Description and composition of fruits. Harm and benefits of mongongo nut, recipes. Interesting facts about him.
The Mongongo nut (Latin Schinziophyton rautanenii) is the fruit of a tree growing in the arid regions of South Africa, which belongs to the Euphorbia family. The local name is manchetti. The peel is velvety, underneath there are 2 tough nutritious edible kernels that taste like hazelnuts or cashews, surrounded by a thin layer of sweet shell. Harvesting is not carried out - the nuts ripen at the top and ends of the branches, and the height of an adult tree can reach 20 m. The fruits fall to the ground still green, and then ripen within 6-8 months. Mongongo nuts are one of the main food products of the Bushmen of Namibia and Northern Botswana, but the peoples of Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia, in addition to being used for food, make a valuable oil from the kernels, which is widely used in cosmetology and medicine.
Composition and calorie content of mongongo nuts
The chemical composition of Mongongo is being studied. This is due to the fact that programs are being developed to increase plantings with valuable crops, since the population's demand is satisfied by only 40%.
The calorie content of mongongo nut is 641 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 28, 8 g;
- Fat - 57.3 g;
- Carbohydrates - 2, 4 g;
- Dietary fiber - 2, 7 g;
- Water - 4, 8 g.
The nutritional value of the edible shell is estimated at 312 kcal, since the fatty acid content is minimal.
Minerals per 100 g:
- Calcium - 452 mg;
- Magnesium - 432 mg
- Phosphorus - 839 mg;
- Iron - 2.3 mg;
- Zinc - 3.1 mg.
Vitamins per 100 g:
- Vitamin B1 - 0.22 mg;
- Vitamin B2 - 0.13 mg;
- Vitamin PP - 0.42 mg.
Other beneficial substances in the composition of the mongongo nut:
- Potassium is a building material for bone tissue.
- Phosphorus - restores the body's energy reserve, together with potassium it is responsible for the strength of the teeth.
- Magnesium - participates in all metabolic processes, stimulates the production of insulin.
- Iron - prevents the development of anemia, restoring normal vital activity.
- Tocopherol - strengthens the walls of blood vessels, slows down aging, maintains skin elasticity.
- Ascorbic acid - strengthens the immune system, helps the body defend itself against the invasion of viruses and bacteria.
- Linolenic acid - stimulates the production of a secretion that protects the mucous membrane of the digestive organs, prevents the development of atherosclerosis, has an anti-inflammatory and soothing effect.
- Eleostearic - stimulates the production of prostaglandins, substances with anesthetic properties.
- Oleic acid - stops the absorption of fats in the small intestine, lowers the level of bad cholesterol in the blood, and accelerates weight loss.
- Palmitic acid - the main source of energy, slows down age-related changes, improves hair quality.
- Stearic acid - supports normal metabolic processes.
The benefits and harms of the Mongongo nut are largely determined by the presence of fatty acids in the composition. With overeating and an inactive lifestyle, the likelihood of developing atherosclerosis, myocarditis, stroke increases, libido decreases and reproductive function is impaired in women.
Bushmen value Mongongos not so much for their medicinal qualities, but for their high energy value. A daily serving of nuts in 200 g (this is approximately 300 kernels) is as nutritious as 1 kg of cooked rice. For example, among the Kung people living in Botswana, this product is included in the daily diet, which helps to survive in dry years.
Useful properties of mongongo
Since the middle of the twentieth century, since the time when trees began to be planted artificially, the survival rate of Aboriginal children has increased by 1.5 times.40% of the diet of these tribes is manchetti kernels, which compensate for the vitamin and mineral deficiency.
Benefits of Mongongo Nuts:
- They improve bowel function, accelerate peristalsis, stop the development of putrefactive processes, relieve bad breath.
- They increase general immunity, stop the development of local and general inflammatory processes.
- They have an antioxidant effect, isolate free radicals traveling in the intestinal lumen.
- They help to recover from increased mental and physical stress, accelerate rehabilitation in case of exhaustion and anemia.
- They prevent the onset of depression, have a sedative effect, and eliminate insomnia.
- They normalize the work of the endocrine and cardiovascular systems, prevent coronary insufficiency.
- Prolong youth, improve the quality of skin, nails and teeth.
In folk medicine and cosmetology, not kernels are used, but nut oil. This extraordinarily valuable product is used by the Bushmen to protect against excessive UV radiation and to heal wounds. There is so much linolenic acid in the oil that the deficiency of this substance can be replenished even with rubbing.
When used for cosmetic purposes, the oil improves skin tone, compensates for the lack of nutrients, stops the formation of fine wrinkles, slows down the deepening of already pronounced skin folds, and prevents the appearance of melanoma - skin cancer. And in Zambia, women call the oil "hair food" and use it to maintain lush hair.
Nutritionists recommend eating several nuts a day for those who have to adhere to strict diets. This helps prevent hair loss and maintain skin quality despite dietary restrictions.
Contraindications and harm of Mongongo nut
Like any fruit of this type, manchetti is a strong allergen. Therefore, you should not introduce the new product to persons unfamiliar with this product during pregnancy, lactation and children under the age of 3 years.
Overeating of mongongo nuts can cause harm in obesity, if there is a history of atherosclerosis, stroke, heart attack, liver dysfunction and gallbladder dysfunction, including gallstone disease.
Mongongo Nut Recipes
The most popular dish among the local population is manchetti pasta. The kernels are crushed without using additional additives - nut puree in consistency resembles thick fat sour cream.
African culinary experts add mongongos to salads, hot dishes and soups, replacing the more familiar cashews or pecans with them. Fried cores taste like butterscotch.
To extract the edible part, the fruits are heat treated. They are boiled until the endosperm, the shell surrounding the nut kernel, softens. The burgundy skin must separate on its own, only then the product can be eaten.
Mongongo Nut Recipes:
- Fruit ice … Cut the pulp of half a pineapple into cubes, peel 2 bananas and papaya. Fill the bowl of the combine, add freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange, honey, sweet mongongo shell, interrupt in a paste. Put the fruit puree in the molds, stick in a wooden stick. And sprinkle with nut crumbs on top. Put in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Before removing the ice cream, you need to lower the cups in boiling water for a few seconds. If the fruit is very sweet, honey can be dispensed with.
- Chocolate ice cream … Kernels of nuts, 50 g, are poured with milk for 2-3 hours so that it only covers the surface. Then they are interrupted in a blender along with 3 tbsp. l. cocoa powder, frozen banana pieces, 1 tbsp. l. maple syrup, 1 vanilla pod and a pinch of fine sea salt. If the sweetness is not enough, add 50 g of diet chocolate. The sorbet is placed in a freezer, stirring several times, as soon as it begins to crystallize, and left for 2-3 hours. The finished dessert is soft and very tender.
- Cheese salad … Cut persimmon and avocado into cubes, sprinkle with lemon juice. Hot smoked trout is cut into thin slices, half of the white onion is marinated in apple cider vinegar. Mongongo kernels are fried and pounded into powder. Mix everything, add pomegranate seeds. The salad is seasoned just before serving with a mixture of vegetable oil, sweet mustard and lemon juice.
- Walnut hedgehogs … 500 g of chicken fillet is passed through a meat grinder along with half a bunch of parsley, 2 garlic cloves. No bow needed. Peel 1 tomato by dipping it into boiling water for 1-2 minutes, crush it with a fork. Mix minced meat with tomato puree, drive in an egg, corn starch (3 tbsp. L.), Salt and pepper. Cutlets are formed, rolled in breadcrumbs, fried on both sides in a pan, so that a golden crust appears. Beat another egg and add ground nuts to it. Preheat the oven to 180-200 ° C. Ruddy cutlets are dipped in an egg-nut mixture, spread on a baking sheet, baked for 15 minutes. Thanks to the sweetish nuts, the dish will acquire an unusual taste.
- Curry … The blender is filled with an onion head (it is better to cut it into 4 parts), 2 cloves of garlic, half a chili pod (for those who like spicy, along with seeds), 1 tbsp. l. turmeric, 0.5 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tbsp. l. ground mongongos, 1 tsp. dry ginger. In a frying pan, fry finely chopped half of the onion and 1 clove of garlic until light brown, add 1-2 tsp. dry mustard. Mix well, lay out the chicken meat, cut into portions, and potatoes. Close with a lid, stew until tender. 2-3 minutes before turning off, pour in hot paste and soy sauce - 2 tbsp. l. Those who are unfamiliar with the new taste need to be prepared in advance - it is so spicy that it starts to bake in the mouth.
Mongongo drinks:
- Tincture … First, the nuts are peeled from their thick peels, and then crushed together with mesocarp and sweet soft shell. Leave in clay pots or plastic buckets for 2-3 weeks, heat, filter. It is possible to add sugar and pulp of tropical fruits. Then the liquid is again filtered and poured into bottles. The fermented drink is used for its intended purpose - as alcohol, and also as a thickener for soups.
- Balm … Crushed, as already described, raw materials are sent to a glass bottle and poured with water, sugar and yeast are added. A medical glove is put on the bottle, the finger is punctured, and left to ferment until the glove falls off. Then the tart liquid is filtered, removed to a dark place until fully ripe, re-putting on the airlock. The resulting balm tastes more like the usual tinctures than the fermented cloudy drink that the Bushmen of Africa make. It is used to improve the taste of vodka and for medicinal purposes.
Interesting facts about mongongo nuts
During archaeological excavations in Africa, it was found that this product was included in the diet of local residents on an ongoing basis already 7000 years BC. To "stretch" the stock for a year, the natives first ate soft sweet shells, and laid the kernels, and only then processed them for consumption.
Fruits are harvested not only from the ground. Locals carefully sort through the dried excrement of elephants and antelopes - for them mongongo nuts are one of their favorite types of food. Hard nuts in the stomachs are not processed.
To extract the kernels, the natives did not boil the fruits, but buried them in hot sand. The heat was evenly distributed over the entire hard shell, it cracked, the healing properties were retained in full. The downside of such processing is unsanitary conditions. When they ate such nuts, the sand gritted their teeth.
Wood has been widely used and is still in use today. Local residents make fishing rods and children's toys out of it, and "whites" buy it for the manufacture of insulating materials, drawing instruments - boards and rulers, easels, packing boxes. The shell is also not disposed of - this is an excellent material for souvenirs, checkers and dice.
For the manufacture of valuable oil, cold pressing is used. The kernels are removed, crushed using hand mills or stone pestles, and then squeezed out with a homemade press. In an industrial environment, all processes are automated. Usually, a product obtained in this way retains all the useful properties of the feedstock, but is perishable.
Manchetti oil not only does not spoil itself, but is also an effective preservative - it increases the shelf life of cosmetics to which it is added. If you managed to purchase a bottle of a valuable product, then you should add 1-2 drops to creams and balms. Then you don't have to worry that your favorite cosmetics will deteriorate.
Watch a video about mongongo nuts:
