What is granadilla, where it grows, what is the calorie content. Useful properties of exotic, are there any contraindications to use. Passion flower recipes and interesting facts about the sun-loving plant. The potential of granadilla is so wide that the fruit is in demand in cooking and cosmetology. Local healers introduce it as a biological raw material in medicinal formulations.
Useful properties of granadilla
Tasty and healthy pulp is characterized by a tonic effect, improves tone, helps to recover from diseases and exhausting physical exertion.
Benefits of Granadilla:
- Strengthens the immune system, stimulates the production of natural interferon, has an antioxidant effect - it is recommended to use the fruit to prevent the formation of atypical (cancer) cells. All these properties are due to the high content of vitamin C and flavonoids in the composition.
- Maintains the quality of vision, prevents degenerative changes in the optic nerve.
- It removes old toxins from the body, has a cleansing effect, stimulates peristalsis - it contains a large amount of dietary fiber, moreover, this quality is enhanced by the use of seeds.
- Has a laxative effect.
- It normalizes the work of the cardiovascular and urinary systems, helps to get rid of excess fluid in the body, but at the same time the pulsation remains stable - calcium is not washed out of the body.
- It is used to prevent heart disease, hypertension, osteoporosis. Granadilla is very beneficial for the elderly - 1-2 fruits in the daily diet significantly slow down negative age-related changes.
- Helps to cope with anemia.
Granadilla is especially valuable for women. With heavy menstrual flow, this fruit can help you recover quickly. It is advisable to introduce it into the diet after operations and infectious diseases.
Losing weight with granadilla does not threaten the quality of hair, nails and skin - with weight loss, nutrients are not washed out of the body.
Harm and contraindications to the use of granadilla
There are no contraindications to the use of granadilla - it can be given to children from an early age if there is no allergic reaction. Individual intolerance can develop even for the most "useful" products.
But there are some restrictions on use:
- If the family does not live in a climatic zone in which granadilla is not exotic, it should not be introduced into the children's menu before 3 years.
- If you have a tendency to diarrhea, use should be limited, and if the condition worsens, refuse the treat.
- One should take into account the diuretic and laxative effect of granadilla and not abuse the exotic.
An allergic reaction when consuming granadilla can appear due to the substances with which the peel is processed. If the processing is not carried out, it is impossible to deliver the fruits even to a local consumer - they quickly deteriorate. Therefore, you should not bite through the peel, even after you wash it. Overripe fruits have a more pronounced laxative effect.
Granadilla recipes
Granadilla is quite expensive, which is why European consumers prefer to consume exotics fresh. The fruit is cut and the sweet jelly-like pulp is scooped up with a spoon - the cut granadilla resembles a melon, but the pieces cannot be separated, the "jelly" spreads. In places of growth, the fruits are used to prepare fruit salads, desserts and juice - they are drunk fresh or used as an ingredient in soft drinks.
Granadilla recipes:
- Salad … One of the ingredients of the salad is the Afisha-Food mixture, which includes arugula, magnold and korn (lamb herb). If it is not possible to get the Afisha-Food mixture, you can purchase the herbs separately. You can do without the root, but you can't feel the delicate taste of the salad without arugula and magnold. Cut the white turnip into slices, after peeling the peel, put lettuce leaves, slices, strawberries (for 1 turnip - 10 berries) on a plate, sprinkle with chopped green onions. From the fruit of the granadilla, scoop out the pulp together with the seeds with a spoon and also lay it out on a plate. The dressing is made up of balsamic vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and salt. Let it brew for 5 minutes and chill in the refrigerator before serving. If you do not have to stick to a diet, then you can add additional ingredients - peeled pumpkin seeds and parmesan, cut into small pieces.
- Mousse … Ingredients: 2 granadilla, 3 very ripe but not brown bananas, 25 g butter, 1 large kiwi or 2 small ones, half a glass of 22-33% cream, 35 g sugar, lemon juice - from about a third of a medium-sized lemon. The oil is melted by heating - it is not brought to a boil, then it is poured into the banana puree. Stir the seasoned puree with the granadilla pulp and, so that it does not interfere, put it in the refrigerator. At this time, whip cream with sugar, and kiwi with lemon juice. The banana-granadilla composition is taken out of the refrigerator and seasoned with whipped cream. First, kiwi puree is laid out on the bowls, bananas with granadilla on top - you need to do this carefully so that the layers do not mix. You can make several layers - the dessert looks especially beautiful in transparent high bowls. They are chilled for 2-3 hours on a shelf in the refrigerator. You can experiment with the amount of sugar and lemon juice for a high contrast taste. On hot days, it is recommended to add sourness.
- Cottage cheese casserole … Mix crumbly cottage cheese with soft fat, the proportions are approximately the same, but it is better that there is more crumbly cottage cheese. Squeeze the juice from the granadilla pulp, combine with starch. From the mixture of cottage cheese, knead the dough by driving eggs and sugar into it. You can add crushed walnuts, almonds or peanuts for taste. If the casserole is prepared for children, then it is not recommended to introduce peanuts into the dough - it has a high allergenicity. Granadilla starch juice is mixed with curd dough, put in a mold greased with vegetable oil, baked in the oven at 180-190 ° C for 30 minutes. Garnish each piece with whipped cream as it is served. If there is more granadilla, then add a little pulp to each plate. Approximate proportions of ingredients: 250 g of crumbly cottage cheese, 200 g of soft fat, 2 granadilla, 1, 5 tablespoons of starch, 80 g of sugar, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Cocktail … Juice from three granadillas is mixed with sugar - the amount of sugar and juice should be equal by weight, boil for 7-10 minutes - you should get a syrup. A martini (150 g) - Biero or Doro is poured into a glass, tangerine juice (from 2 tangerines) and granadilla syrup are poured. Lay out ice cubes. You can experiment with syrup. Drink chilled.
- Pudding … This pudding is prepared with granadilla or passionfruit (passionfruit also belongs to the Passiflora family). Ingredients for pudding: 3 granadilla, 1, 5-2 limes, brown sugar - 120 g, butter - 60 g, flour - 60 g, baking powder (not soda) - a teaspoon, half a glass of milk and chicken eggs - 2 pieces. In eggs, the yolks are separated from the whites, the yolks are beaten with a part of the sugar, the oven is set to heat up to 180 ° C. Combine butter with whipped yolks and stir. Add flour and knead again. Then they are engaged in lime - rub the zest and squeeze the juice, the pulp is taken out of the granadilla. Whisk the whites with sugar, very carefully add the zest, milk, granadilla pulp, lime juice. All mixtures are combined, baked in a greased form, until a golden crust appears. When serving, add a spoonful of granadilla pulp to each plate.
The main thing when choosing a granadilla is a dense, smooth skin. If the fruit is soft or there are no black spots on the skin, you should not purchase it. It is very disappointing to buy an exotic and experience disappointment.
Note! Granadilla can be made with all passion fruit recipes.
Interesting facts about granadilla
The first mention of granadilla was found in 1553, in the book of Pedro Cieza de Leon "Chronicle of Peru". But one cannot be sure that it was granadilla that intertwined the thickets on the banks of the river, since the name "passion flower" is also used for passion fruit.
Now granadilla is used not only for food, but also for decorative purposes - the vine is great for vertical gardening. The plant is planted next to hedges, with its help create "impenetrable" green thickets.
For the first time, the tonic properties of the fruit and its juice were noticed by Catholic missionaries, who, after eating the pulp, felt the "call of the flesh."
In the very popular medicine Novopassit, one of the ingredients is passionflower extract.
The local population uses not only the fruits: the leaves are dried and used as tea leaves or cigarette curls, and the dried root and leaves are used by healers in the recipes of medicines for the treatment of epilepsy and constipation.
The Passiflora family has 600 plant species, 60 of which are edible. Granadilla purple and sweet are different types, although they are used in the same way.
Watch a video about Granadilla:
Sweet granadilla is not sold in European stores - it spoils so quickly that delivery is impossible.
