About food. Bergamot .

Ordinary products-vegetables, fruits, nuts, juices and berries – are not just our taste preferences. That's what makes us who we are. It also enriches and enriches the elements necessary for life. But what if we make changes to our usual diet? After all, each product is a storehouse of certain substances that affect the body. Our health, well-being and mood depend on what we eat. And the task of each of us is to learn this information and learn how to use it.

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Bergamot

Bergamot is a hybrid species of artificially cultivated plants of the genus Citrus. The plant was obtained by crossing the orange and the citron.

It is an evergreen tree, whose height is 2-10 meters. It has fairly long branches, covered with thin sharp spines, whose length reaches 10 centimeters.

Leaflets are leathery, petiolate, elliptical or oblong ovoid, shiny and pointed. The flowers of the plant are large, purple or white, have a pleasant fragrant aroma. They can be either single or collected in a few-flowered bundles. The bergamot fruit is spherical or pear-shaped, has a three-layered shell.

The flesh consists of a number of segments, contains a few seeds with an acid bitter taste. The flowering of the plant occurs in March-April, and the fruits themselves ripen closer to December.

The name bergamot is due to the pear-shaped fetus and yellow color, which made it similar to the Bergamot pear variety. There is another version of the origin of the name. It is believed that he received it thanks to the city of Bergamo, where it has long been growing.

Bergamot is a heat-loving tree, so it can grow outdoors in the humid subtropical climate. It occurs along the Ionian coast in the province of Calabria, Italy. Successfully grown in the USA (Georgia), Brazil, Argentina. The largest and most quality plantations grow in the southern part of Italy. And lovers of exotic grow bergamot and at home.

How to store

Fresh bergamot fruit is strongly recommended to store in the refrigerator. And the more popular essential oil from this fruit should be stored in a cool dark place.

In cooking

The bergamot fruit is not very tasty - it is sour-bitter, so in cooking it has not caught on, but in the places where it grows, marmalade or candied fruit is prepared from it.

So, the manufacturer of products from Sicily, Caffé Sicilia in Noto, produces commercial marmalade, using fruit as the main ingredient. In Greece, jam from fruit rind cooked with sugar is popular. Also in cooking, bergamot is used for flavoring dishes, desserts, mousses, sweets, cocktails, alcoholic drinks and other.

But most often in cooking, bergamot oil is used. So, the taste of the products, in which oil is added, changes for the better. First of all, bergamot is in harmony with meat and different vegetables. You can try adding a couple drops of bergamot to the vegetable broth, and its taste and aroma will change a lot for the better.

Essential oil is also used in confectionery production - for example, it is used as a perfume of some sorts of tea, like, for example, Earl Gray.

Also, oil is often used for baking. Its aroma becomes much brighter and more pleasant. In addition, a small amount of oil can be filled and salad - both fruit and vegetable.

Remember that in cooking it is desirable to use only the oil that you prepared yourself, wringing the fruit by hand.

Caloric value

The caloric content of the fruit is only 36 kcal, so it could be consumed in any quantity, but since its flavor is specific, it is rarely eaten. And the oil used in cooking, like the peel, can not hurt the figure.

Nutrition value in 100 grams:

Proteins, gr	Fat, gr	Carbohydrates, gr	Ash, gr	Water, gr	Calorific value, kcal
0.9	0.2	8.1	0.5	85	36

Composition and availability of nutrients

Bergamot has a pleasant aroma due to the presence of linalyl acetate and linalool in the composition. The chemical composition of bergamot is carbohydrates, water, vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and a small amount of fat and protein. The main value - contained in the fruit furokumariny. These are substances with a photosensitizing effect, which contribute to the rapid pigmentation of the skin and help to obtain an even tan.

In the skin of bergamot there are valuable essential oils used in the cosmetic and perfume industry, as well as in medicine. The oil contains bizabolen, limonen, bergapten, terpineol and nerol.

Useful and medicinal properties

Bergamot has antiseptic properties, it is used as an antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, bactericidal agent, has antispasmodic and sedative effect.

You can use bergamot oil in ARI, as an antipyretic medicine. With a cold and runny nose, oil will help lower the temperature, cleanse the sinuses of the nose, and also relieve the inflammation of the nasopharynx.

Also bergamot will strengthen the immune system with herpes, help with bronchopulmonary inflammatory processes and diseases of the genitourinary system. The oil normalizes arterial pressure and cholesterol level. It is used in the treatment of vitiligo and baldness.

Bergamot is also a part of various biologically active additives, which are recommended for improving immunity and improving health.

Tea with bergamot will help to cope with the emerging problems of the gastrointestinal tract, improve appetite, antiviral, disinfectant and antiseptic effect. Especially useful tea with bergamot in the treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases. In addition, the drink has an antifungal effect.

Essential oil normalizes the lymph flow and blood supply to the skin, regulates the water-lipid balance, tones and brightens it. Used for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory skin diseases, eliminates rash, narrows the pores, removes irritation after insect bites.

With a headache and tension in the neck helps massage with oils of bergamot, neroli and grape seed (used as a base). Massage the stomach with bergamot helps improve the digestive process, stimulate the appetite, especially for those who need to recover from a serious illness.

Given the properties of bergamot, folk medicine has many recipes for treatment with it.

Treatment of bronchitis

It is useful to grind the soles of a composition of the same proportions of glycerol and petrolatum, adding a few drops of oil.

Treatment of oily hair

On the teeth of a wooden comb you need to apply a couple of drops of oil and comb your hair in all directions. It is also popular to add oil to the hair masks that make in a day. You can also add a couple of drops of oil in a shampoo or wrap with olive and bergamot oil.

Treatment for nervous exhaustion

It is necessary to dilute 3-4 drops of oil in one glass of boiled warm water and add a teaspoon of honey. Drink this drink twice a day for a week.

Treatment of herpes

When the symptoms of this disease appear, you should lubricate the place of inflammation with bergamot oil.

Use in cosmetology

Most often, cosmetology uses essential oil, which is easily extracted. If you squeeze the fruit skin with your hands, you can get a light emerald green oil. It is used for oily skin of face and hair, since it helps to relieve inflammation and normalize the work of sweat and sebaceous glands, destroys parasites and various pathogenic fungi.

In the perfume industry, oil is used with oil of rosemary, neroli, and orange. Its smell invigorates and refreshes, helps to maintain a balance between excitation and calmness, improves mood.

Here are a few recipes for cosmetic products that can be prepared with the addition of bergamot oil:

— To normalize the skin, a few drops of oil are added to creams and tonics.
— For oily skin in 75 milligrams of purified water, glycerin (15 ml), bergamot oil, geranium (5 drops) and sandal (3 drops) are added. Mass is used as a mask.
— Reduce the amount of acne oil mask can: in a teaspoon of grape seed oil add thyme and bergamot oil (5 cap.). This facial mask is treated daily.
— For a more even and deep tan, an hour before sun bathing, apply a mixture of 100 ml of suntan oil and bergamot essential oil (3 drops).
— The skin of the body can be toned up if 50 ml of almond oil is mixed with lemon oils, bergamot (5 drops), neroli (3 drops) and rosemary (1 cap.). The mask is treated with a skin and massaged, then left on the skin for a few minutes and take a shower.

Use in Psychology

When a person is in an unstable emotional state, essential oil of bergamot helps to get rid of fear and anxiety, depression and depression. The psychic stabilizes, self-esteem rises, and a sense of happiness and joy also appears. This property is used by psychologists to help increase communication, stimulate imagination, and creativity of thinking.

So, those who go to the exam or interview, recommend breathing in a mixture of oils of grapefruit, bergamot and lavender. Those who do not easily get up in the morning, recommend taking a shower with soap or gel, which contains bergamot.

In cooking

The most popular dish with bergamot is a fragrant, slightly spicy tea with its addition, which has a special delicate taste, helps to get rid of stress and relieve fatigue.

Remember that tea with bergamot, as well as with lemon, does not combine with milk. If you want to try this drink, then you need to know a few simple rules for brewing it. First you need to rinse with boiling water teapot. Then put the tea leaves, based on a teaspoon per cup of water. Water should be kept on fire until the bubbles rise upward. Pour a bit of cooled boiling water into the kettle and let it brew for 4-5 minutes - everything, the drink is ready.

Also popular are dessert wines flavored with bergamot. In order to add one drop of oil to one bottle. You can do it this way: take a half-spoonful of sugar, then dilute it in a glass of wine, and then mix the wine with the remaining in the bottle. After that, the wine should be left for three days in a closed form. Then the wine should be filtered through a folded in many layers of napkin, and you can serve.

Try to flavor and salad with bergamot oil. You need to wash the greens and put them for three minutes in a bowl, where in a teaspoon of salt, first dilute a drop of oil. Next, the greens can be used to make any salads.

Also, bergamot oil is added to the jam. While it cools, you need to add a drop of 200 grams and mix. The smell of the treat will become a little spicy and tart.

The bergamot contains furokumariny, which contribute to a strong pigmentation of the skin. Do not treat sensitive skin, as possible burns, especially in summer. Do not put oil on the skin less than an hour before going out in the sun.

From the use of bergamot oil should refrain and allergies. Also, it is not advised to drink tea with bergamot for the night for those who have a sensitive sleep, as it tones too much.