Vegetable chrysanthemum is an unusual variety of a familiar flower. What are the useful components included in its composition, does the plant have contraindications. How to use it in cooking. In general, as you can see, the benefits of vegetable chrysanthemum are truly impressive. However, this is not surprising - Chinese medicine is rarely wrong. So if you have your own personal plot, it's time to think about it, maybe you should get yourself a new "doctor" in the garden.
Contraindications and harm of salad chrysanthemum
However, before planting a new plant in the country, you must first familiarize yourself with its contraindications. Unfortunately, vegetable chrysanthemums, like any other product, have those. What could be its harm?
With extreme caution, it is worth introducing vegetable chrysanthemum into the diet of allergy sufferers. If you are prone to allergic reactions, sniff it before eating. Usually, in the presence of individual intolerance to the components, the smell, which is quite strong in the flower, will cause discomfort. In this case, obviously, the plant should not be eaten.
Vegetable chrysanthemum is prohibited for small children. At an early age, immunity is still insufficiently developed, and therefore the likelihood of developing an allergic reaction increases. For the same reason, pregnant and lactating women should not eat the plant, since everything that the mother eats to one degree or another can affect the child.
However, it should be said that even the healthiest person who does not take any medications should not abuse the plant, especially if it has recently been introduced into the diet. Of course, the culture will not cause serious harm even with an "overdose", however, unpleasant symptoms from the gastrointestinal tract and in the form of a headache, most likely, cannot be avoided.
If you suffer from serious illnesses of any nature (especially heart and gastrointestinal tract!) And / or take strong medications, before introducing vegetable chrysanthemum into your diet, you should definitely consult your doctor. The fact is that a flower contains many strong biologically active substances that are useful (or neutral) for a healthy body, but can be harmful to a patient.
Vegetable chrysanthemum recipes
Vegetable chrysanthemum has a bright but delicate aroma, and its taste, as we mentioned above, is similar to celery. The plant can be used to prepare all kinds of fresh salads - vegetable and fruit, but it also "sounds" good in hot dishes - meat and fish. In this case, as a rule, young leaves, petals and stems go to salads, and those that have already become a little hardened can be added to hot ones. In addition, the stems of the plant can be simply stewed or fried with spices and served as an independent side dish. The plant also produces original jams and jams, and in gourmet restaurants, flower petals are used to create exquisite desserts.
Let's look at several options for using vegetable chrysanthemum in recipes:
- Chrysanthemum vegetable soy soup … This simple soup, made with just four ingredients, is a staple in South Korean cuisine. True, the ingredients here are quite exotic, but if you try, they can quite be found today in one of the large supermarkets in the Japanese food section. So, to make the soup, bring water to a boil (1 liter), put a daikon cut into thin strips (1 piece) into it. When soft, add the diced tofu (150 grams), soybean paste (3 tablespoons) and a few vegetable chrysanthemum leaves. After a couple of minutes, remove the soup from the heat and you can immediately serve it to the table.
- Sprouted bean salad … Another dish with few ingredients, but very tasty. Bean sprouts (100 grams), rinse well, scald with boiling water, then soak in cold water for a couple of minutes and dry. Chop the chrysanthemum petals (40 grams) and mix with the sprouts. Prepare the dressing: heat the vegetable oil (2 tablespoons) in a frying pan, add a few grains of allspice. When the aroma begins, pour the oil to cool. Mix aromatic cooled oil with sugar, salt and vinegar (1 teaspoon each). Pour the resulting dressing over the salad, mix and eat right away.
- Chrysanthemum vegetable garnish with egg … Take a large bunch of different parts of the chrysanthemum (200-300 grams), sort out, rinse thoroughly and boil until soft. Discard the finished chrysanthemum in a colander, let it drain well. Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat vegetable oil (5 tablespoons) and fry finely chopped onion (1 piece) until golden brown. Add chrysanthemum to the onion, stir. Whisk eggs (2 pieces) in a separate bowl, pour into the skillet and close the lid. When the eggs "set", the dish is ready.
- Vegetable chrysanthemum dessert … This dish is made from petals. For him, you need to carefully select the petals, rinse them and dry well. Heat any vegetable oil strongly, and in a separate bowl beat the egg with flour and cinnamon. The petals must be dipped first in a fragrant egg-flour mixture, and then in hot oil, and then spread on soft parchment so that the excess oil is absorbed. When the petals have cooled down, they can be eaten like original chips, or they can be supplemented with various desserts - ice cream, cheesecakes, etc.
Of course, the use of vegetable chrysanthemum in cooking does not end with these recipes. In general, experiments with vegetable chrysanthemums are endless. If you like the unusual taste of this plant, you can add it to any of your favorite dishes, making them more original and healthier. In addition, vegetable chrysanthemum can be brewed either separately or as a supplement to black, green, or herbal teas.
Interesting facts about salad chrysanthemum
According to one of the versions about the appearance of vegetable chrysanthemum in Russia, it is believed that it was brought by emigrants from Vietnam. First, they cultivated the culture for themselves, and then they started selling it to restaurants.
In Eastern culture, it is believed that the plant brings all kinds of benefits - success, luck, helps to protect oneself from diseases and misfortunes. There is also a tradition of placing flower petals on the bottom of a sake bowl to gain longevity. And Japanese beauties believe that the dew of a plant helps to preserve beauty and youth for a long time - they collect it with a natural cloth and wipe their face.
Growing vegetable chrysanthemums is not difficult, this culture is unassuming and cold-resistant. It can be planted in early spring.
Vegetable chrysanthemum is especially popular in China; it is even salted for the winter and a seasoning is prepared from it. In the latter case, the leaves and petals are pre-dried using a special technology and then crushed. They try to add the resulting seasoning to the dish already at the end of cooking, so that the plant retains more useful properties.
Chrysanthemum leaves can be eaten fresh as an original "snack", but you should not abuse it. And in order for the taste to open better, they must first be soaked in vinegar with sugar. Watch a video about vegetable chrysanthemum:
Vegetable chrysanthemum is an amazing culture. It is both a beautiful flower and a delicious food product. However, not only tasty, but also very healthy. The benefits of the plant for the body are truly enormous, and this is a good reason to introduce it into your diet. However, you must first familiarize yourself with the list of contraindications so that the potential benefits do not turn into real harm.
