Calorie content and composition of African melotria cucumber. How is it useful and what harm it can do to health. How it can be prepared and what you should know about it. The body easily and quickly digests and assimilates the African cucumber. It is not at all heavy on the stomach and quickly satisfies the feeling of hunger. Therefore, it is recommended to use it for snacks between meals.
Harm and contraindications to the use of African melotria cucumber
A raw cucumber should not be eaten on an empty stomach, especially without additional ingredients. This is especially true for patients with gastritis. If you are not sure about the decency of the manufacturer, then you must always peel the fruit - it may contain dangerous nitrates and various chemicals. All these substances can pollute the body and lead to its intoxication. It is not recommended to abuse the vegetable during pregnancy and children.
Strict contraindications are:
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract … We are talking about colitis and gastritis in the acute stage, gastric ulcer and 12 duodenal ulcer. This limitation is due to the fact that the cucumber pulp is rich in fiber that irritates the mucous membrane of these organs.
- Kidney problems … They mean nephritis and pyelonephritis in the acute phase, the presence of large microliths, sand and stones in this organ. In this case, you cannot eat pickled cucumbers, while raw and heat-treated ones are allowed to be consumed in small quantities.
- Myocardial infarction … In this case, the amount of liquid consumed should be reduced to at least 1 liter, and there is a lot of it in cucumbers. If this is not done, the load on the heart will be stronger, which is very harmful.
Do not give peeled cucumbers to young children under 10 years old.
Recipes with African cucumber melotria
This vegetable is eaten both raw and canned. Its pickling is widely practiced, less often it is used for preparing first and second courses. In this case, the fruits lose more than 30% of their nutrients and are no longer of such value. They can be cooked with or without the peel. Unlike the one that is inherent in "immigrants" from Africa, it almost never tastes bitter and does not scratch the skin. It is recommended to add melotria to salads, both cold and warm. It is quite relevant as cutting on the table.
Here are the most interesting recipes for African melotria cucumber:
- Hot salad … Peel the cucumber (300 g) and cook the squid (150 g). Then combine these two ingredients and add feta (80 g), which is to be cut into small cubes. Then all this is poured with olive oil (3 tbsp. L.) And lemon juice (1 tbsp. L.), Sprinkled with parsley. This dish can be served on lettuce leaves, laid out on large plates.
- Solyanka … Chop the smoked sausage as small as possible (300 g). Then peel and chop potatoes (3 pcs.), Onions (1 pc.), Carrots (1 pc.). Next, wash the cucumbers (100 g). Now fry the onions and carrots, combine all the ingredients and cook for 30 minutes. Then add 1 tbsp. l. tomato juice and the same amount of lemon, pepper and salt the soup to taste.
- Stuffing … Select the largest cucumbers, wash them and cut them on top, removing the edge. Then take out the pulp and place the filling in its place. To prepare it, you will need to mix a grated egg (1 pc.), Garlic twisted in a meat grinder (2 cloves), salt and pepper to taste, cheese (30 g). Then transfer the melotria to a greased baking sheet and place in the oven for 20 minutes. After this time, take it out and garnish with chopped dill.
- Cold salad … Cut into strips of Chinese cabbage (1 head), pink tomatoes (1 pc.) And cucumbers (10-20 pcs.), Which you do not need to peel. Combine all this and add canned corn (5 tablespoons). Then add 3 tbsp. l. apple cider vinegar and some corn oil. Remember to add salt to the salad before serving.
- Pickling … Wash a small wooden barrel and prepare a piece of gauze with oppression in advance. Next, soak 3 kg of cucumbers for an hour, let them lie in water, and then remove and dry. After that, put peeled garlic (20 cloves), bay leaf (15 pieces), black peppercorns (25 pieces), currant leaves (1 cup) and lemon sliced into circles (one) on the bottom of the washed container. Then prepare the brine: boil and cool water (5 l), dissolve 8 tbsp. l. sea salt and 2 tbsp. l. Sahara. Then add 3 tbsp. l. table vinegar, stir the composition and gently pour into a barrel. As a result, he should completely cover the cucumbers. Then you just have to cover the barrel with a piece of gauze, and then with oppression. Everything will be ready after 3-4 days, for which it is not recommended to look here.
- Salad … You will need to wash cherry tomatoes (200 g), melotria (150 g), red bell pepper (half without seeds). Cut the last into rings and mix with the first two ingredients. Now add to them the Adyghe cheese, which will be enough for 80 g. It should be chopped into cubes. Next, use peanuts dried over low heat without husks (30 g), which will add originality to the dish. At the end, pour the mixture with lemon juice (1, 5 tablespoons) and olive oil (2 tablespoons), sprinkle with sea salt (2 pinches) and asafoetida. The salad is ready, and now it can be served to the table, both without anything, and with lasagna, pilaf or just pasta-horns.
- Fried cucumbers … Wash them (0.5 kg), divide them into two, salt, rub with garlic and pepper. Next, fry them in sunflower oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds, drizzle with soy sauce and olive oil to taste. The finishing touch is to decorate the dish with chopped green onions.
Interesting facts about African cucumber melotria
In fact, melotria is more a berry than a vegetable, because it contains a lot of seeds. It is considered an exotic plant, although it may well be grown in Europe, including Eastern Europe. The bush reaches about 2 meters in height, growing like beautiful curly flowers. It feels perfect both in greenhouses and greenhouses, without requiring regular watering.
It is almost impossible to find an African cucumber on the market; it does not exist in supermarkets either. If it is sold in our area, it is only in online stores and most often on order. It so happened that it is practically not exported from Africa and other countries where the plant is grown. There it is most often used for decorative purposes, not counting the fruits as particularly valuable.
When choosing this vegetable, you should pay attention to its surface - there should be no scratches or stains on it. It is imperative to touch the peel so that it is smooth, without any special roughness. It must also be remembered that a contrasting pattern is always present on it. If it shines, then this may indicate the use of wax to extend the shelf life of the product.
Fresh fruits can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3-5 days, after which they become soft and tasteless. For this, it is best to use plastic containers or glass containers, the bag is not suitable for this purpose. If you need to extend the life of vegetables, then they should be canned or pickled. In this form, they can be suitable for consumption for up to a year and a month, respectively.
This cucumber has much fewer seeds than a regular sowing cucumber, and they are much smaller. Thanks to its small size, it is very convenient to close such vegetables. They fit easily into 0.5 liter cans and look much more aesthetically pleasing. This is a great option for the holidays, which can be played with vegetables on skewers, alternating with cheese and salami.
Watch a video about the African cucumber melotria:
Despite the fact that there are still some contraindications for the African melotria cucumber, it is really very useful and interesting. Dishes with it turn out to be original and mouth-watering, despite the fact that cooking it is not difficult at all.
