What kind of yam plant, distribution area, composition and useful properties. Who is not recommended to use exotic tuber, cooking features. Recipes and interesting facts about the root vegetable. Some varieties of yam contain the alkaloid dioscorin and the phytoestrogen diosgenin, which are used for the manufacture of medicines - dioscorin for gout, and diosgenin for contraceptive contraceptives.
Useful properties of yam
Biologically active substances, which are obtained after technological processing of yams, are used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. But it also has a beneficial effect on the body when eaten.
Benefits of yam for the body:
- Replenishes the reserve of nutrients, stabilizes the immune status.
- Blocks hunger, helps maintain weight, as the complex of complex carbohydrates and soluble dietary fiber slowly raises blood glucose levels without stimulating appetite.
- Improves mental activity, normalizes impulse conduction of the central nervous system.
- Slows down the aging process, accelerates the body's regeneration processes.
- Supports night vision, favorably affects the function of the optic nerve, prevents the development of cataracts.
- Eliminates inflammation of the mucous membranes.
- It normalizes the hormonal balance in the female body, eliminates the severity of menstrual pain, stabilizes the menstrual cycle, and slows down the onset of menopause.
- Prevents colon cancer by speeding up peristalsis and making emptying easier.
- Strengthens the walls of blood vessels, increases their tone.
- Reduces the deposition of cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels, normalizes lipid metabolism.
Regular use of yam reduces the frequency of migraine-like headache attacks and helps to normalize heart activity.
Dietary supplements, in which the roots of the plant are involved, help to eliminate intestinal colic, are used to increase immunity and complement the therapy of arthrosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Harm and contraindications to the use of yam
The use of yam should be limited: it is enough for an unusual stomach to introduce an exotic dish into the diet 1-2 times a week, if nutritionists have not recommended using it as part of a medical diet.
Overuse of yam foods can cause side effects: rash, respiratory distress, stomatitis-like symptoms.
Contraindications to yam are the following diseases and conditions:
- Peptic ulcer, pancreatitis and gastritis with high acidity - stimulation of the production of digestive enzymes increases the chemical load on the mucous membrane.
- Hepatitis and cholecystitis, cholelithiasis - stimulation of bile increases the mechanical load on the organs, calculi can begin to move along the bile ducts and stimulate colic.
- Children under 7 years of age - in children of this age, the beneficial intestinal flora has not yet been formed, and an unusual product can cause the development of dysbiosis and, accordingly, lead to intestinal disorders.
You should not introduce yams into the diet during pregnancy: if an allergic reaction to this product develops, the consequences for bearing will be unpredictable.
With individual intolerance and the development of an allergic reaction, taking an antihistamine is not enough. In this case, it is imperative to flush the stomach, causing vomiting. To do this, you need to drink 2 liters of water with activated carbon - 10 tablets for this volume of liquid.
The development of allergic reactions in inflammatory processes of the digestive tract is also possible with the use of drugs and biologically active additives, which include yam extracts.
Yam recipes
The second name for yam is sweet potato, and it is used in cooking similarly to potatoes, that is, it is boiled, baked, fried. However, residents of countries in which yam is the main agricultural crop use root crops more as raw materials for flour - they are dried and ground, and then unleavened cakes and even confectionery are baked.
When preparing raw yam, gloves should be worn to help prevent hand irritation. Raw yams grown in the Far East, Japanese and Chinese varieties, can be cooked immediately, fresh. Before cooking, it is recommended to soak other varieties of root vegetables in a vinegar solution (1 part vinegar to 3 parts water) for 10-20 minutes to eliminate oxalates.
Yam recipes:
- Boiled yam … It is advisable to choose small tubers with an even skin. Rough scales are removed from the surface - for this you can use a metal dish sponge, being careful not to damage the peel. The root vegetables are placed in a pot of cold water and boiled like jacket potatoes. It is added at the boiling stage. Cook for a long time, you can use a pressure cooker to speed up the process. As soon as the tuber can be pierced with a knife, immediately remove the pan from the heat and drain the water. If digested, the pulp will become slimy and unpleasant to eat. Peel the yam just before use - otherwise it darkens. If cooked in advance, planning to supplement the salad with an exotic root vegetable, it should be stored in a peel.
- Scrambled eggs with yam … Yams, cooked according to the recipe already described, are peeled from the skin, after preheating the pan. The tuber is cut into slices, each is fried until golden brown on both sides, the eggs are poured into the pan and the mixture is sprinkled with cinnamon. It turns out scrambled eggs with a very original taste - spicy sweetish.
- Baked yam … The yams are cleanly washed, without peeling the peel, cut into slices. Stir the pieces with olive oil, preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Spread the yams in olive oil on a baking sheet, placing the slices skinned down, sprinkle with salt, a mixture of peppers and rosemary. Bake until golden brown appears on each slice.
- Fufu … The yams are peeled, removing the scales, then peeled and cut into small cubes with sides of 3 cm. Put the cubes in a saucepan, pour cold water, salt and cook for about half an hour until soft. When the yam is ready, it is strained, but the water is not poured out. Next, you have to make an airy puree from boiled root vegetables - during chopping and whipping, you have to add water all the time in order to achieve an "airy" and homogeneous structure. For the sauce, beef broth is boiled, adding tomatoes and onions to it. When the beef is practically cooked, coconut milk is added to the broth, boiling for another 15 minutes. Slightly dried yams are formed into balls and dipped in the cooled sauce. Beef is served separately. Fufu is eaten by hand, pinching off in small pieces. Proportions for the dish: 300 g of yam, 200 g of beef, 1.5 liters of water for boiling yam and meat, 2 onions, 150 g of coconut milk. Salt to taste. It is more convenient to form yams with damp hands, you do not need to squeeze the meatballs much, there should remain a delicate, airy puree-like mass inside.
- Yams with wasabi … A small 120 g yam tuber is soaked for 10 minutes in a solution of vinegar and water - 1/1. Wasabi root is rubbed on a fine grater, add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice, let it brew for 20 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce to the wasabi paste, peel the yams, dry them, cut into strips, combine with the wasabi sauce and add cherry tomatoes. There is no need to salt, soy sauce gives the desired taste.
- Hominy … Poor Africans make hominy from yams. The tuber is dried, ground into flour. The water is boiled, salted, yam flour is poured into it in a thin stream, stirring constantly, and boiled until the water is completely boiled away. 500 g flour - 1.5 liters of water. Then turn the pot over, putting the hominy on a wooden plate. The types of seasonings depend on the economic capacity of the family. Unlike Moldavian hominy made from corn flour, porridge made from yam is slimy in structure. Mamalyga can be baked over the fire, sprinkled with cane sugar, covered with palm oil. In European cuisine, orange juice and zest are a great addition to an exotic dish.
- Yam pancakes … Yams (650 g) are boiled until tender, brought to a puree-like state, adding milk, 1 beaten egg, tomato puree - 2 tablespoons, chopped green onions - 3 tablespoons. One more beaten egg is salted and pepper, crushed green hot pepper is added, removing the seeds. The pancakes are hand-formed and fried in sunflower oil.
In its raw form, you can use only Chinese or Japanese yams, it is added to salads with herbs. Flour from African varieties is used to bake various desserts.
Interesting Yam Facts
Yams were once the staple food of the people of Polynesia. According to their legends, this plant was brought by heroes who, after death, ended up in the house of the guardian of the underworld - Hikuleo. He put the heroes to the test, and when they coped, he allowed them to return. One of the heroes hid a yam tuber behind his cheek.
Plants received the name of the genus Dioscorea after the famous physician Dioscorides, who was the first to describe the healing properties of the plant. There was a healer in the 1st century BC.
Cultivation of root crops began more than 5,000 years ago; the beginning of the harvest was accompanied by a holiday reminiscent of European Christmas. Yam is now the staple food for 400 million people in Africa, Oceania, South America and poor regions of China and Japan.
Yam is a whimsical plant, it grows only in special climatic conditions, at a constant air temperature of + 28-30 ° C and with an annual rainfall of 1500 mm. It propagates by small tubers, while large ones can reach several meters in length and are not suitable as seedlings. Polynesian yam tubers by weight can reach a centner and 6 m in length.
Poisonous roots are used for the manufacture of medicinal raw materials, they are not used for food. Dig them out before the start of sap flow.
How to cook yams - watch the video:
If you managed to get yam in a store, you should store it in the refrigerator, wrapped in parchment. When preparing, you should follow all safety recommendations - if you forget about gloves, the skin of your hands will become covered with ulcers, which will not be easy to get rid of.
