Description of the African cherry orange, its composition and beneficial properties. The possibility of using the product, recipes. Interesting facts about the rare endemic. It is enough to eat 2 citrus fruits with crimson pulp to satisfy the body's daily need for ascorbic acid.
Health Benefits of the African Cherry Orange
The benefits of African cherry orange are backed by official scientific research. And the healers of African tribes introduce fresh and dried pulp and peel of fruits into potions and ointments.
Eating African Cherry Orange:
- It has a tonic and refreshing effect, on a hot day it helps to cope with heatstroke and quickly recovers strength after chronic overheating;
- Thins the blood, accelerates blood and lymph flow due to the high fluid content in the composition, has a diaphoretic effect and helps to lower the temperature;
- Increases immunity and body defenses, helps prevent viral diseases during the epidemic season, has an antiseptic effect when applied topically;
- Prevents the development of heart attack, stroke, atherosclerosis;
- Strengthens the bone structure, improves the quality of the skin, nails and hair;
- Prevents age-related changes, maintains the elasticity of the skin, prevents moisture loss;
- Accelerates intestinal metabolism, improves protein absorption;
- Promotes weight loss, since the dietary fiber in the composition helps to quickly get rid of toxins, toxins, stimulates the breakdown of the fat layer, and prevents the absorption of lipids;
- Normalizes the work of the central nervous system, improves memory function, reduces susceptibility to irritating factors, helps to recover from exhausting emotional stress;
- Prevents the development of depression due to the large amount of sugars in the composition. It is easier to survive troubles if there is an opportunity to eat something tasty, and there is no need to fear that you will get better.
One glass of orange juice in the morning is an ideal recharge for the body.
Harm and contraindications to the use of African cherry orange
The main contraindication for African cherry orange when consumed is an increased allergenic hazard. In the composition, as already indicated, a high amount of glutamic acid, which is the main stimulator of the production of histamine. You should abandon citrus fruits or significantly limit their use in the following conditions:
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, aggravated by irritation of the mucous membrane: erosive gastritis, peptic ulcer;
- Increased acidity of gastric juice;
- Poor condition of tooth enamel, cracks, chips on the teeth;
- Frequent belching, including those not associated with diseases of the digestive system;
- Children under 3 years of age due to the danger of allergies and possible deterioration in the quality of milk teeth;
- Diabetes.
When eating a healthy and sweet fruit, a possible allergy to citrus fruits is taken into account.
African Cherry Orange Recipes
If the opportunity arises to feast on African cherry oranges, it is best to eat the sweet juicy pulp raw. For the body, such use is much more useful than in the form of jam. But you don't need to throw out the crusts, candied fruits are made from them.
African Cherry Orange Recipes
- African jam … Ingredients: 4 cherry oranges, 2 ripe mango fruits, 800 g sugar. Peel off the peel from the oranges, grind the pulp in a blender, put on a slow fire, add half of the sugar and leave so that the liquid gradually evaporates. At this time, peel the mango from the peel, cut into the same small cubes, pour into the pan along with the remaining half of the sugar. When the jam is almost ready, put a few mint leaves in it and bring it to a complete thickening. You do not need to roll up in sterilized jars, the jam will turn out to be small and it is eaten within a few days.
- African Cherry Orange Peel Jam … The jam will look prettier if the orange peels are cut into thin strips. But if it was previously peeled "ugly", removing the peel arbitrarily, then the crusts are cut into squares. Whatever the cut, first the crusts are scalded with boiling water, and then poured over with cold water for 24 hours, changing it 4-5 times. The white inner part of the rind is removed from the rind after soaking. The stripes are folded into beautiful spirals. If the slicing is squares, then boil without preparation. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil, turn off the fire, wash the crusts with ice water, bring them to a boil again, and so on 3 times. Then pour the orange peels with cold water, add sugar and cook until thickened. After turning off, add lemon, mango or kiwi juice, stir and lay out in sterilized jars, rolling up the lids. Proportions for jam: crusts with 4 African cherry oranges, 1.5 cups of final cooking water, 300 g sugar and 1.5 tablespoons of sour fruit juice.
- Classic candied orange peel … The cooking process is long, you should tune in to this in advance. 500 g of the peels taken from cherry oranges are poured over with cold water and left for 3 days. The water should be changed as often as possible. After 3 days, the soaked crusts are washed by pouring into a colander. Then cut into strips or cubes, whichever is more convenient. Boil the orange peel for a quarter of an hour. Syrup is boiled: 600 g of sugar and 400 g of water, brought to a boil and already boiled crusts are lowered there. Boil in syrup for two minutes, turn off the heat and leave to cool without removing it from the container. A day later, bring to a boil again and this action is carried out 3-4 times. Then the finished candied fruits are laid out on parchment to dry out. Sprinkle on top with cinnamon, powdered sugar, or use a mixture of these ingredients.
- Candied orange peel … The zest is removed carefully, with a sharp knife so as not to capture the white fibers, cut into thin strips, rolled into rolls and strung on a thin line so that it looks like beads. The rings do not have close to each other. Lowered with zest for 15 minutes in a saucepan of cold water, then transferred to a stainless steel container with boiled water. The beads are boiled for 15 minutes, the water is changed and the process is repeated 3 more times. They take it out low, hang it so that water is glass, and the syrup is boiled in a saucepan. Ingredients of syrup on a zest with 4 cherry oranges: 450 g of sugar and 300 ml of water. The line with the zest is immersed completely in the boiling syrup, leaving free ends, and periodically with their help, the pieces are turned over so that they are evenly covered with the syrup. The candied peel is boiled for 20-25 minutes. Once turned off, add a cinnamon pod, a teaspoon of vanilla sugar, 3 cloves, half a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger root, a quarter teaspoon of cardamom, and a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice for flavor. The fire is turned off, the contents of the pan are allowed to cool completely. It is necessary to ensure that the syrup does not completely thicken, otherwise it will be problematic to get the candied fruit. Then the crusts are suspended on a fishing line so that they harden, they are removed low. The syrup is not poured, it is used as a jam.
- Milk fruit cocktail … Ingredients: 2 cherry oranges, 1 banana, a glass of milk and a tablespoon of cane sugar. The fruits and milk are cooled as much as possible, the banana is interrupted in a blender, orange juice, milk, sugar are added there and mixed again. Decorate the cocktail with mint leaves.
- Smoothie … Squeeze the juice from 3 red oranges and half a red grapefruit with minimal bitterness. Bananas, 2 pieces, chopped in a blender. Whisk everything together for 3-5 minutes in a blender at high speed, cool. Sprinkle with bitter chocolate chips or lemon zest before serving.
Interesting facts about the African cherry orange
In Uganda, men are treated with the root of cherry orange for impotence and dried biomaterial is poured into the "wedding" glasses of newlyweds, considering it an aphrodisiac. Official medicine has not confirmed a positive effect on potency.
Ripe fruits weigh 2 times more than unripe ones, as they are overflowing with juice. If we compare by weight ordinary oranges or tangerines of the same size, then cherry ones are 1.5 times heavier. They also have larger seeds. The African cherry orange also has other names: citropsis or afrocytrus.
The positive quality of the African cherry orange: at a temperature of 4-5 ° C and a humidity of 70-80%, it retains its properties and quality for up to 8 months, without requiring special processing, that is, waxing. However, even under these conditions, it is impossible to saturate the European market with fruits, there are so few of them.
Locals prefer to eat sweet juicy citrus raw, picking it from the tree. But why not experiment when a rare opportunity presents itself? After all, you can prepare various drinks and delicacies from the fruits, make jam.
