When you think of "the first melon of summer", who comes to mind first? Watermelon? Cucumber? Or bitter melon? In fact, in the eyes of Chinese medicine practitioners, they are not as good as winter melons, and they are more suitable for taking on this name.
What is the "good" of winter melon that can get such a high evaluation?
Winter melon likes to be warm and heat-resistant, ripe in summer, in fact, it is "summer melon". The reason why it is called winter melon, one theory is that after it matures, there will be a layer of waxy white powder on the surface, which looks like the white frost of winter; Another theory is that because of this layer of waxy white powder, winter melons that have not been cut can be stored for the winter.
Winter melon is a good medicinal food, and is a vegetable that is very suitable for summer.
1 Anti-heat stroke, anti-fatigue products
Winter melon is a typical high potassium and low sodium vegetables, potassium and sodium ratio of 43:1, very suitable for summer sweating, as well as high blood pressure, puffy people to eat, can help prevent heat stroke to a certain extent, stabilize blood pressure, relieve edema, reduce the burden on the heart.
2 Good choices for whitening and nourishing the skin
The moist taste of winter melon has a water content of more than 96%, and its vitamin C content is also relatively rich, which is 3 times that of apples. Eat it often in the summer, which helps to replenish moisture, reduce melanin composure, and has a certain whitening and emollient effect.
3 Ideal ingredients for fat control and weight loss
The calorie of winter melon is very low, only about 10kacl per 100 grams of calories. In addition, it contains a high dietary fiber, so the feeling of fullness is relatively strong, which is very friendly to people who control weight loss.
In traditional Chinese medicine, winter melon is a "good hand" for clearing heat and relieving heat, diuretic laxative, moisturizing lungs and coughing, which has auxiliary therapeutic effects on edema, cough and asthma, summer heat, thirst quenching and other symptoms, and can also detoxify alcohol poison, fish poison and so on. To say that it is the "first melon of summer" is indeed worthy of its name.
Winter melon is not only a good choice for the summer diet, but also a "good actor" in vegetables. This is mainly reflected in the taste and shape of the two aspects.
flavor
Because the winter melon has a long preservation time, the price is cheap, and the taste itself is light, after adding ingredients and seasoning, it can become a variety of flavors, so in the past, many pastries on the market, such as fruit mooncakes, wife cakes, pineapple crisps, etc., the filling inside is actually made of winter melon.
However, now with the change of consumption concepts, merchants are also paying more and more attention to quality, so winter melon filling is less used.
sculpt
Winter melon is large, and soft and hard, so the "plasticity" in terms of shape is also very strong, often used to "imitate" meat. Braised meat made of it can not only be fake and real in appearance, but also less greasy, more sweet, the taste is very good, very suitable for people with high blood lipids and need to reduce meat intake to meet their stomachs
Braised vegetarian east slope
Directions: Boil water in a pot, add salt, cut the melon pieces, cook for 5 minutes on high heat, until the winter melon is transparent and serve, dipped in soy sauce to color. Absorb the excess water on the surface of the winter melon, put it in the pan and fry, add green onion, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon and stir-fry to make it fragrant, pour in the braised sauce, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, collect the juice on high heat to get out of the pot.
Braised sauce recipe: salt, oyster sauce, rock sugar, soy sauce, soy sauce, water, of which the ratio of soy sauce to soy sauce is 5:1.
In fact, winter melon is not only the meat of winter melon can be eaten, but also the skin of winter melon and the seeds of winter melon, which are usually thrown away as kitchen waste, and also have good health effects.
Winter melon peel
Winter melon skin sweet taste cool, to the spleen, small intestine meridian, it has a very good diuretic and swelling effect, the effect is even better than the winter melon meat, often used to assist in the treatment of unfavorable urination, body swelling, hot thirst and other symptoms.
Winter melon seeds
Winter melon seeds have the effect of moisturizing the lungs and dissolving phlegm, eliminating carbuncles and draining pus, which can help clear lung heat, regulate intestinal damp heat, and are very suitable for people with phlegm fever to eat.
So what are the good health uses of winter melon peel and winter melon seeds?
Two soups in the second winter
Directions: When adults take it, take 30 grams of winter melon peel, winter melon seed, reed root, and white grass root, heat and boil.
This formula helps to remove lung fire and stomach fire, suitable for daily bloating, less stool, difficult stool, dry throat and nasal cavity, oral odor and other symptoms of people to drink, it is best not to drink people with weak constitution.
Winter melon barley soup
Directions: Take 30 grams of barley, soak overnight in advance, put in a pot of boiling water and cook until flowering. Take the two-finger-wide winter melon, wash it, cut the seeds into pieces with the belt and put them in a pot, and cook them with barley for 30 minutes.
Even the winter melon with the belt seed and barley are used together to protect the heart and help nourish the lungs, and people with heart disease or bad lungs can drink it often. However, people with perennial stool diarrhea and weak tongue should drink less as appropriate.
Winter melon tea
Directions: Pickle the skin of the winter melon and the melon with brown sugar for a while. Boil water in a pot, add winter melon peel, winter melon and roses and cook for 5 minutes, then add two slices of lemon to get out of the pot.
Brown sugar is warm and can help neutralize the coldness of winter melon peels; The rose flower has the effect of relieving depression and blood stasis. They are added to the winter melon tea to relieve the heat and dampness while not hurting the yang qi, which is also good for alleviating summer upset.
Finally, let's talk about how to pick a delicious winter melon.
Look at the appearance
The whole winter melon should be picked with a well-proportioned shape and no spots. If there is a layer of white powder on the epidermis, it means that it is relatively fresh.
Sliced winter melon can observe the meridians and texture on its melon, generally the meridians are rough, the texture is light green and clearly visible, the taste will be better.
Sweep the weight
Looking at the weight of the winter melon, two winter melons of similar size, generally the heavier the water, the more abundant the water, the tighter the flesh, and the relatively fresher.
Press with your hand
Use your finger to gently press the winter melon, press it to the quality of the hard state; If it is soft and collapsed when pressed, it may be stored for too long or overcooked.
Comprehensive health care for the country doctor