Rhubarb, the benefits and harms of which will be highlighted in this article, can be called a unique plant. For our grandmothers, this is a synonym for a delicious filling for
sweet pastries. But in addition to excellent taste, rhubarb also has useful properties. Let's look at its advantages, not forgetting to mention contraindications.
Rhubarb stalk - how is it good for us?
By the content of vitamins, this product can be compared with apples. In some ways, rhubarb, the benefits and harms of which are known to many who have been on fruit diets or fond of home canning, even surpasses these fruits. It contains a lot of pectin, organic acids, mineral salts (including calcium), magnesium, phosphorus. Rhubarb is low-calorie (sixteen kilocalories in one hundred grams of fresh product).
But, since it has a strong sour taste, which requires a large amount of sugar to neutralize, it must be used with caution in baking. Among its
useful properties, it is necessary to mention the laxative and choleretic effect, the ability to exert a general strengthening effect, a positive effect on the cardiovascular system. The root of this plant is used for inflammation (adnexitis, cholecystitis, rheumatism, pneumonia).
Rhubarb - benefits and harms
Any medicinal plant has contraindications for use.
In large doses, the rhubarb stalk is harmful for those who suffer from acute inflammation of the digestive tract, gastritis, hemorrhoids with frequent exacerbations and bleeding, diabetes, rheumatism, gout, and urolithiasis, in which oxalate stones form. The plant accumulates harmful
oxalic acid by the end of summer. Therefore, it is safer to use rhubarb, the benefits and harms of which are different in each individual case, in early summer and late spring. To reduce the concentration of harmful acid, stalks are recommended to be allowed in a small amount of water.
Rhubarb Dishes
The small sugar content of the stems, as well as the high concentration of malic acid, allows them to be used in baking. In German, Swedish, Danish cuisines, many recipes with rhubarb. Most of them are sweet foods. A distinctive feature of rhubarb is its good compatibility with many products and spices. For example, in pies and jams it is combined with strawberries, ginger, citrus zest, cinnamon and cloves are added to dishes and fillings from rhubarb. You can make a great variety of light, bright and tasty salads from it. To do this, use both a raw stalk of rhubarb and stewed or canned. For example, the salad from this product, slices of orange (peeled from white skin), grated carrots and greens looks great and tastes great. Rhubarb sauce is a good addition to meat, it has a pleasant sourness. In order to cook dishes from this product, you need to take dishes that are not susceptible to oxidation - iron or brass will not work. Remember that severely digesting the petioles, you make it coarse and tough. He needs a very short heat treatment, in which the benefits of rhubarb only increase.