 m. The trunk of the plant has a greenish-brown tint with a rough bark. The flowers are bright pink with a white tint around the edges, in the middle of the flower there are about 70–80 stamens, which are pollinated by insects. The flowering period begins in May and ends at the end of June, after which green fruits appear. They come in different shapes: round and oblong. They grow up to 7 cm in diameter and weigh from 30 to 100 grams. When the fruits are fully ripe, they become fleshy, juicy with a sour taste. The ripening period begins in mid-October and lasts until the end of November.
Feijoa is considered a subtropical plant, as it can mainly be found in the Mediterranean countries, the Caucasus and the Crimea. In general, this tree loves moisture and warmth, but it has been proven to withstand low temperatures (around -10). That is why you can find feijoa on the shelves of shops even after the New Year.
The chemical composition and calorie content of feijoa
Feijoa is believed to contain the most iodine, it contains much more than all seafood. It is because of this that this fruit is widely used both for the treatment and for the prevention of thyroid diseases. It is in a water-soluble state, which allows it to be well absorbed by the body. In addition, it contains a lot of vitamins, including vitamin C, PP and B vitamins.
For example, due to its vitamin C content, feijoa is often used to treat viral and colds. After all, this fruit also serves as an excellent tool for strengthening the immune system, which is especially important during the period of illness.
Feijoa peel contains a huge amount of useful components. Among them are antioxidants such as kakhetin, leukoanthocin and biologically active substances. They not only help to maintain youth, but also prevent the development of malignant neoplasms. In addition, this fruit contains many micro and macro elements. Among them are calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, sodium and manganese. But due to the content of easily digestible proteins and fats, feijoa is classified as a low-calorie product and is used in dietary nutrition.
100 g of fruit contains about 45 kcal. Frequent consumption of the fruit will help to get rid of not only excess weight, but also effectively treat obesity.
Useful properties of feijoa
Due to the huge content of useful substances in feijoa, this fruit is used in various fields. First of all, in medicine, since its use helps both to treat and prevent the development of certain diseases. The fruits are widely used in cosmetology, because there are all the necessary components for the beauty and health of the skin. And, of course, this exotic fruit is very often used in cooking, because its extraordinary taste can be a great addition to a wide variety of dishes.
The use of feijoa in medicine
Doctors recommend using this fruit for such diseases:
- disruption of work and inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract;
- atherosclerosis;
- high blood pressure (feijoa lowers blood pressure);
- colds, ARVD, flu;
- cardiovascular diseases;
- bleeding gums, caries, eliminates toothache;
- heals wounds and ulcers;
- skin diseases (has antibacterial and antifungal effects);
- treats bronchitis;
- helps with diarrhea;
- helps to normalize the condition with heavy and painful periods.
The use of feijoa in cosmetology
Since feijoa contains a large amount of antioxidants, it is used as an excellent anti-aging and anti-inflammatory agent for the skin. It also has the following beneficial properties:
- eliminates excessive oily skin, thereby helping to get rid of acne;
- well nourishes and moisturizes dry and withered skin, especially in the cold season;
- eliminates mimic wrinkles, as it has a tightening effect;
- improves skin color, leaving it healthy and radiant.
Feijoa fruit can be used to make an excellent mask, which is considered universal and helps with any problems. To prepare it, you need half a small feijoa fruit, 1 yolk, 2-3 tsp. olive oil and 2 tbsp. l. low-fat cottage cheese. Grind the feijoa with the peel to a puree, add all the other products and apply on the face for 15–20 minutes. Then rinse with warm water.
The use of feijoa in cooking
Despite the fact that feijoa is a fruit, it is used to prepare various dishes. For example, it is great for meat as a sauce. Also, many chefs in restaurants bake meat with pieces of feijoa, because it gives such dishes a spice and sophistication. Fruit goes well in vegetable and fruit salads, the sour taste makes the dish not cloying and appetizing. He is especially good "friends" with carrots, beets, apples and citrus fruits. In the preparation of confectionery, these green fruits are also often used. They are added to cream for pastries and cakes, as well as to decorate the cakes themselves.
If you grind the feijoa fruits in a blender or meat grinder and add sugar (1: 1), you will get a tasty and healthy jam that can be added to tea. But it must be stored in a glass vessel and in the refrigerator. You can learn more about how to properly cook feijoa below.
Contraindications and harm of feijoa
Despite the fact that feijoa is used in all areas of life, in some cases this fruit can be dangerous to eat:
- It is strictly forbidden to eat it in case of thyrotoxicosis disease.
- People with individual intolerance to the components that make up this fruit.
- You can not use feijoa for people who are sick with diabetes and obesity, since it contains a large amount of sugar.
- Do not give the fruit to young children, this can provoke an allergic reaction in them.
- You do not need to eat it in large quantities, maximum 2-3 pieces. in a day. After all, it is not uncommon that this becomes the cause of such side effects as absent-mindedness, irritability, decreased performance, increased body temperature.
- Feijoa with milk can cause diarrhea.
- If you try the fruit for the first time, you need to eat a few slices, if the body's reaction is adequate, the next time you can eat more. This way, you can test how your body is responding to a new product.
There are times when the use of feijoa causes severe intoxication, this is due to the fact that, most likely, the product was not fresh. Therefore, when choosing it, carefully examine the fruit, whether there are dents or rot on it. Fresh fruit can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a week.
How to eat feijoa: recipes
When eating feijoa, use the entire fruit. But some people eat only the pulp, while throwing away the peel. After all, it tastes a little tart. In fact, the largest number of useful components is located in it. Therefore, it just needs to be eaten. If its unpleasant aftertaste bothers you, dry the peel and add it to tea, it will not only become a healthy drink, but it will also be aromatic and tasty. But depending on what kind of dishes you cook from this fruit, the peel sometimes needs to be peeled.
As for the preparation of feijoa dishes, there are a huge number of them, and we will share some of them with you.
Feijoa salad
To prepare this salad, we need 1 small beet, which must be pre-cooked, 1 medium feijoa, 100 g of walnuts, olive oil and salt. Beets can be cut into strips, as well as grated on a large grater, choose the method that you like best. Peel the feijoa and cut into small cubes. Next, the nuts should be chopped and mixed with all the ingredients. Finally, season with olive oil and salt. This wonderful vitamin recipe is a great dish to restore vitality and energy.
Feijoa chicken
To cook a juicy chicken with feijoa, we need about 1 kg. chicken meat (it should be boneless). The meat must be cut into large pieces, about 5 cm. Next, you need to prepare the marinade in which the meat will be marinated: 1 tbsp. water, juice of half a lemon, spices, salt and sugar. Pour our meat with this marinade and wait for about 2 hours. After this time has elapsed, we take out the meat, cut the feijoa into thin slices and put the meat in a fireproof form, shifting it into pieces of feijoa. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan on top and put in the oven for 1 hour at a temperature of 150 degrees.
Feijoa meat sauce
Grind the required amount of fruits in a meat grinder, add salt, pepper and garlic. Put the resulting mass on a low heat and cook for at least 5 hours.
Feijoa jam
Grind 1 kg in a meat grinder or blender. feijoa, 1 large lemon or orange, add a little sugar and the delicious jam is ready. Store in refrigerator for 2-3 days. In order to increase the shelf life of such a jam, it should be cooked for 5–6 hours, only after that it will stay in the refrigerator for longer. It is not recommended to preserve feijoa jam, because in this way many useful vitamins will disappear from it.
There are a lot of recipes from feijoa, you can grind it in a blender and mix it with honey, you can eat it raw, cook compotes, in any case, using it, you make a huge contribution to your health. After all, it takes into account its beneficial properties - it is an irreplaceable fruit for beauty, youth and health!
Interesting facts about feijoa
The beneficial properties of feijoa first became known back in the 19th century. This fruit got its name thanks to the French naturalist, whose name was Juan da Silva Feige. And therefore, it was in France that feijoa appeared first.
Many years ago, when the feijoa fruit was still not so well known, they were grown for decoration. Since the trees of this plant are small, with shiny rounded leaves, as well as beautiful flowers, they were planted in parks and squares, as they looked very beautiful and delighted the "human eye". Even now, in some hot countries, feijoa is grown for this purpose. Later, people learned about the beneficial properties of this tree and began to grow it in specially designated places.
There is a very ancient legend about the origin of feijoa. Once a young guy fell in love with a sea princess. They got married and began to live together at the bottom of a deep and bottomless sea. But the guy was very homesick for his native land, and one day he decided to return home and live again on the surface of the earth. But for such a decision, the father of the sea princess, the sea king, turned him into a tree, which had fruits with the scent of the sea breeze.
More information about Feijoa in this video review:
