RASPBERRY RED RASPBERRY - INFORMATION: MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF RASPBERRY: EASY RASPBERRY CHEESE CAKE RECIPE

RED RASPBERRIES, RUBUS IDAEA

Raspberries are a member of the rose family along with plums, apricots, etc. They are composed of little seed-bearing fruits which make up the whole raspberry which has a hollow centre. The Latin name Rubus means bramble and Idaea is Mount Ida, so presumably these grew wild on Mount Ida on the Greek island of Crete. Mount Ida is said in Greek mythology to have been the birthplace of Zeus. Raspberries are mentioned by Dioscorides in 1 AD in his “Materia Medica”. There are native species of the red raspberry in Europe although it is not actually clear how the wild raspberry got to Britain. It seems that animals in prehistoric times took the seeds, unwittingly of course, from Eastern Asia where it is thought that they originated, across the land bridge on the Bering Straits. Wild raspberries differ in size from the cultivated ones as they are smaller and a little more tart. Raspberries contain vitamins C, and B2 and 3, as well as Omega-3 fatty acid, bioflavonoids quercetin and kaempferol and minerals magnesium, potassium and manganese among others. They also contain ellagic acid which is a common dietary supplement often obtained from the red raspberry because this fruit has potent antioxidant properties. Red Raspberries also contain the anthocyanins cyanidin-3-glucodylrutinoside and cyaniding-3 rutinoside which give the raspberry the rich red colour. These substances have antioxidant properties as well as anti-microbial ones. Raspberries can help with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and help to prevent Candida albucans infections. In lab animal experiments it has been shown that raspberries’ constituents can help to prevent cancer, notably cancer of the colon. They have 50 % higher antioxidant properties than strawberries, three times those of kiwi fruit and 10 times that of tomatoes according to Dutch research. Their vitamin C content is halved when they are frozen, however so to get the best out of raspberries eat them fresh.

  The first written documents we have of raspberries being cultivated in Europe dates back to 1548 and they only began to be cultivated more extensively in the 19^th century when loganberries and boysenberries were developed as hybrids from the raspberry and the blackberry. The English herbalist writing in the 16^th century, John Gerard, calls them Hindberry (from the Saxon Hindbeer) and Raspis. In the 1700s people were making vinegar, wines, sauces and desserts from these fruit, and the red raspberry was taken to North America by British immigrants. The black raspberry is indigenous to North America, as the yellow Himalayan raspberry is indigenous to Asia.

  Raspberry syrup can dissolve tartar on the teeth and raspberries were once used for their dye. They have astringent qualities and are useful in cases of mild diarrhoea. You can make raspberry wine with them and this is a very light, tasty fruit wine. Raspberry vinegar used to be given for chest complaints, and it is easy to make. You need 2 pounds of raspberries to 1 pint of white wine vinegar, and leave for a few weeks, then simply strain out the fruit, or you can leave in some fruit so that the flavour intensifies. It is delicious on green salads.

  Raspberry leaves make a wonderful tisane which strengthens the uterus and is useful to prevent miscarriages. It has also been used to ease labour pains and to help with contractions. In fact raspberry leaf tea is useful for women in general as it helps reduce excessive blood flow during menstruation as well as easing cramps. The leaves contain vitamins A, C, D, E and some B-complex ones, as well as minerals and other compounds which are beneficial for our overall health. The tisane can be made with 1 ounce of dried leaves from the red raspberry canes to 1 pint of boiling water. Let the leaves steep for 15 minutes, then strain and drink a cup of the tea. You can do this 3 times a day. This tisane can also be used as a douche for vaginal infections and is considered a general tonic and antiseptic for wounds. It will also reduce the body temperature. You may need to put honey into this tisane to taste. It can help with cystitis, menopausal symptoms, mild diarrhoea, colds and fevers and an infusion of the leaves and the flowers of red clover is said to promote both male and female fertility.

  To “blow a raspberry” is to make a farting noise with your mouth and this was commonly done at music halls when people didn’t appreciate an act. That is this fruit’s contribution to the English language.

EASY RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

Base

8 oz wheat biscuits such as digestives, crushed

50 gr melted butter

Filling

175 gr of vanilla sugar (see rhubarb) or the same weight of sugar and a few drops of vanilla extract or a vanilla pod

600 gr cream cheese

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

145 ml soured cream, or single cream with a few drops of lemon juice mixed into it

300 gr fresh raspberries, hulled and washed

1 tbsp icing sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 180°C and grease a loose bottom cake tin or a quiche dish.

Mix the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter and press this mixture into the base and sides of the tin.

Beat the cream cheese with the flour, sugar, vanilla extract if using, eggs, yolk and soured cream until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in half the raspberries and pour the mixture into the biscuit base and bake for 40 minutes or until the filling is set but a little wobbly in the centre.

Leave to cool.

Put the rest of the fruit into a pan with the icing sugar and the vanilla pod if using. Heat until juicy and mash with a fork. Then sieve the raspberries onto the top of the cheesecake and decorate with fresh raspberries if you wish to. Alternatively just serve with fresh raspberries. If any of the raspberry sauce is left add this to the individual dishes.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

RHUBARB ( RHEUM BARBARUM): HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF RHUBARB: HOW TO MAKE RHUBARB FOOL

RHUBARB, RHEUM BARBARUM, RAVAND CHINI IN URDU

Rhubarb has been around for centuries but not to eat. It has been used as medicine in Asia and Europe but was not used for culinary purposes until the 1800s when it gained in popularity to become one of the US and Britain’s favourite pie fillings.

  There are several varieties of rhubarb and the ones used for medicinal purposes were Rheum palmatum from China, and Rheum rhaponticum which grew along the river Volga in Russia. Rha is the ancient name of the Volga and barbarum, barbarian; it is believed that rhabarbarum was the Latin name from which rhubarb came.

  In 1777 in the UK one apothecary in Banbury, Oxfordshire, Mr. Hayward, began to cultivate rhubarb for its medicinal properties - it is a mild purgative and laxative which can remove obstructions in the bowels with no side effects such as constipation later. The seeds he sowed were from Russia, and later his rhubarb plantation became the home of the Rheum officinale, the rhubarb officially recognized for medicinal purposes.

  Rheum rhaponticum probably originated in Siberia or Mongolia, and it is from this variety that we have garden rhubarb in Britain. It was introduced into Europe by Prosper Alpinus in 1608 to be used medicinally as a substitute for the Chinese rhubarb which had bee imported from China into the Mediterranean along the Silk Road. The Romans imported rhubarb for medicinal purposes, so it has a long European history and an even older one in Asia, where both Indian and Chinese rhubarbs have been used in traditional medicine. Rheum webbianum grows in India, Pakistan and Nepal.

  Benjamin Franklin introduced rhubarb seeds to the East coast of the US in 1772 and it had become a popular fruit (although botanically speaking it is a vegetable) in the 1830s both in the US and Britain. In the late 1800s Russians took rhubarb to Alaska for protection against scurvy.

  Rhubarb leaves are toxic, containing oxalic acid. In 1901 one death was reported in Britain with the cause of death being cited as “Accidental death, caused by eating rhubarb-leaves.”

  Culpeper, the 17^th century English herbalist, advocated slicing rhubarb finely and letting it steep overnight in white wine, then straining it and drinking the wine in the morning for a purgative effect.

  A decoction of rhubarb seeds is used for stomach pain and to increase the appetite. The leaves were used as a pot herb instead of sorrel (it is a close relative of garden sorrel) for a time, but this was not advisable, and so discontinued.  However the flowers can be cooked in a cheese sauce, instead of broccoli without any ill effects.

    Rhubarb contains vitamins A, C, E, K and some of the B-complex vitamins, folate and the minerals calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc manganese and selenium, plus Omega-6 fatty acids and fibre. It is believed that rhubarb might help lower cholesterol levels, and it is known to have potent antioxidant properties, thus helping to lower blood pressure and reduce the risks of cancer. In vitro it has been shown to have anti-microbial properties, and its anti-inflammatory effects have been recorded. The chemical lindleyin found in rhubarb may have oestrogenic properties and emodin also present in it may help in liver regeneration.

  Traditionally the Chinese have used rhubarb for kidney complaints but this has not been verified in clinical trials as yet. It has also been used to reduce fevers and against plague. Other uses for it have been as a hair dye, and to clean pots. Apparently it is also a useful insecticide. When you cook it you should be sure to use a pan that is non-corrosive.

  Rhubarb is to be avoided if you suffer from gout or cystitis or other urinary problems. It is, however good with strawberries in jams and preserves as well as in fools, crumbles and pies. You can also substitute orange juice for a little of the water necessary to poach rhubarb. You can use vanilla sugar to poach rhubarb with and you make this by immersing a vanilla pod in a jar of sugar, and leaving it for a few weeks. You can use vanilla pods, then wash and dry them and put them in sugar.

  Rhubarb is eaten with custard in Britain and there was a children’s cartoon featuring a cat called Rhubarb and a dog called Custard, so it is firmly entrenched in British culture. Actors on stage were directed to say “rhubarb, rhubarb” in crowd scenes and this has come to mean “empty talk” or “rubbish”: also it can mean a quarrel or heated discussion as actors repeated the word “rhubarb” to indicate a general feeling of discontent.

RHUBARB FOOL

Ingredients

1 lb rhubarb, trimmed and cut into medium-sized chunks

150 gr sugar

3 tbsps cointreau or freshly squeezed orange juice

250 ml double (thick) cream

1 vanilla pod

Method

Put the rhubarb chunks into a non-corrosive pan with 2 tbsps of water, 4 tbsps sugar and the vanilla pod. (You can simply use vanilla sugar if you have any instead of the sugar plus the pod.)Cook over a low heat for 15 minutes.

Add the rest of the sugar if necessary to taste and leave until cold.

Add the cointreau to the cream and whisk into soft peaks. Strain the juice from the rhubarb into the cream, fold in with a metal spoon and whisk to thicken.

Finally fold in the rhubarb and pour into glasses. Chill and serve when you want to.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

MARROW VEGETABLE ( MARROW SQUASH) - BENEFITS AND HOW TO USE: STUFFED BAKED MARROW RECIPE

MARROW, MARROW SQUASH, CUCURBITA PEPO

The marrow is grown mainly in Britain where there are competitions for the world’s biggest one. In 2005 the record-breaking marrow was 62 kilograms, but this was overtaken in 2008 by a record-breaking 63 kilogram marrow, grown by Ken Dade and entered in the annual National Amateur Gardening Show in Somerset. His was a knobbly-skinned marrow, but the more usual marrows are dark green with paler stripes on their skin. They are a bit like a watermelon to look at and are related to these melons as they are to other melons, cucumbers, pumpkins and squashes and gourds.

  The seeds from the marrow can be used like pumpkin seeds and eaten raw, or dried and dry-fried as a snack, mixed with other seeds for variety. The seeds can be ground into a paste or dried and made into flour for making bread. They share the same history as the courgette or zucchini, originating in Central and South America where they were cultivating their ancestors, giant pumpkins as early as approximately between 7000 to 5500 BC. Columbus took seeds with him to Europe and Africa, and while the Italians are credited with breeding the courgette, the Britons preferred the larger fruit, the marrow.

  Like the courgette they contain vitamins A, C and K as well as some B-complex vitamins and are potassium and magnesium rich; for further details go to our courgette post.

  They can be baked, boiled or steamed, but can be mushy when boiled. Stuffed marrow are good as they can be stuffed with bolognaise sauce or sausagemeat, whichever you prefer. You can also cut them into rounds and top with grated cheese and bake the slices until they are tender (Gas Mark 5 or 190° C). Older larger marrows tend to be bitter, so try to find smaller ones to bake. Cut into chunks they can be steamed for 10 to 15 minutes until they are tender. You should cut a marrow in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds before filling it. Chilli, cumin seeds thyme and sage all go well with marrow and pep up its taste. Try the recipe below.

STUFFED BAKED MARROW

Ingredients

1 marrow (about 2 lbs or 1 kilo), halved and seeds removed

500 gr minced beef

2 medium onions chopped

2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped

3 tomatoes peeled and chopped

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 dessertspoon chilli powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp dried oregano

oil for frying

a little water

Method

Heat the oil and fry the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.

Add the meat and stir, cooking until brown, then add the other ingredients and stir well to mix, cooking them for 3 minutes before stuffing this mixture into the marrow halves.

The oven should be heated to Gas Mark 5 or 190° C and you should cover the marrow with aluminium foil or place the two halves on top pf each other and secure in place with string, and cook for about an hour. The marrow should be tender when pierced with a fork.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

WHAT ARE HARI TORI? COURGETTES OR ZUCCHINI - HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES: COURGETTES IN BEER BATTER EASY RECIPE

COURGETTES, ZUCCHINI, SUMMER SQUASH, HARI TORI, KOLOKITHAKIA, CUCURBITA PEPO

These green vegetables are actually a fruit as they are the swollen ovaries of the courgette plant’s flowers. In the UK and France they are called courgettes, while in the States they are zucchini from the Italian zucchino, or Italian squash. In Urdu they are hari tori while the Greeks call them kolokithakia. They are related to the melons and cucumbers and also the other squashes and gourds such as petha or ash gourd and the pumpkin. They were developed by the Italians from the marrow or winter squash which can grow to enormous sizes.

  The flowers are edible and can be stuffed with cream cheese, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried, or cooked with the leaves and eaten as a green vegetable.

  The courgette is bland and so was not greatly admired by the French until chefs began to realize that the small fresh young courgettes were actually very tasty. In Britain they were popularized by Elizabeth David who was a keen Mediterranean cookery writer in the 1950s and 60s. She helped to promote the aubergine and courgette in Britain at a time when the middle-classes were beginning to take foreign, and mostly Mediterranean, holidays. While marrows were a popular winter vegetable in Britain, courgettes were not eaten on the whole. Elizabeth David brought moussaka and ratatouille to the attention of British cooks and these soon grew in popularity although the Brits still adhere to their root vegetables, parsnips, carrots and swedes, and turnips to a lesser extent and the brassicas, cabbage and broccoli for example.

  The courgette originated from the giant pumpkin grown in Central and South America which has its origins between 7000 and 5500 BC. Christopher Columbus took the seeds with him to Spain and Africa in the 15^th century and since then they have been cultivated in those regions.

  Courgettes contain the precursors of vitamin A as well as vitamins C and K, some of the B-complex vitamins and folate. They are rich in minerals, notably potassium and manganese, but they also contain calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorous, and iron. They also have amino acids and Omega-3 fatty acid in them. The yellow and orange varieties of courgette are rich in beta-carotene, which is useful in combating cholesterol and reducing the advancement of atherosclerosis.

  Folate is useful for breaking down a dangerous metabolic by-product, homocysteine which is thought to contribute to the risk of heart attacks and strokes when the levels of it are too high in the body.

   Vitamin C and beta-carotene have powerful antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory action, so are good for sufferers of asthma, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. 

  The juices from courgettes are similar to those found in leeks, pumpkins and radishes such as mooli or daikon radish, which have the ability to prevent cell mutations which may cause the growth of cancerous cells. Courgettes eaten with other phytonutrient rich vegetables may help in the treatment and reduction of Benign Prostate Hypertrophy (BPH) or an enlarged prostate gland which causes both urinary problems and sexual dysfunction according to modern medical research.

  Courgettes continue to evolve today with new varieties being bred, such as the golden and orange as well as round varieties. They can be eaten raw in salads, especially the small tender ones, and are good to include in tuna sandwiches, grated. They are particularly good with pine nuts which have been lightly fried in olive oil, or toasted. You can use them in moussaka instead of aubergines, and there is a recipe for vegetarian moussaka which uses courgettes, aubergines, tomatoes and potatoes. They are good with pasta and fennel too with lots of garlic an olive oil. In Greece and Turkey they are thinly sliced lengthways and fried in olive oil along with aubergine slices treated in the same way, then drained and served with natural yoghurt and topped with fresh coriander leaves or flat-leaved parsley, served as an appetizer. Try the recipe below to give them a different taste.

COURGETTES IN BEER BATTER

Ingredients

2 medium-sized courgettes, sliced

¼ pint brown (dark) beer (You can use Guinness if necessary)

200 gr flour

water

parsley, finely chopped

oil for frying

Method

Mix the flour with a little water and whisk. Add the beer and whisk until the mixture is foaming. Leave to settle and chill for an hour.

Dip the courgette slices in the batter and then fry in hot oil for a few seconds on either side until the batter is crisp and brown.

Drain on absorbent kitchen paper and serve as an appetizer, with drinks or as a side dish. 

Sprinkle with parsley or add the parsley to the batter with the beer.

There have Taste and are a Treat.