2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14
Thai food often uses a wide variety of spices. Lime leaves are especially popular due to their unique, incomparable taste and rich vitamin complex. Kaffir lime is a citrus tree from the rue family. Its fruits, although similar to limes, are practically not used for food, as they have a very sour taste.
General characteristics
India is considered the birthplace of the tree, but it is most widely used in other Asian countries. Small, bumpy, dark green fruits contain practically no juice; in rare cases, their peel is used to prepare marinades. Lime leaves are especially prized for their intense green color, with a smooth, glossy surface.
The plant retains its beneficial properties not only fresh, but also after drying, heat treatment, freezing. Kaffir lime leaves have a sour, spicy taste andamazing citrus scent. They are widely used for cooking Thai, Indonesian, Asian, Malay cuisines.
Scope of application
Lime leaves have found their use mostly in cooking. All kinds of sauces, seasonings, marinades are prepared on their basis. Useful leaves perfectly emphasize and reveal the taste of seafood, therefore they are often used to prepare soups, second courses with shrimps, octopus tentacles, mussels, scallops.
Along with cooking, fragrant leaves are widely used in cosmetology for the preparation of scrub preparations. The richest complex of minerals, vitamins and trace elements allows the use of kaffir lime leaves for medical purposes.
Useful properties
A product with a high content of valuable components, in addition to excellent taste, has many useful qualities. The following stand out among them:
- Normalization of digestion processes. The leaves contain a large amount of organic and fatty acids, which are especially necessary for people with low acidity.
- Strengthening immunity. Vitamins A, B, C, E, PP group, contained in a he althy product, prevent viral and infectious diseases, reduce the likelihood of complications from colds.
- Anesthetic action. Essential oils, trace elements and valuable substances contained in fresh leaves effectively soothe pain syndromes.
- Reducing glucose levels. People with varying degrees of diabetes may benefit from including lime leaves in their daily diet.
- Calming effect. Regular consumption of drinks with the addition of aromatic spices has a sedative effect on the body, normalizes the functioning of the nervous system.
The high content of potassium, phosphorus and other beneficial substances in citrus leaves has an antibacterial, healing effect.
What can hurt
Despite the undeniable positive qualities, like any product, fresh lime leaves can be harmful to he alth. The citrus plant is contraindicated for people with allergic manifestations, children under the age of 12 years. The child's body is difficult to digest an exotic product due to the high acid content. Also, experts do not recommend eating dishes containing lime leaves for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Components in the composition of a useful product increase secretion in the digestive process. People suffering from ulcers, pancreatitis, colitis and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract should carefully consider the use of dishes and medicines with kaffir lime leaves.
Proper procurement of raw materials
An important role in the preservation of the useful qualities of the product is played by storage conditions and proper preparation of the product. The leaves retain their valuable properties when dry and frozen. They are collected from young trees, washed thoroughly under running water and dried.in direct sunlight, in places with good air circulation. This allows the amazing citrus flavor to be preserved.
As you can see in the photo, lime leaves retain their natural color even when dried. Complete drying occurs after 7-10 days from the start of the process. Store the finished product in a paper bag for no longer than 1 year. Often fresh leaves are frozen. In this form, they are used in cooking, medicine and cosmetology. With the correct temperature storage conditions, they retain valuable properties for up to 6 months. Even fresh, citrus tree leaves can be stored for up to 30 days without losing their beneficial qualities.
Lime leaves for treatment
Traditional medicine does not use the spicy product for therapeutic purposes. However, in folk treatment, lime leaves have been used to combat fever, infectious diseases of the larynx, and colds. The fruits are used to prepare tinctures, decoctions that improve the functioning of the nervous system. Preparations from the zest and leaves of a useful plant are effective for insomnia, anxiety, and frequent stress. Decoctions from a spicy product are widely used for compresses, lotions, rubbing as an analgesic for rheumatism, radiculitis, joint diseases.
Tinctures for internal use are prescribed by traditional medicine specialists for painful menstrual cycles, anemia, and digestive problems. Lime leaf preparations can be used to treat skin diseases, as a preventive measure forstrengthening and improving hair, nails.
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