What is the American genipa and what it is valued for. Useful properties and harm when used. How do the locals eat jagua, what dishes can be cooked. How a subtropical plant is grown and used. With an exacerbation of chronic pharyngitis or tonsillitis, it is advised to hold the pulp of a slightly immature genipa in your mouth. At this stage, the fruit has a more pronounced bactericidal effect.
Harm and contraindications to the use of jagua
The harm of the American genipa is manifested if you hurry and pick an unripe fruit. From unripe pulp, a sharp burning sensation appears in the mouth. Thus, you can get a chemical burn of the mucous membrane.
Symptoms of irritation: redness, swelling, small bubbles, further causing erosive damage and the development of stomatitis. The lesion can spread to the lining of the esophagus and stomach.
Care should be taken to introduce a new product into the diet of pregnant women and young children, since the body's response cannot be predicted. It is better not to experiment with unfamiliar products.
No other contraindications to the use of jagua have been identified.
How to eat American genipa
Ripe fruits can be eaten raw. If desired, the peel can be carefully removed and the pulp can be scooped up with a spoon. But in order not to lose the delicious juice, it is advisable to learn about how the American locals eat genipa.
They slightly tear the thin skin and suck out the jelly-like contents. The seeds and peels are thrown away. If the seeds get into the mouth, they are necessarily spit out.
If, after "intelligent" eating with the help of a dessert spoon, you want to try the fruit again, then you should master the experience of the aborigines.
Jagua recipes
In most cases, tourists have to deal with the pulp of the fruit in soft drinks. Puerto Rican street vendors sell jagua pulp concentrate to quench thirst. They simply cut the overripe fruit, remove the seeds, and fill it with sugar in a container. The released juice is diluted with carbonated water, mixed with ice and offered in this form. Popular recipes with the American genipa are desserts. Lemonade is made from ripe fruits, jam is made, ice cream, sherbet and jelly are made.
Jagua fruit dishes:
- Ice cream … The proportions of water and sugar are calculated for 4 large fruits. Overripe fruits are peeled and cut into pieces, carefully removing the seeds so that they do not get into the finished product. Boil the syrup from a glass of sugar and 1/3 cup of water. Fold the pieces of pulp into a blender bowl, pour in syrup, interrupt until completely homogeneous. If it turns out too sweet, acidify with lemon juice to taste. Spread the puree into molds and put it in the freezer for 2-3 hours, stirring constantly so as not to get a piece of ice. After hardening, they are laid out on the bowls. When serving, you can add any syrup or liquid chocolate.
- Sherbet … Squeeze juice from fresh oranges, a little less than a glass. On the basis of orange juice, a syrup is boiled by dissolving 1 cup of cane sugar in it. You need to cook so much so that the syrup begins to thicken. The pulp of peeled jagua fruits is whipped into a gruel with a blender. Orange syrup is poured into a bowl and a teaspoon of cinnamon is added. Beat the sweet mass again, so that everything increases in volume, put it in a freezer for cooling in a high container. This is a prerequisite, since the sherbet must be whipped with a blender every 40 minutes until tender. The dessert is cooled for 3-4 hours. Beat again before serving to obtain a light texture. Sprinkle each portion with grated bitter chocolate or pour a spoonful of coffee liqueur.
- Jam with rum … You should not cook the jam on an industrial scale, as the dessert can only be stored in the refrigerator. It is better to use "Zhelfix" as a thickener. About 1 kg of jagua pulp is interrupted with a blender in mashed potatoes. "Zhelfix" is mixed with half a glass of sugar, added to fruit puree, everything is put on a slow fire to heat up. As soon as the juicy mass comes to a boil, add another 400 g of sugar and leave on the fire, stirring constantly, for about an hour. Just before turning off, pour about a teaspoon of cinnamon into the pan and bring to an intense boil. When bubbles appear, the container is removed from the heat, 30 ml of rum is poured in and everything is thoroughly mixed. When the jam becomes homogeneous, it is laid out in small jars, tightly closed with lids and left to cool under a blanket upside down. The jars cooled to room temperature are immediately removed to the refrigerator.
Pectin is made from jagua dietary fiber, which is later used to solidify jelly and lemonade.
Drinks from the American genipa
The pulp of overripe jagua is not stored for long, it begins to ferment, so locals often make liqueurs from it.
Recipes for alcoholic drinks from the American genipa:
- Pulp pouring … The peeled pitted pulp (the peel can be left) is compacted in a glass container, covered with sugar and left to ferment for 3-5 days. The neck should be closed with a simple cloth so that numerous insects do not fly into it. As soon as the characteristic smell of mash begins to be felt and foam appears, a medical glove is put on the neck of the container, piercing 1 finger with a needle. As soon as it is deflated, the drink should be filtered. Drink chilled.
- Jagua wine … Despite the sweetness of the fruit, sugar must be used to avoid souring and speed up fermentation. First, pieces of pitted pulp are poured with boiled water, at the rate of 1 kg per 4 liters of water, left for 4 days, stirring. Then filter the liquid, pour 1.5 kg of sugar into it, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, raisin sourdough. The liquid is put to ripen by putting on a glove with a pierced finger on the neck of the container. After it is deflated, the wine can be drunk.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, crushed carob are used as spices for drinks.
Interesting facts about the American genipa
When grown on plantations, jagua is shaped into shrubs and is not allowed to grow more than 3-4 m, so that it is easier to harvest. Artificial crown formation is not reflected on fruiting.
Genipa is widely used in the cosmetic industry - dye for skin and hair is made from it, which has been in great demand since the advent of the fashion for tattoos.
In order for the fruit to be tasted, it must ripen, and for this it is necessary that it hang on the tree for 10 months. Because of this, the natives are almost unable to feast on the juicy pulp. Birds and animals are the first to find ripe fruits, and they are eaten with pleasure. Unripe fruits are used as bait when fishing.
Strong reddish-brown wood is used to make household items - for example, dishes or pens for various tools, and furniture. Earlier, the Indians made spears and arrows from genips.
A decoction of the bark of the tree is a powerful laxative.
The juice of almost ripe fruits has a very important property: it relieved local residents of the catfish-parasite candiru, which is found only in the Amazon. Small fish, covered with small sharp thorns, often swim into the natural openings of a person who swims naked or crosses the river. Since the Indians did not have clothes, the only salvation from excruciating pain was juice treatment. It was poured into holes where parasites had infiltrated. The fish died instantly and were easy to remove. The disadvantage of "therapeutic intervention" is burning and itching after destruction.
The Indians made black paint from the juice of unripe fruits. Even the name of the tree was given, taking from the language of the Tupi-Guarani Indians the word "genipap" - a dark spot. Oxidizing in air, the transparent juice becomes bluish-black.
Now you can buy Jagua gel via the Internet. There are salons where temporary tattoos are made using this paint. It is difficult to work with this substance without skill. The gel dries out within an hour, darkens gradually, but it is almost impossible to remove inaccuracies. The paint covers the body like a film, and if you catch a piece, the whole picture will have to be redone.
But the dye is more persistent than henna, and stays on the body for up to 3 weeks. The product is hypoallergenic. Allergic reactions occur only with individual intolerance to tropical fruits.
Those who have tried the Fruit Happiness marmalade made by many confectionery factories in Russia should know that the blue squares are painted with the American genipa extract. A natural vegetable dye in the confectionery industry displaces dye from cuttlefish ink.
Watch a video about the American genipa:
Despite the fact that the American genipa is not capricious, tolerates frosts up to 0 ° C and can do without watering for up to a week, it is impossible to grow it on the windowsill. A plant planted in winter gardens does not bear fruit. Therefore, only those who travel to South America have a chance to get acquainted with the taste of jagua. Everyone else will have to be content with describing the fruit.
