What is included in the aki, the calorie content of the fruit. Who can and cannot eat it, can it harm. How to properly prepare the fruits of a plant and what you should know about them. Note! Raw fruit can do more harm than help, as it contains toxic substances. That is why it is highly advisable to process it before use.
Harm and contraindications to the use of aki
If you eat unopened fruits on your own, then there is a high probability of intoxication of the body. In this case, severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, or even vomiting will appear. With such symptoms, you need to immediately rinse the stomach with clean water (at least 1 liter) or activated carbon, acting strictly according to the instructions. This effect of the product is explained by the fact that it contains the poisonous substance hypoglycine, which quickly penetrates the bloodstream and disrupts the work of all organs.
Aki should never be eaten:
- For children … Their body is still too weak to fight the poison, the stomach cannot quickly digest this fruit. All this entails a violation of the stool, abdominal pain and other dangerous consequences.
- Pregnant … When using aki, the threat of miscarriage increases, especially in the early stages. In this case, it cannot be eaten in absolutely any form, even carefully processed.
- With ulcers of the stomach and intestines … If you use aki in the stage of exacerbation of these diseases, it will be possible to open bleeding and the appearance of severe pain in the navel. This is due to the fact that the pulp of the product contains a lot of fiber that irritates the mucous membrane.
- During lactation … In this case, poisons can be found in breast milk, which will lead to poisoning of the baby.
- Individual intolerance to the product … It is extremely rare, and mainly among those who suffer from various allergic reactions.
Important! As a result of poisoning and ignoring it, liver dystrophy, a sharp drop in body temperature, hyperglycemic coma, and even death are often noted.
Delicious recipes
Since the fruit is poisonous in an unripe form, just in case it is always cooked before being consumed, it is mainly boiled. This allows you to destroy the toxic substances that make up its composition. Such fruits are used for conservation, preparation of salads, soups, side dishes, baked goods. Having a pronounced taste, they perfectly complement products of both plant and animal origin.
If you have not identified any contraindications for use, then you can use the following recipes:
- Omelette … First of all, peel the aki (7 pcs.) - peel off and take out the seeds. Then rinse it well and cook in salted water for about 20 minutes. Then twist the pulp in a meat grinder, doing the same with Adyghe cheese (150 g). Then combine them, beat in one egg, salt and pepper. After that, heat the pan, pour melted butter over it and pour out the mixture, covered with a lid. After 3 minutes, turn the omelette, reduce heat and hold for another 1-2 minutes. Finally, transfer to a plate, cut into several pieces and sprinkle with herbs.
- Jam … First, peel the fruit by removing all the seeds from them and removing the skins. In total, they will need about 2 kg. Then wash the gooseberries by twisting them in a meat grinder. Next, combine these two ingredients, add sugar (300 g) and water (80 ml) to them. Then just put the saucepan on low heat, keeping it for about 50 minutes. All this time, you need to stir the mixture regularly so that it does not burn at the bottom. When the mass is ready, turn it off and let it cool. For now, prepare 0, 5-liter glass jars, which must be thoroughly washed with soda and sterilized. The same should be done with metal covers. Now put the jam in the prepared containers and preserve them. After that, it remains only to lower it into the basement, putting it upside down for 5 days.
- Pie … You will need to sift 2 cups of fine flour, which will then need to be mixed with 5 beaten eggs. Add to this mass 50 g of sugar, preferably cane sugar, slaked with vinegar 1 tsp. baking soda, milk powder (3 pinches) and potato starch (1 tsp). Now add homemade yogurt (yogurt) to the ingredients, which will need no more than 150 ml. Next, knead the dough so that it turns out to be homogeneous and like thick sour cream, cover it with a napkin and send it to the refrigerator for an hour. In the meantime, prepare the filling by peeling and boiling 0.5 kg of aki. Then it needs to be poured to the state of gruel. Then remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a greased baking dish, make a thin layer of the filling on top and cover with the dough again. Put it to bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, after this time, try to pierce the pie with a toothpick - if nothing sticks to it, then you can get it out.
- Canning … This method of harvesting fruit is very popular in Jamaica. It involves peeling fruits (3 kg) from seeds and peels, heat treatment in boiling water for 10 minutes, cutting the pulp and laying it out in sterilized 0.5-liter jars. The mass will need to be poured with "brine", for the preparation of which you need to mix warm boiled water (300 ml) and powdered sugar (about 400 g). They should be heated over high heat until the dry ingredient is completely dissolved. Further, this composition is poured into the fruits laid out in jars, which are then simply rolled up with lids. The finished preservation is placed in a cool place, where it is kept all winter. This could be a basement or a refrigerator.
- Casserole … Rub the cottage cheese (850 g) through a sieve, add sugar (180 g), salt (pinch), sour cream (7 tablespoons), premium flour (150 g) and eggs (3 pcs.) To it. Now whisk this mixture with a blender and place on a greased baking dish. Next, put here the boiled and minced aki fruits (300-400 g). Pour the dough on top with a thin layer and place the container in the oven for 20-30 minutes. After this time, the casserole should be browned. This same recipe can be used for the steamer as well.
Note! The fruits of the plant can be fried without oil as they are watery and sap quickly.
Interesting facts about aki
Aki's homeland is all of West Africa. Here the tree grows wild, and in the Bahamas and Antilles, in Jamaica, in the countries of Central America, it is actively cultivated for food and decorative purposes. Small plantations are found in Colombia and Suriname.
Jamaica is considered the main exporter of aki, from where fruits are imported all over the world in canned form, like pineapples. Most often, they are sold in metal cans ranging from 200 to 500 ml, which can be bought at the supermarket. The most popular of these products is Ackee canned food. The manufacturing company earns up to $ 13 million annually for their implementation.
The fruits of the plant are used for domestic purposes - in Africa, they are used to make soap. On this continent, they are used in cooking mainly in soups, pre-frying in a large amount of oil. In Jamaica, locals prefer to eat them boiled together with fish - hake or halibut.
In Chad, aki is used to make poison, which is used to poison fish to make it easier to catch them, although such methods are officially prohibited here. They say that if you eat fish euthanized in this way, you can end up in a hospital bed yourself.
Aki begins to bear fruit already at the 4th year of its life, and the crop is harvested twice a year - from January to March and from the beginning to the very end of summer. They pick only those fruits that have already opened on their own, otherwise they can be poisoned. Another name, "bligia", was given to them by William Bligh, an English navigator and slave deliveryman from the African continent. It was he who brought them to Jamaica in 1793.
Watch the video about the fruits of aki:
When choosing any aki recipes, do not forget that this fruit must always be boiled or fried before cooking. This is the only way you can fully enjoy its exotic taste without harm to your health!
