The benefits and harms of Chinese garlic

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Many summer residents know such an unusual plant as Chinese garlic. It has many related names and combines the properties of onion and garlic. Among other things, it is grown for decorative purposes. The plant blooms very beautifully.

The benefits and harms of Chinese garlic

Controversy continues over the benefits of this plant. It has been used in Asian medicine for centuries and has been an effective cure for many diseases.

Description of garlic

The Chinese garlic plant is widespread throughout China. Over the past 10 years, it has also been grown in Europe and America. In fact, Chinese garlic is a representative of the onion family, but as such it does not have a bulb. Its scales are underdeveloped and tightly adhered to each other. They are called false bulbs.

Chinese young garlic has white heads, they are covered with a thin skin of white and lilac shades. Depending on the variety, there may be one or more cloves. Chinese garlic quickly builds up its green mass.

Its shoots are also used in cooking and are eaten fresh. During the season, one bulb grows 100-120 g of shoots of a presentation.

In addition to the common name that stuck with this plant, there are many others:

• Jusai;
• sweet onion;
• field onion;
• branched onion.

Its shoots have a spicy taste that combines notes of onion and garlic. The head has a pleasant pungent taste. Flower-bearing arrows are also used for food, which appear in his second year of the planting field.

Benefit and harm

Perennial Chinese garlic is used not only in cooking, but also in folk medicine. Due to the fact that the false bulb and its shoots contain a large amount of mineral salts and vitamins, fresh consumption of this vegetable can provide up to 60% of the body's daily need for these substances.

Studies of this plant still prove its benefits, but the possible harm should also be considered before eating this vegetable.

Benefit

Allspice is not only a source of vitamins and minerals, but also fiber. It is necessary for normal peristalsis of the stomach and intestines, and also speeds up metabolism and helps to eliminate toxins.

If you regularly eat Chinese garlic, you can:

1. Improve immunity during seasonal colds. The high content of vitamin C in the heads and shoots of allspice, helps to strengthen the body and increase its resistance. The first arrows appear in early spring, and the garlic turns green before the first frosts. You can also plant bulbs in your house or greenhouse and eat greens all winter.
2. Prevent exacerbation of gastritis and even cure peptic ulcer disease. In addition, false bulbs have a mild choleretic effect.
3. Strengthen the heart muscle and blood vessel walls. This is due to the high content of beta carotene and potassium.

In folk medicine, such garlic is used to prepare an alcoholic tincture. It is drunk in the morning on an empty stomach with a little water to remove worms from the body. Such a remedy can be used to treat adults and children over 3 years old.

Fresh salads with aromatic onions are recommended for people during periods of heavy physical or mental stress. The juice of this plant is also useful. It relieves irritation caused by insect bites. Also, green shoots are rubbed with a nettle burn.

This plant is often used as an appetite stimulant. The essential oils in the false bulb and green shoots irritate the taste buds and stimulate the production of saliva and gastric juice.

Harm

The piquant taste and pleasant aroma of the plant are based on essential oils, which are abundant in the stems and head. During breastfeeding, women are not recommended to eat meals with it, as milk can acquire a specific taste and the child will refuse to drink it.

You should also be careful for people with individual intolerance. The plant can cause severe allergic reactions. You should not include dishes with Dzhusai in the diet for those who suffer from pancreatitis, urolithiasis, and cholecystitis.

Chinese garlic in cooking

Benefits in lobules and arrows

Young shoots of this plant are traditional ingredients in many sauces and meat dishes. Even after heat treatment, they retain some of the beneficial properties and vitamins.

Most often, Dzhusai shooters are eaten fresh. Prepare from it:

• salads;
• sauces;
• sandwiches, etc.

Since the plant does not lose its beneficial properties during the freezing process, it is harvested in spring and summer, and then added to soups, roasts, cutlets and goulash. Many traditional Asian dishes contain this ingredient.

Growing Chinese Garlic

In order to receive vitamins and minerals throughout the year, you can grow Jusai in your garden plot or in a pot on your windowsill. Growing Chinese garlic is not difficult. He is not picky about the composition of the soil, watering and air humidity. Its only feature is thermophilicity. It is recommended to plant it in the southern regions and the central zone of the Russian Federation.

To simplify the cultivation of this crop, you need to know several rules for preparing the soil and caring for garlic.

Preparing for landing

In order to get a good harvest of both green shoots and heads, it is recommended to choose high-quality seed. It is worth giving preference to the seeds of a domestic producer, because they are more adapted to local climatic conditions.

In the spring, the bed is dug up and organic fertilizers are introduced into it in the form of rotted manure. So the harvest will be more abundant, and the heads will be larger.

Landing

Dzhusay is grown in two ways. Each of them is good in its own way. Most prefer to plant it from seed. They can be purchased at any seed store. Small black seeds are sown in early spring, as soon as the snow has melted and the ground has thawed. Planting in winter is not recommended, as the seeds can be damaged by frost, which greatly affects their germination.

Another way to grow Jusai in your garden is by dividing the bush. Every year the plant grows new young bulbs underground. To separate the entire bush, dug out and carefully divide it into 2-3 heads. They are planted in new places. Plants of domestic production lend themselves especially well to such planting. It is not difficult to tell them apart by their larger size.

Harvesting

Young shoots are cut 3-4 times per season. This must be done so often due to the rapid growth of the arrows, otherwise they become stiff, and their ends turn yellow and dry. The cut greens are stored in a cool place, the canvas wrapped in a plastic bag. This way it stays fresh longer.

The bulbs are dug out only when necessary or for repotting in the spring. Store them in a cool, dark place with good ventilation. They perfectly retain their taste until the new season.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that sweet onions are dangerous for some categories of the population, in all other cases they are very useful. But it's not just the beneficial properties that make this scented onion so popular. Its zesty, tangy flavor is the perfect seasoning for many first and second courses.

You should not eat this vegetable if there are contraindications to its use. This can cause exacerbation of urolithiasis, movement of stones in the gallbladder and attacks of pancreatitis. It is also worth noting the fact that scented onions are dangerous by an allergic reaction to them.