Description of hyssop, calorie content and chemical composition. Use for medical purposes and contraindications for use. How do they eat fragrant grass, what is prepared from it? Interesting facts about blue St. John's wort. Culinary experts recommend not to abuse the spicy herb because of the change in the taste of familiar dishes. The same advice can be given by considering the constituent parts of the plant. They contain a lot of substances that have a negative effect on the body - aldehydes and alcohols. They have a pronounced effect on the work of the central nervous system, can provoke gastrointestinal bleeding, irritate mucous membranes and cause edema.
Useful properties of bee grass
Judging by the excavations, blue St. John's wort has been used for medicinal purposes for a long time. First, a warming effect was used. Fresh hyssop leaves were chewed to eliminate chills and fever. Warmth is felt in the mouth, which then spreads throughout the body.
Hyssop benefits:
- It has mucolytic and expectorant effects.
- It has antiseptic and antimicrobial properties, relieves painful sensations.
- Eliminates discomfort during the transition to menopause, reduces the number, frequency and severity of hot flashes, relieves vascular spasms during headaches.
- Normalizes the functioning of the immune system, suppresses inflammatory processes, stimulates the regenerative properties of tissues at the cellular level.
- Eliminates anemia, increases blood clotting.
- Useful properties of hyssop are in the normalization of the intestines, elimination of dysbiosis.
- Isolates free radicals running in the intestines, has a cleansing and intoxication effect.
- Helps get rid of bad breath.
- Relieves spasms, has a mild choleretic and diuretic effect.
Compresses and poultices of blue St. John's wort accelerate the resorption of hematomas, suppress purulent-inflammatory processes, and prevent the appearance of acne.
Hyssop essential oil is recommended to be introduced into hair masks to eliminate dandruff, as well as for the face, to make the skin softer and get rid of microdamages, and even out the relief.
St. John's wort is officially used in the pharmaceutical industry in Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, France, Romania and Germany.
Contraindications and harm of hyssop
You cannot be treated with blue St. John's wort and introduce a spicy supplement into the diet during pregnancy and lactation. Volatile essential components penetrate the placental barrier and pass into breast milk. The fetus will be adversely affected, which can lead to pathological changes during the formation of the body. And babies will probably refuse milk because of the bitter taste.
Due to the rich multicomponent chemical composition, the drug often causes allergic reactions. If after use itching, irritation, redness appear, all contact with the allergen is stopped.
Contraindications of hyssop herb relate to renal and hepatic failure, harm is observed in intestinal colitis, peptic ulcer and gastritis with high acidity, colitis, migraine-like seizures, epilepsy, varicose veins and thrombophlebitis. You can not combine home remedies from blue St. John's wort with drugs to lower cholesterol and blood sugar, immunostimulants, and means to accelerate cerebral circulation.
How is blue St. John's wort eaten?
The plant is widely used in cooking. Hyssop is eaten both fresh and dried. The branches are cut during flowering. If you plan to prepare for future use, the green mass is laid out in the shade under a canopy and dried in the open air to ensure constant ventilation.
Fresh leaves can be added to hot dishes, to minced meat in the manufacture of sausages and cutlets. The taste is combined with fermented milk products - cottage cheese, yoghurt and hard cheeses. Culinary experts of the East add small twigs to all salads and dishes.
Hyssop recipes
When expanding the diet, you need to adhere to the norm of laying greens. If you put more, all other flavors cease to be felt. The dose of dried blue St. John's wort per portion of soup of 200-250 g - no more than 0.5 g, for hot - 0.3 g for the same weight, and for sauces - 0.2 g.
You should not cover the dish after the herbs have already been put in it, especially when combined with other herbs - dill, parsley, cilantro and basil. Knowing the following data, you are unlikely to be mistaken with the amount of flavoring additive:
| Measure | Weight, g |
| Tea spoon | 3 |
| Twig | 10 |
| Tablespoon | 14 |
| Package | 50 |
| Beam | 50-70 |
Tasty Hyssop Recipes:
- Salad … Watermelon pulp, 400 g, cut into small cubes. A 10 g piece is cut from the chili pepper pod and chopped. Add to the salad along with the seeds. Cut 120 g of leek into thin slices. The rest of the greens are finely chopped to taste. They all connect and let it brew. Mix the dressing separately - whip 200 g of cream with soft cream cheese in a blender. The mass is salted and pepper. The presentation is as follows: on a plate lay out a watermelon with chili peppers, seasoned with apple cider vinegar, next to a creamy dressing. All are sprinkled with hyssop, the rest of the herbs and purslane onions.
- Stuffed pepper … Bell pepper, 0.5 kg, baked until soft in the oven. Then they are cleaned by removing the stalks and seeds. Cut into thin strips. A tablespoon of sesame seeds are fried until golden brown in a hot skillet without oil. Grease the mold with olive oil, lay out a layer of pepper, and on top 250 g of feta cheese. Sprinkle on top with herbs - sage, hyssop, thyme, oregano (all herbs are taken in a teaspoon with a slide) and sesame seeds. Spread out the second layer of pepper and cheese. Sunflower oil is added and placed back in the oven preheated to 200 ° C for 10 minutes.
- Cheese sauce … Cream cheese, 100 g, melt and pour the viscous mass into a bowl. Top with olive oil, 15 ml, and sprinkle with hyssop, without stirring the layers. This sauce is served with croutons and vegetable salads.
- Stuffed eggs … Eggs are boiled, cooled, peeled and cut in half with a sharp knife. The yolks are removed, dipped in a blender along with anchovies and herbs - parsley, hyssop, mint. Add some olive oil and lemon juice. Fill the proteins with a pasty mass, having previously formed balls. The halves of the eggs are laid out on a dish.
- Blueberry pie … Knead the dough from 800 g of flour, a pack of butter, a glass of sugar. The oil is rubbed into small crumbs with your fingers, without defrosting. Drive salt and 2 eggs into the dough. The batch is divided into 3 parts and one of them is put in the freezer for an hour. The mold is greased with sunflower oil, a layer of dough is laid out, thick blueberry jam, sprinkled with dried blue St. John's wort - two tablespoons, and covered with another layer of dough on top, covering the edges. The surface is coated with butter and generously sprinkled with crumbs of frozen dough. The oven is heated to 180-190 ° C, baked for 40-45 minutes.
Use of hyssop in drinks:
- Tea … Dried hyssop and mint are mixed in equal amounts, 4 tablespoons of 1 liter of boiling water are brewed. Insist 15 minutes under the lid, filter. It is better to drink the drink chilled. Add sugar or honey for flavor.
- Absinthe … 25 g of dried wormwood, 50 g of fennel, lemon balm, anise are poured into a jar. Pour 1 liter of alcohol (or vodka), insist in a dark place for 4 days, periodically shaking vigorously. The tincture is diluted with boiled chilled water - 500 ml, everything is poured into a moonshine still. Distillation is carried out over low heat, the distillate should be poured out in a thin stream. The first fraction is used for flushing the apparatus. The middle portion, 500 ml, is filtered, hyssop is poured into it, 10 g. Then the drink is filtered and diluted to the desired degree.
Interesting facts about bee grass
The Latin name of the plant comes from the Hebrew "esob", which means sacred fragrant herb. Most likely, in ancient times, the shrub was considered one of the types of marjoram.
The medicinal properties of blue St. John's wort were used as early as 460 BC. NS. They were described by Hippocrates and Avicenna. The plant was used to treat seizures and mental illness, to stimulate lactation, as a pain reliever, in all inflammatory processes.
During the divine services, the Levites wove wreaths from flowering branches and put them on the head of newborn babies to protect them from death. The feet of the firstborn were smeared with juice in order to deceive the evil forces and save the child's life. At that time, girls got married early, the first time they gave birth at the age of 11-12. Babies were often born prematurely and died during the first year of life.
The antiseptic and antimicrobial properties of the plant have been widely used. To prevent intestinal upset, dried herbs were used to season dishes and add them to bread when baked.
The Carthusian monks from a French monastery created an elixir of longevity on the basis of a sacred herb. Its use did not make people immortal, but it helped to keep the body in good shape. In 1764, thanks to the constant improvement of the composition, a drink with an excellent taste was made, which later gained popularity. The recipe for the "Green Chartreuse" is still kept secret.
The herb was used for magical purposes to exorcise witches and demons. The dried inflorescences were added to bags with aromatic herbs, which were dipped into the bath when bathing, and placed under a pillow for children to protect them from kikimora, who stole babies from cradles at night.
To restore mental strength, the hyssop was thoroughly dried and used for refueling aroma lamps. It was believed that those who were fumigated with smoke from the incense could forever get rid of evil intentions and intentions, completely cleanse themselves from sins.
For a woman to see a blooming hyssop in a dream is a bad sign. The reputation will be in jeopardy, serious charges will be brought forward.
Popular signs that are still believed:
- The stem under the pillow protects from bad dreams.
- Flower petals in shoes protect you from evil people and evil spirits while traveling.
- The twig behind the belt restores strength.
To protect yourself from negative emotions, you can brew a witch's potion yourself. To do this, mix 1 part white mistletoe, vetiver and hyssop, 2 parts rosemary and rue, brew 4 tablespoons with a liter of water. The infusion is boiled for 5 minutes, filtered, and allowed to cool. All window openings and doors are lubricated with a brush.
For chest pains due to chronic bronchitis, brew 1 teaspoon of dried blue St. John's wort with half a glass of boiling water. Filter, dissolve honey in liquid and drink before bedtime.
To quickly cure stomatitis, a tablespoon of hyssop is brewed with 350 ml of boiling water, boiled for 15 minutes in a water bath, filtered and 4 tablespoons of red dessert or dry wine are added. Used for rinsing.
It is worth using these recipes. Moreover, hyssop is widespread in mid-latitudes, and it is easy to grow it in your own garden from seeds. The fruits ripen in August-October. Just do not forget to renew your own "plantation" every 5-6 years. After this period, the amount of nutrients in the perennial dwarf shrub is significantly reduced.
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