Description of the Chilean ogne, growing area. Chemical composition and useful properties. Recipes for food and drinks. How to grow a berry bush on your own windowsill or in your garden. Numerous studies have been carried out on the chemical composition of ogne, as scientists have noticed the beneficial properties of the plant. It has been argued that the fruit is as slimming as goji berries. In the future, this was not confirmed, however, other medicinal properties were revealed.
Useful properties of strawberry myrtle
Numerous studies have identified the antioxidant complex in Chilean guava berries.
Benefits of Chilean Ugni:
- Reduces the likelihood of malignancy of neoplasms, stops the development of cancer of the intestine, liver and stomach.
- Has a cytotoxic effect - it can cause changes in the cells of organic tissues.
- Reduces blood pressure, has a diuretic effect, eliminates edema.
- Isolates free radicals traveling in the bloodstream and the lumen of the intestinal loops.
- Prevents the development of cardiovascular diseases, increases the strength of the vascular walls and improves tone.
- Stimulates the regeneration of the mucous membranes of the digestive tract and oral cavity, stops the development of peptic ulcer disease, erosive damage to the esophagus.
- Normalizes visual function, reduces the possibility of cataracts.
- Has an antihistamine effect.
- It has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral effects, normalizes the immune status.
Berry juice can be used topically. Compresses and lotions stop the development of purulent-inflammatory processes, accelerate wound healing, and prevent secondary infection with a fungal infection. When rubbed into the hair growth zone, it removes dandruff and stimulates blood circulation. Roasted seed drink has a tonic effect.
Contraindications and harm to Chilean guava
When eating berries, allergic reactions may occur. In adults, negative manifestations are often limited to itching and redness of the skin, and in children, laryngeal edema may appear, which often provokes respiratory failure.
The harm from Chilean Ugni when overeating can appear with hypotension, with intestinal upset, with frequent heartburn. Therefore, when introducing berries into the diet as a new product, you should focus on your own feelings.
How is strawberry myrtle eaten?
Plant cultivation is limited to the growing area. Locals eat Chilean ugni like ordinary berries, picking them from the bush, making jam, jams, jellies and pastilles. You can use guava as a pie filling.
Often, the crop is grown specifically to make alcoholic beverages - liqueurs and tinctures. The popular Chilean liqueur "Murtado" is made from coal. Often the fruits are added to liqueurs and various desserts.
The seeds are dried, fried and brewed from them into a drink that tastes and works similar to coffee. Indians still brew a drink with a strawberry smell more often than classic coffee.
Recipes with Ugni Chilean
The fruits are well kept. Without a refrigerator at room temperature - up to 7-10 days, in a refrigerator in a tray or plastic bag - up to 2 months. If the berries are greenish, they will gradually ripen, without signs of decay. Frozen strawberry myrtle does not lose its beneficial properties.
Recipes with Ugni Chilean delicious dishes:
- Jam … For 2 kg of berries, it is enough to take 1.5 kg of sugar. If the berries are very ripe and fresh, no water is needed. After storage and freezing, it is better to cook the syrup separately to preserve its beneficial properties. Fresh berries are washed, the stalks are removed, pierced, covered with sugar. Allow to stand until juice comes out. Better to leave it overnight. In the morning, the container is put on the fire, the future jam is brought to a boil, and removed from the heat. The procedure is repeated 4-5 times. Then the ungs are laid out in sterilized jars. If the strawberry guava was frozen or lay in the refrigerator for some time, then dissolve 1.5 kg of sugar in 0.5 liters of water and boil the syrup. As soon as it boils well and all the sugar is completely dissolved, pour berries into it, some of which were pre-pierced. Leave it overnight. Then the sweet juice is poured, boiled again. Leave for another hour so that everything is infused. Then they are transferred to sterilized jars.
- Quick Ugni Pie … Yolks, 3 pieces, beat with 100 g of softened butter. In flour, 1, 5 cups, pour a teaspoon of baking powder and gently stir in the whipped yolks. Separately beat the egg whites with a glass of sugar and stir into the dough. The mold is greased with oil, the oven is heated to 180-200 ° C, the dough is poured in, and the berries are laid on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, take out the form and allow to cool at room temperature. Decorate with powdered sugar and liquid chocolate.
- Spicy sauce … A glass of washed and dried carbs is poured into 100 ml of dry red wine and boiled until it evaporates by a third. Season the broth with crushed garlic - 2 prongs, a teaspoon of dried mint, add a tablespoon of sugar and a third of a pod of red pepper (finely chop). Remove the pan from the heat, pour in a teaspoon of lemon juice and mix. You can add salt to taste. Let stand for 1-2 hours. Served with meat.
- Chocolate with Chilean ugni … In a blender bowl, grind 3 cups of peeled hazelnut kernels, a glass of cocoa beans, 2/3 cup of cactus syrup (agave) and the same amount of Chilean guava. Pour in a pinch of sea salt. The consistency should be thick. The mixture is spread on a baking sheet and rolled into one layer. Put away in the refrigerator. The frozen nut-fruit mass is cut into squares, rolled in coconut or powdered sugar.
Fresh berry liqueurs and liqueurs:
- Homemade liquor … The berries are washed, laid out on paper towels to remove excess liquid, and left to dry. Pierced, poured into jars, so that there is free space at the neck. Pour in vodka - so that it covers the surface, tightly close the container. They insist on the liqueur from the coal at room temperature, in a dark place, constantly making sure that the lids do not rise. If fermentation is noticed, air is allowed in and the lids are closed again. After 2-3 months, the infusion is filtered, and the liquid is squeezed out. In the future, you can dilute to the desired strength, add cinnamon, bell pepper and other spices to improve the taste.
- Pouring on cognac … Ugni Chilean, 0.5 kg, prepared as in the previous recipe. Pour into a 3 l glass jar, pour in a liter of brandy, add crushed oak bark - 1 tablespoon, 2 tablespoons of liquid honey and cinnamon on the tip of a knife. The jar is closed with a plastic lid and put away in a dark place. Shake daily. You can try it in 3 months, not earlier. But before serving guests, it is better to filter the liqueur through a layer of cotton wool wrapped in several layers of gauze.
- Ugni seed coffee … The berries are kneaded and allowed to dry, so it is easier to separate the seeds from the skins. The seeds are fried for a few seconds in a dry frying pan and brewed like regular coffee. That is, they pour water in a Turk, let it boil, as soon as foam appears, remove it from the fire. The drink emits a pleasant strawberry scent and quickly restores its tone.
- Smoothie … Mix in a blender: banana, orange, 2 grated carrots, half a tablespoon of almond oil and milk, 250 ml. At the very end, add a tablespoon of ugni berries, a teaspoon of refried seeds and the same amount of crushed cocoa beans. Cool before serving. You can add mint.
Interesting facts about Chilean ugni
The plant was first described by Juan Ignacio Molina in 1872. And almost 100 years later, in the middle of the twentieth century, William Lobb grew a shrub in an English garden and presented the harvest to Queen Victoria. I liked the fruits so much that desserts and puddings with them became frequent guests on the table of the royal family.
In a small homeland, 7-9 kg per season were collected from one plant, and in England, from cultivated plants, more than 10 kg.
Chilean guava can be grown on your own backyard. In the European climate, the berries will be slightly smaller, and it will not work to collect more than 3-5 kg from the bush, but you can try a new taste and admire the beautiful flowers.
First, the seeds are planted in peat pots, pre-soaking before planting. The place for transplanting is prepared in advance - they carry out a thorough fertilizing of the soil with compost. It is necessary to ensure stable watering without stagnant water, the shrub does not tolerate drought. They feed it with bone meal and organic matter until flowering. Flowers can be pollinated by bees, although tropical birds can carry pollen in Chile and Argentina. Crown formation and pruning increase yields. If possible, increase daylight hours with the help of special lighting. Only birds threaten the crop - no other pests have been identified. You have to pick the berries by hand.
You can also grow strawberry myrtle at home, on the windowsill. It will not be possible to cook jam from the crop harvested from neat bushes, but it can be used for cosmetic purposes. As already mentioned, fruits contain a high amount of antioxidants, so they have a pronounced anti-aging and anti-inflammatory effect. In cosmetics, ungne goes well with cottage cheese, bananas, cream and honey.
Watch a video about Ugni Chilean:
On the territory of the former CIS, the Chilean Ugni is unknown. But if you manage to taste these berries on your trip, you can bring them with you and try to grow them. The British deal with this easily.
