Description of the unusual plant sterculia. Chemical composition of leaves and seeds, benefits and harms of fruits, possible side effects. Culinary recipes, how everything is eaten and cooked. After consuming large amounts of sterculia, dry mouth and irritability may appear, heart rate increases and sleep quality decreases. If you feel worse, it is necessary to urgently rinse the stomach with mineral water or activated carbon and consult a doctor.
How sterculia is eaten
Fruits, such as stinky sterculia, are plucked when they begin to open and their shell acquires a red tint. Then they are divided into two parts and the pulp is carefully taken out. The peel is thrown away, it is never consumed, and the entire contents, together with the seeds, are taken out with a small spoon. Mostly bones are eaten, which can vary in color from gray to dark blue. They are washed and eaten either in pure form, or added to any dishes or prepared drinks.
The leaves of the tree, which are harvested in July, are also used. To do this, they are collected and dried in the sun or in special ovens for 1-2 days, providing good ventilation. The air temperature at this time should not exceed 50 ° C. A light green color will help to understand that they are already ready for use in cooking. Next, the resulting raw material is packaged in fabric bags, hung from the wall and stored until the next harvest in dry rooms, away from sunlight. The way Streculia is eaten speaks of its versatility. Dried leaves are used to prepare various infusions, decoctions, teas and tinctures, which either replace or supplement ordinary tea or coffee. In terms of taste, they have something in common with the last drink. Seeds are added to the first and second courses as a spice. Both sycamore and smelly sterculia seeds can be simply fried and eaten without other ingredients. But they also spice up sandwiches with cheese, olives, cherry tomatoes. They can be used to decorate vegetable and fruit cuts on holiday tables, complement various yoghurts, pies and cakes, pastries. They are excellently combined with soups and various side dishes of rice, buckwheat, potatoes. Stinky sterculia seeds are actively added to ready-made ice cream, yoghurts and other dairy desserts. They make delicious cottage cheese casseroles, buns, cakes. These are a kind of nuts that can be added to both pies and Greek salad.
Sterculia Drink Recipes
For the preparation of teas, it is better to use platonoliferous sterculia. You only need to take leaves from it, seeds are not needed. They are especially useful in winter, when the risk of getting the flu or SARS is higher. You can cook them, either by bringing them to a boil and boiling for a while, or by pouring them with boiled water and insisting for several minutes. Of course, there will be more benefits from the second. The following sterculia recipes will help you prepare a delicious drink:
- Combine chopped sterculia leaves (2 tablespoons) with mountain ash (20 g), pour boiling water over the mixture, add honey (2 tablespoons), cover and let it stand for 10 minutes to improve the taste. After this time, simply strain the mass.
- Mix the main ingredient (1 tbsp), lemon balm (2 tsp) and mint (1 tsp) in equal proportions. Pour honey (1 tbsp. L.) Into the mass and soak it for at least 5 minutes under the lid.
- Pour the crushed sterculia leaves (2 tablespoons) into the mixture of St. John's wort, rose hips and plantain (1 tablespoon each). Let it steep for 10 minutes and add honey or sugar to taste before use.
- Combine infusion of walnut (5 tbsp. L.), Orange without peel (3rd part), St. John's wort, licorice root and bison (1 tbsp each), yarrow and sterculia leaves (1 tsp. Each). Now pour in honey (200 g), black tea (30 g) and boiled water (300 ml). Boil all this and keep in the refrigerator for several hours. As a result, you will get something like the Soviet drink "Stepnoy".
Interesting facts about sterculia
Sterculia is considered more of a folk remedy than a food product, so you can find it in a pharmacy. Both leaves and roots are sold, as well as tinctures based on alcohol, which are taken orally 10-20 drops 2-3 times a day for a month to improve overall well-being.
Firmiana is used to make ropes, and its seeds are used to make drinks similar to coffee. There is an assumption that the first grade of paper was made from the bark of the tree in China. Today it is actively used for decorative purposes. In Japan, for example, it is planted in city parks. From the stems of sterculia, gum is obtained, which in India is replaced by the classic astragalus tragacanth.
As an ornamental plant, firmiana is grown in the south of Russia, in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia, Tajikistan and in the Crimea. Especially a lot of it grows in Yalta, in the botanical garden. She prefers sandy soils, although on the Black Sea coast she feels good in moist black soil. Adults can withstand temperatures as low as -25 ° C. Sterculia, regardless of the type, can multiply both by cuttings and by seeds, the latter are planted to a depth of 5 cm in moist soil. The tree breaks out of the ground 1-2 months later. The beginning of fruiting occurs at 2-3 years of age in the absence of frost and high humidity. The plant blooms in July, and the first fruits appear around the beginning of September. Raw materials are harvested even before the leaves turn yellow, cutting them and branches with fruits with a pruner or a knife. Dry them in layers no more than 5 cm thick, turning them every day. The practice of growing these trees in pots at home is widespread. The duration of their life in this case can be more than 30 years. This is largely due to the fact that they do not need any special care and groundbait, it is enough just to water the ground once every 2-3 days. Watch a video about sterculia:
Sterculia in our latitudes is still a little-known plant, but gradually it is gaining popularity in Europe. Now it is quite normal to see him, for example, in a house on the windowsill of friends. It is also actively cultivated in botanical gardens because of its beautiful appearance. The fruits of the tree certainly cannot be called vital to a person, but they are unlikely to interfere with the diet of everyone who would like to change their health for the better.
