Lychee (aka “lisi,” “liji,” “Chinese plum,” “lycis,” “dragon's eye”) is a tasty and healthy fruit that can be found not only in Southeast Asia, but also in domestic supermarkets.
Recently,
these fruits have been exported to us mainly from Vietnam and Thailand. Nevertheless, many still do not know what taste and how to eat
lychee fruit. The benefits and harms of "Chinese plum" are of interest to many consumers. Let's try to figure this out.
What does a lychee look like?
This fruit is small (from 2.5 to 3.5 cm in diameter) and weighs about 15, maximum - 20 g. It has an oval or ovoid shape. The reddish or pinkish peel of the lychee is dense, but brittle, consists of numerous tubercles. The jelly-like juicy pulp of the fruit has a white or cream shade. It has an excellent, refreshing, sweet and sour taste and pleasant aroma. Inside the fruit is an inedible seed, oblong in shape, dark brown in color. This is what the lychee fruit looks like, the photo clearly demonstrates this.
This interesting fruit grows in clusters on the evergreen trees of the sapinda family, reaching a height of 30 m. They have a thick, spreading crown. Their leaves are dense and leathery, usually a deep dark green hue. Lychee trees bloom with numerous yellowish flowers, collected in hanging inflorescences, similar to "umbrellas."
Where did this tropical fruit come from ?
China is considered to be the birthplace of lychee, where this fruit has been grown for more than 1000 years. Since ancient times, the Chinese called this fruit "the eye of a dragon", because of the bright combination of red peel, white pulp and brown seed. In Europe, this delicious fruit was known only in the 17th century. Where's the lychee growing now? Today, the sapinda family trees actively bear fruit in the vast territories of Southeast Asia, Australia, the countries of South America and Africa (South Africa), as well as in the south of the USA. This fruit is exported to Russia mainly from the northern regions of Vietnam and Thailand. Harvest in the subtropics in May-June, cutting the bunches along with the stem part of the branch. Separately harvested fruits deteriorate extremely quickly and begin to roam.
Lychee - a storehouse of vitamins and minerals
This tropical fruit has a variety of beneficial properties, as it contains a lot of vitamins. The "dragon's eye" is rich in valuable micro and macro elements. The composition of the lychee includes vitamins of group B, including thiamine, riboflavin, niacin. Dragon Eye also contains vitamins K, E, H and folic acid. Vitamin C is especially high in its composition. In addition, lychee is rich in healthy dietary fiber and plenty of clean water. In addition, Chinese plum is also rich in minerals, including copper, fluorine, zinc, manganese, iodine. It contains phosphorus, sodium, calcium, iron, sulfur and potassium. The sugar content in lychee varies between 5-15% depending on the place of growth of the fetus.
Fruit Lychee. Benefit and harm
Such a high content of valuable vitamins, micro and macro elements, as well as fiber and pure water makes "Chinese plum" an extremely useful product. It saturates a person with necessary substances, gives strength and energy. Lychee has a wonderful tonic effect on the body as a whole, mobilizes the immune system. From ancient times in China it was known that the "dragon's eye" is the strongest natural aphrodisiac. He is able to rejuvenate the body, activate attraction and maintain the "love" functions at the proper level. Successfully used for the prevention and treatment of many serious diseases of lychee fruit. Its benefits and harms are, in fact, disproportionate. Believed
"Chinese plum" can not cause serious harm to human health. But its benefits are enormous. Nevertheless, caution is advised when consuming the fetus. Do not immediately eat too much lychee. Otherwise, an allergic reaction may occur. It manifests itself as acne on the skin and damage to the mucous membrane in the oral cavity. To begin with, you should try one or two fruits and track the reaction of the body. If everything is in order, you can fearlessly eat up to 250 g of "Chinese plum" per day (for adults). Children over 2 years old need to eat about 100 g of fruit. In the diet of one-year-old babies, lychee is undesirable. "Chinese plum" is contraindicated for those who have discovered its individual intolerance.
How is lychee fruit used in folk medicine? how is it useful?
This tropical fruit is widely used in folk oriental medicine. It can and should be used to prevent vitamin deficiency and anemia. Lychee is often used to prevent cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis, because it contains a significant amount of potassium.
The fetus also contains nicotinic acid, which positively affects lipid metabolism in the body. Helps cleanse blood of cholesterol and dilates blood vessels of lychee fruit. How useful is it yet? It is used to normalize blood sugar levels, so it is indicated for people with diabetes or hypoglycemia. In addition, on the basis of "Chinese plum", useful decoctions and infusions are made that normalize the work of the gastrointestinal tract, have a soft laxative effect, favorably affect the work of the liver and kidneys. Taking drugs with lychee is prescribed for people with lung diseases, including those suffering from bronchitis, asthma or having tuberculosis. These drugs make breathing easier and normalize the function of the respiratory system. Regular consumption of lychee is useful for those who have peptic ulcer, gastritis and pancreatic disease. In oriental medicine, "Chinese plum" in combination with lemongrass is used even for the treatment of cancer, including breast cancer. Is the lychee peel useful? It is no less valuable than the pulp of the fetus. Lychee peel is used to prepare decoctions and infusions with a pronounced diuretic effect. They contribute to the removal of excess fluid from body tissues, as well as increase the overall tone and improve well-being.
"Chinese plum" in diet food
Nutritionists recommend eating lychee in order to saturate the body with water, as well as reduce the feeling of hunger. The "Chinese plum" contains pectin. It allows you to quickly saturate the body, giving food beneficial intestinal microflora. Therefore, it is recommended to eat several lychee fruits before each meal, which will reduce the standard portion of food and not overeat. The calorie content of lychee is only 76 kcal / 100 g, so people who carefully monitor their weight can fearlessly eat it.
How to choose a good, fresh fruit in the store?
If you want to get high-quality, delicious fruits, you must be guided by the following simple rules. Firstly, when choosing a lychee, you need to pay attention to the color of its peel. It should be pink or red. The brown color indicates that the fruit has been torn from a tree for a long time and has already managed to deteriorate. The taste of dark-colored lychee will be unpleasant, and the smell will be more harsh and strong. The light yellow color of the fetus, on the contrary, indicates its immaturity. Such a fruit is also not worth buying. Secondly, when choosing a "Chinese plum" you need to pay attention to the presence of damage. A good fruit will not have any suspicious spots, dents, cracks. Thirdly, the lychee should be resilient, as if it would soon “burst”. Too soft or, conversely, a hard fruit should not be taken. Fourth, in the place where the stalk was located, there should be no white spots and mold. And finally, the smell of lychee should be pleasant, fresh, slightly reminiscent of the scent of a rose. Too heavy and sweet indicates overripeness and staleness of the fetus.
Dragon's Eye Cooking
How to eat lychee? The fruit only needs to be washed under running water, peeled from it, and then remove the inedible bone. Juicy fruit pulp can be eaten fresh. It resembles a mixture of strawberries, white grapes, currants and dried apricots lychee fruit. Its taste is pleasant, sweet and sour, fresh. In addition to fresh consumption, lychees are canned, dried, frozen and cooked. It makes drinks, desserts, including delicious ice cream, a variety of sauces, mousses, jellies. On the basis of lychee, they make excellent golden wine, with a pleasant fruity aromatic and soft sweet and sour aftertaste.
Dragon Eye is also used in the preparation of game dishes, meat and sea fish. In Chinese restaurants you can taste deep-fried shrimp with sweet and sour lychee sauce (Lichzhi Xia Qiu). If you manage to get a fresh "Chinese plum", be sure to try making homemade sweet and sour chicken with almonds and lychee sauce. In addition, the fruit is used in the preparation of various pastries, it is added to the filling of pies and pies, cookies and cakes are made from it.
How to store lychee?
The issue of keeping the dragon eye deserves special attention. In general, it is advisable to eat this fruit as soon as possible - on the first day after purchase. At room temperature, lychee can be kept fearlessly for 2-3 days. In the refrigerator, at 7 ° C, lychee can remain for one or two weeks, provided that the shell is intact and free from damage. In general, this fruit deteriorates quickly enough, its skin darkens and the amount of vitamins in its composition decreases. If you want to keep lychees for a long time, we advise you to peel the fruits and freeze them. You can also dry fruits or preserve. In China, salted lychees are stored inside bamboo stems. In India and in Vietnam, the whole fruit is dried, after which the peel becomes hard, and these fruits are called "nuts". In this article, we examined an interesting Chinese fruit - lychee, the benefits and harms of which worry many consumers. As you can see, the "Chinese plum" has virtually no contraindications and therefore can be safely eaten. Moreover, it is rich in vitamins, minerals and has a lot of undeniable advantages! Be sure to try this delicious exotic product.