Something about spices and roots
Nutmeg
I love it very much and even add it to sweet pastries.
Subtleties of application: during long cooking, part of the delicate aroma is lost and bitterness appears; and do not overdose - the taste of the dish will be very intrusive.
This fragrant nut contains: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins A, B1, B2, B3.
Possessing the property of inhibiting the prostaglandin system of the stomach, it promotes rapid epithelialization and healing of gastric ulcer and 12 duodenal ulcer, while providing tranquilizing and antimicrobial effects.
With the use of nutmeg regularly and in small doses, the entire immune system, as well as the nervous system, is strengthened. It also improves memory significantly.
Ayurveda (ancient Indian medicine) considers nutmeg to be one of the best spices for enhancing food absorption, especially in the small intestine. The spice has a carminative, astringent and soothing effect. Heals many benign tumors and prevents any tumors from developing.
Nutmeg combines seemingly opposite qualities: it tones up and soothes. Soothes the head and stomach pains and at the same time tones the body.
Bay leaf
For the first 25 years, I didn't like him in any dishes.
Now I really, really like it.It can be explained simply - bay leaves are good for joints
And not only for joints (for arthritis and rheumatism): the essential oil in the leaves has a high bactericidal and anti-inflammatory activity; strengthens the immune system and reduces the body's allergic reactions; relieves spasms of various etiologies - angiospasms, spastic states of the intestines and biliary tract; improves memory. i.e., mental performance, which serves as a recommendation for use in gerontology (for the elimination of old age)
It has a stimulating and tonic effect on the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
Pure essential oil is used in dentistry along with clove oil - as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory.
Badan (Bergenia crassifolia (L.) Fritsch)
Badan is an evergreen plant. Leaves appear in spring after flowering, in summer they gain strength to winter under the snow, keeping their green color. In early spring, it is they who supply the plant with nutrients.
After flowering, they die off, giving way to young leaves, but do not fall off. Last year's leaves first turn red, then turn light brown, and by autumn they finally dry up and turn brown.Old leaves do not rot due to the high content of tannins and remain on the bush for four or more years.
Badan leaves contain the aromatic compound arbutin. An infusion of them is useful for certain diseases of the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract.
To obtain this drink, use old black-brown leaves that have been on the plant for at least three years. During this time, under the influence of the sun and moisture, they undergo fermentation, lose some of the tannins and acquire a pleasant aroma. The leaves are thoroughly washed in running water, then laid out on a cloth to dry. Leaves are stored for a long time. They can be kept in a glass jar for 2-3 years. Brew in a thermos for 20-30 minutes, or bring to a boil 2-3 times, as when making coffee.
Kalgan (galangal, galanga, Alpinia)
Galangal is a perennial plant native to Southeast Asia, a relative of ginger. Fresh and dried galangal root outwardly resembles ginger, tastes the same ginger, only with a spicy peppery and light citrus tint, and the aroma is a bit like saffron. Since ancient times, two main types of galangal have been used as a spice.
Lesser galanga (real galangal, medicinal alpinia, real galanga) - plant Alpinia officinarum originally from Indonesia (there it is called "kenchur"). Its dark brown root with soft flesh is much smaller than ginger, and it tastes quite pungent. He is especially loved on the island of Bali.
The most famous dish with lesser galanga is the fried duck bebek betulu. A whole duck is rubbed inside and out with jankap (jangkap; in the rest of Indonesia, it is called bumbu) made from onions, ginger, lemongrass, garlic, nuts, chili and grated galangal root. Then the carcass is wrapped in banana leaves, steamed for a while and then baked. The meat turns out to be surprisingly soft and tender, and its taste and aroma are undoubtedly worth the effort, time and money spent. In Chinese cuisine, dry rhizomes of galanga are less added to dishes made from vegetables, mushrooms, fish, salads and roast beef.
From the 17th-18th centuries, galanga came into use in Russia, where it came directly from China. In Russian cooking, the root was most often used to flavor gingerbread, kvass, sbitney and honey, as well as in home winemaking - on galanga (kalgan), for example, vodka was insisted and insisted. In Europe, this spice is quite rare, and you can buy it only in the Netherlands, where a large Indonesian community lives.
Galanga greater - plant Alpinia galanga, whose homeland is considered to be Southeast Asia (possibly South China); it grows in Indochina, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The large, pale red root of this galangal species also resembles ginger, but tastes less pungent and spicy. When fresh, it has a bright aroma of pine needles, and when dried, it has cinnamon.
Galanga large was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who bought it from Arab merchants. Gradually, other Europeans also got acquainted with galanga - already in the Middle Ages, its root, like most oriental spices, was widely used as a remedy for strengthening the stomach, relieving colic and stimulating appetite. Much later, galanga began to be used as an expensive spice, giving dishes a spicy, delicate, pleasant aroma. Today in the West, chefs use the root quite rarely, it found its main application in the production of liqueurs and tinctures, where it is often quite successfully combined with wormwood.
Galanga is especially popular in Thailand (formerly Siam), where it is added to many traditional Thai dishes, for example, to the famous tom-yam soup. In this regard, the British and Americans often call this spice "Siamese ginger" (Siamese ginger).
Calamus (Acorus calmus)
Calamus is a perennial herb that grows wild in thickets along the shores of lakes, ponds, swamps and rivers. Calamus roots have a burning, tart taste and a strong spicy aroma, reminiscent of bay leaves, ginger and sage at the same time.Some botanists consider India to be the birthplace of calamus, others - South or East Asia. It has been consumed for thousands of years in China and India, and the first mention of it is found in a Chinese book on herbs, written as far back as 3700 BC. e.
The calamus took a long time to reach Europe - its candied rhizomes were imported from time to time by Turkish merchants, and only in 1560, after the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsburg received calamus as a gift from the Turkish Sultan, the plant was finally described by the Italian botanist Mattioli , the author of the famous "Herbarium", a fundamental work on the taxonomy of plants.
Calamus came to Russia much earlier - it was brought by the Tatars, who believed that in the places where it grows, water can be drunk without risk to health and given to horses. Hence came and
Russian names for calamus, for example, "Tatar potion", or "saber" (then the Tatar was certainly represented with a saber) ...
Calamus is a good tonic. Calamus tincture improves vision and hearing.
Calamus is a part of drugs for the treatment of gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer; essential oil - included in the drug used for the prevention and treatment of kidney and cholelithiasis.
In Russian folk medicine, calamus rhizome is used as an analgesic, disinfectant.
In Ayurveda (the ancient medical science of India), calamus root is used for epilepsy and other mental disorders, chronic diarrhea, dysentery, glandular tumors and large tumors. It is used as a sedative (sedative) and pain reliever. Belongs to the Araceae family.
In cooking, calamus is used as a flavoring agent - for drinks, marinades, compotes, mousses, salads, even for gingerbread dough and candy filling.
And one more of its properties made calamus an integral component of domestic spices for fish: calamus causes a thickening of fish meat, gives it a delicate aroma and light bitterness.
Angelica officinalis (Archangelica officinalis L.)
The scent lives up to the name - just angelic! more precisely, Archangel, unless, of course, you bought it at a pharmacy. Unfortunately, in the best cases, pharmacy aromas are lost by 50%, and more often by 90% altogether. In general, a pharmacy is not for the first acquaintance with herbs-roots
The plant is used in folk medicine in many countries as anti-inflammatory and diuretic; antispasmodic and analgesic for vasospasm, headache and toothache; enhancing the secretory and motor function of the intestine, reducing fermentation processes; with depletion of the nervous system; diseases of the joints; with diseases of the respiratory tract mucosa.
In cooking, angelica is used to flavor drinks; fish angelica gives a spicy aroma and taste with a touch of light pungency and bitterness; the powder is part of the flavoring agent for sweets, confectionery and bakery products.
Angelica oil is part of the famous French liqueurs Chartreuse and Benedictine.