CRANBERRIES: KARONDA ( VACCINIUM OXYCOCCUS): HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY SAUCE

 CRANBERRIES, KARONDA (VACCINIUM OXYCOCCUS)

Cranberries, the red berries used in sauces as accompaniments to Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys are not the same as the European cranberry which is in fact the Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus) whose berries are not edible.

   The cranberry is native to North America and was highly prized by the Native Americans for its health properties long before the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers. In some tribes it was a symbol of peace too. The Native Americans recognized the berry’s astringent qualities and used them in poultices to heal wounds. They have anti-bacterial qualities and are anti-asthmatic and diuretic. They are well-known for treating urinary tract infections such as cystitis and contain the anti-inflammatory substance, quercetin and proanthocyanidins which prevent bacteria sticking to the cells of the urinary tract and gut. Thus they help flush out bacteria such as E.coli in urine; they are diuretic. They also contain a potent vasodilator which opens up the bronchial tubes making them effective in the treatment of asthma. Cranberries also contain myricetin a flavonoid which is thought to have the ability to lower the risk of male prostate cancer.

   Cranberries are high in vitamin C which boosts the immune system and aids the body in its absorption of calcium. They are used in traditional or homeopathic medicine to help in the treatment of blood, and liver disorders and stomach problems. They contain antioxidants which combat the free radicals in our body which can cause cancer.

   These little red berries are the official state fruit of Wisconsin where they are cultivated. They are the number one fruit crop of the state harvested in early autumn in time to supply the Thanksgiving tables of America and the Christmas tables of the rest of the world .The US and Canada supply almost 98% of the world’s cranberries.

   The colonists found that the cranberry was useful to preserve meat during the winter as it contains benzoic acid, and the tart berries were utilized for this purpose. General Ulysses S. Grant famously ordered cranberry sauce to be served to his troops during the siege of Petersburg in 1864, and they were first canned commercially in 1912. They are called bounceberries and bearberries in the US, as when dropped the ripe berries bounce and it seems that bears are rather partial to them.

   If you add sugar to these berries when cooking them this will cancel out their anti-bacterial effects. So if you are intending to use them as a medicine use the leaves of sweet cicely or stevia instead of sugar.

   If you eat cranberries or drink the juice, and eat plenty of pomegranates and pumpkin this winter, as a male you will be doing a lot to decrease your risk of prostate cancer. Try the traditional recipe for cranberry sauce, using leaves instead of sugar. You can add a fruity red wine or brandy to this if you wish, or raisins which will counteract the tartness of the fruit.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

Ingredients

12 oz cranberries, washed and topped and tailed

1 cup water

1 handful of sweet cicely leaves, finely shredded

1 stick cinnamon or a few allspice berries or ¼ tsp grated nutmeg (optional)

Method

Put water in a pan and bring to the boil. Add the cranberries and leaves and bring to the boil again then lower the heat and simmer for 10 mins or until the cranberries burst. Add the optional spice if you are using them and simmer for a further 5 mins.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge until ready to serve with your turkey.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

PRICKLY PEARS: PRICKLY PEARS BENEFITS AND USES: PRICKLY PEAR SALAD DRESSING RECIPE

PRICKLY PEARS

Prickly pears come from the Opuntia family of cacti and there are more than 200 varieties in the world. They are native to arid regions and have spread to Greece and Turkey. It is said that in Greece and the islands the cacti were planted by the Venetians but this has not been proven. The fruit is known among other names as frangosyka of French figs, and elsewhere the fruit are also known locally as ‘figs’. This might be because they taste a little like a cross between a melon and a fig.

   The Aztecs were cultivating them when the Spaniards arrived and they used the milky juice from the pads of the cactus mixed with honey and egg yolks as an ointment to treat burns.

   In Ayurvedic medicine the plant and fruit is used to treat patients with diabetes and clinical studies have shown that the prickly pear can lower cholesterol levels and help in the treatment of patients with Type-II diabetes by lowering blood sugar levels. However it is believed at present that only the Opuntia streptacantha variety of cactus can do this.

  In Chinese traditional medicine, the pads were used to dress abscesses with. Presumably, the milky juice from the cactus pads is somehow good for the skin when applied directly.

  Native Americans made a syrup from the fruit and found it effective for whooping coughs and asthma. They also used the plant in other ways. They dried the fibres of the cactus and used them to weave baskets. Mats and fans, and used the woody skeleton of the plant to make furniture. They used the cactus spikes as toothpicks, so no part of the upper plant went to waste.

   In Sicily the flowers of the cactus are boiled in water and drunk as a diuretic. In Mexico the plant has been used for centuries to treat diabetes and inflammation caused by ulcers.

  I think we ate prickly pears last year while in Pakistan, but what we ate wasn’t prickly, although it had a hard skin, which we peeled, to reveal a red fleshed fruit which had some fairly large seeds in it. It tasted rather like a raspberry, and we grew a cactus from the fruit, so we guess it is one of the prickly pear varieties. We bought it as “sumerkand” which might be the Pashto word for this kind of cactus fruit.

In August 2010 a newspaper article from Hurriyet the English daily newspaper in Turkey suggested that Turkey utilize its prickly pear cacti (Opuntia ficus-indica) and cultivated them in order to cash in on the demand for the fruit and to plant them in order to prevent soil erosion on slopes going down to the sea. These cacti grow in abundance along the Turkish coast. It reported that Italy exports 50,000 tons of the prickly pears every year.

  To peel a prickly pear, hold it down with a fork and cut off the ends with a sharp knife, then make lengthwise cuts and peel the fruit. You can make prickly pear juice by washing the whole fruit and then put them in a pan with a cup of water. Cook over a low heat for 20-30 minutes until they are tender. Remove the hard skin and mash the fruit to a pulp then strain to use it in the recipe below.

PRICKLY PEAR SALAD DRESSING

Ingredients

½ cup of puree after boiling the fruit

1/3 cup sunflower or soy bean oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

4 tbsps tarragon vinegar

Method

Put all the ingredients into a jar and shake well to mix.

Pour over a fruit salad or a green one.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

  

WHAT IS AMROOD? GUAVA ( PSIDIUM GUAJAVA): GUAVA RECIPES: HOW TO MAKE AMROOD CHAAT:

GUAVA, AMROOD, (PSIDIUM GUAJAVA)

In Pakistan there are amrood everywhere perfuming the air when the fruit sellers spray them with water. This must be a good selling ploy as they smell wonderful! Unfortunately we’re very wary of them having eaten some that weren’t quite ripe last year. The problem was that we ate too many as they are delicious. However, don’t let our greed stop you from trying the recipe below, it’s very tasty. We have the guavas which have white flesh and green skins here in Pakistan, or yellow skinned ones with a creamy flesh. I hadn’t realized that they were guava as I had only previously eaten the pinky-red variety.

  In the Romance languages these fruit have names that are obviously guava, but in Guam they call them abas so I had to include that piece of information, and in Urdu they are amrood. There are many different varieties around the world, but it is believed that they originated in Mexico and Central America. 

The Portuguese brought them to the Indian subcontinent in the 18^th century and they have flourished. They have grown in Egypt for a long time and are known to grow in Algeria and Morocco. They were spread around the world by the 16^th century Spanish and Portuguese explorers. One of the first places they were exported to were the West Indies in 1526. They were said to be a favourite of the Aztecs and Incas. The bark of the trees is very distinctive as it is a copper colour although this outer bark peels off to reveal the green under layer.

   The leaves are particularly used in traditional medicine and so are the young fruits and the bark, all of which contain tannin. You can get a black dye for dying silk from the leaves too. The wood from the trees is used for carving, and because of the high tannin content the bark is used in Central America, it is used for tanning hides.

   A tisane can be made from the fresh or dried leaf which relieves diahorrhoea. You need 1 cup of boiling water to 1or 2 tsps of fresh leaves (1 tsp dried). Pour the water over the leaves and leave to steep for half an hour for medicinal purposes. This tisane also acts as a diuretic and stops the E.coli bacteria sticking to the walls of the intestines and urinary tract.

This is also good in the treatment of diabetes as it inhibits the increase of blood sugar in plasma, but has no effect on the level of insulin in plasma. It’s also good for dieters as it helps reduce body fat and is an antioxidant which combats the free radicals in the body which damage cells and can cause cancer.

   The Tikuna Indians living in the Amazon use a decoction of the leaves and bark as a cure for dysentery and diahorrhoea, for stomach upsets, vomiting, to regulate periods and as a douche for vaginal discharge, and to tone the walls of the vagina after childbirth. The decoction is also used to apply to wounds. The young leaves are chewed for mouth ulcers, bleeding gums and bad breath, and if you chew them before drinking they are said to prevent a hangover.

   Researchers have shown that the guava leaf has antioxidant effects which are beneficial to the heart. Consumption of the fruit over a 12 week period lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Guavas are used in Peru and Brazil as diuretics and they contain carotenoids, saponins, flavonoids, essential oils and fatty acids. They have been called one of nature’s “super fruits.” In some parts of the world they are called “the poor man’s apple”.

   Guavas have a long history of cultivation and the seeds have been found in food stores in archaeological sites in Peru, showing that the ancient people’s used to cultivate them, even though they grew wild.

costa rica guava

    You can do a lot of things with guavas including using the juice in cocktails. One really refreshing drink is made from 2/3 rds guava juice and 1/3 Portuguese vinho verde or any other sparkling wine. Simply stir the mixture well and add ice.

    For a quick appetizer, cut guavas in half around the middle, scoop out the seeds and put cottage cheese in the cavity add a few chives and serve on lettuce leaves.

Use them in a sauce with chicken and pasta and light rum – you need spring onions, 1 cup of guava juice a tbsp fresh lime juice ¼ cup light rum and shredded coriander leaves. Pound the chicken breast halves so they are very thin and fry them on both sides until cooked (about 4 mins each side)  then remove them and fry the onions for a few minutes, next add the juices and finally the rum. Boil the sauce until it has thickened, add the chicken to heat it through and serve with your favourite pasta.

AMROOD CHAAT

Ingredients

1 kg guava (white or cream flesh)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tbsp sugar

Method

Cut the guava in half across the middle and scoop out the seeds.

Mix the salt, chilli powder (red) and sugar together (you can put it in a jar and shake it well). Put this into the amrood shells and rub in to the flesh. Leave to stand for 15 minutes before eating.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

PUMPKIN SEEDS - USEFUL FOR MEN' S GENERAL SEXUAL HEALTH

PUMPKIN SEEDS

When you hollow out your pumpkin, don’t throw the seeds away. They are good for your health too and can be snacked on at any time of day. In Greece they are called “passé tempo” (time passing) and often served in bars with drinks. Older Greeks can often be seen removing them from their pockets and cracking the outer casing to eat the green seed inside. You can eat the husks too, as they are normally salted, but you shouldn’t, apparently. Often they are mixed with sunflower seeds and roasted chickpeas. The green pumpkin oil is extracted from the seeds and this makes a healthy cooking oil and salad dressing.

  Native Americans used pumpkin seeds to get rid of internal parasites and dispel kidney stones. They are still used to prevent stones and gravel forming in the kidneys and gall bladder, but there is no medical evidence to support these treatments.

   Pumpkin seeds are high in magnesium and ¼ cup of them is 87% of the recommended dose of magnesium for an adult per day. They also contain other minerals such as potassium, manganese, protein, iron, calcium, zinc and vitamins A, B, and K. Zinc can help prevent osteoporosis. The Omega fatty acids they contain are natural anti-inflammatories and so are good for rheumatoid arthritis sufferers. The phytosterols they contain help lower cholesterol levels too. Phytosterols can replace cholesterol, so reducing its levels in the blood.

  They are useful in helping to keep testosterone from inflicting damage on the prostate and so help reduce the risk of prostate cancer in males. They also help with discharging urine by inhibiting the enzyme associated with the enlargement of the prostate. The extract obtained from pumpkin seeds can also help incontinence in males with prostate problems as they help to strengthen the pelvic muscles and increase testosterone levels. Because of this they also help men’s general sexual health.

  The oil obtained from pumpkin seeds is rich in essential fatty acids, which help maintain the nerves and blood vessels and help to lubricate the body tissues. They are also useful for the eyes reducing the growth of cataracts. They help stimulate the T-cells in the body and so boost the immune system, helping it stave off infections. The oil is good for counteracting the free radicals in the body which are responsible for cancer.

  You can add pumpkin seeds (remove the outer shell first) to soups to give them a nutty flavour and to salads or sauté them and mix with broccoli and other vegetables. They are good roasted or dry fried too.