About food. Cherimoya

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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Cherimoya

Cherimoya - a tree 5-9 m high with two-row leaves up to 7-15 cm long and 4-9 wide. The flowers are located along the branches on short pedicels and consist of three fleshy external petals and three much smaller in size inner ones.

Cherimoya begins to bear fruit at the age of 4-5 years. And at the age of 6 years the tree will delight you with 2 dozens and even more fragrant and delicious fruits.

The complex segmented fruit has a heart-shaped or conical shape, 10-20 cm in length and up to 10 cm in width and contains inside an aromatic white fibrous-cream pulp and about twenty black shiny seeds. The weight of the fruit varies from 0.5 to 3 kilograms.

Cherimoya is also known as the "ice cream tree", which it received due to its consistency, reminiscent of frozen ice cream consistency, and also for its tender sweet taste, serving as an additive to this kind of dessert. In general, if we describe the taste of cherimoya, then we can say that it resembles pineapple, papaya, strawberry, mango, banana and cream at the same time.

Cherimoya is a plant of a subtropical or mild temperate climate. Wood prefers a fairly dry environment, so even in summer heat, spraying is not recommended. In the winter months, tubs are brought into the room with a temperature of 10 ° to 14 ° C, where they rest until the spring. Crown trees can be formed with the help of pruning.

The native land of this fruit is considered to be Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia, as well as Peru. At present, exporters of cherimoya are Thailand, Malaysia, China, Australia, Spain, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia.

Cherimoya was introduced into culture in ancient times. Her seeds were found in excavations in Peru thousands of miles from her place of origin, the fruits of which were depicted on the pottery of the pre-Inca era. Wild trees are common in the Loja region of southwestern Ecuador, where in sparsely populated areas there are its extensive groves.

When cutting this large, green, heart-shaped fruit into pieces, white flesh opens with black seeds. The pulp has a soft creamy structure. Chilled, it resembles a tropical sherbet. In Chile, it is a favorite filler of wafer cups for ice cream and cakes, it is also added to yogurt.

The flesh of the cherimoya is eaten with a spoon, after cutting the fruit along in half. Cherimoya is added to salads, drinks, desserts. To prevent darkening, pieces of cherimoya are sprinkled with lemon or orange juice. Be careful - the seeds of Cherimoya are inedible, they spit out.

Caloric content of cherimoya

100 g of crude cherimoya contains 74 kcal. Do not overuse Cherimoya people with excess weight, because it contains a lot of sugar.

Nutrition value in 100 grams:

Proteins, gr	Fat, gr	Carbohydrates, gr	Ash, gr	Water, gr	Calorific value, kcal
1.65	0.7	15.5	0.65	79.5	74

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The fruits of cherimoya contain many useful substances: proteins, carbohydrates, folic acid, calcium, phosphorus, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, glucose, fructose, sucrose, cellulose, lignin and pepsins, as well as organic acids - citric and succinic.

Cherimoya contains vitamin C, B vitamins.

Thanks to the perfect combination of acids and sugars, cherimoya is an easily digestible, nutritious and very tasty product. The use of these fruits normalizes the acidity of the stomach, improves the work of the liver and helps to reduce weight.

Cherimoya has an application and as a medicinal plant. In recent years in the plant were found substances that have high antibacterial activity. Its stems and leaves are rich in specific alkaloids - lyriodenin, annonin, mihelalbin and reticulin. The leaves and seeds of cherimoya contain many essential oils, which are excellent insecticides. An alcoholic solution of the juice obtained from them kills lice and other parasites. In the tropics, an extract of seeds, stems and leaves is used as an excellent natural repellent.

Bark and leaves in South America make soothing and relaxing tea, improving digestion and, in addition, a mild laxative effect. Indians believe that leaves Cherimoya hamper the development of tumors. Two spoons of crushed dried fruits are an excellent antidote for food poisoning.

In Cherimoya contains a lot of sugar and carbohydrates, so diabetics should use these fruits with caution. There are no other serious contraindications to this product, only an individual intolerance.

Those who first decided to try Cherimoya, should know that there are her seeds (pits inside the fetus) in no case cannot be - they are poisonous. In the motherland of cherimoya, with proper treatment, bones are successfully used as an antiparasitic agent, and they also help with food poisoning. However, those who are not familiar with such original recipes should not be experimented. Although nature has taken care of safety, creating cherimoya stones extraordinarily hard, there are those who want to try this part of the fruit. Therefore, it is worth remembering that they cannot be crushed, chewed and used categorically.

In addition, it is worth to know that because of falling into the eyes of the juice of cherimoy seeds, a person may even go blind.