The guelder-rose is tenderly called in the people by ""kalinushka"", ""Kalinka"", compose about it songs and fairy tales. These widespread wild plants long since serve people, give food and medicine, are applied in life. Kalina can be met in forests and coppices of Russia, in the Crimea, in the Urals and in Siberia. Meets in the nature of 8 species of a guelder-rose. The most popular among them - a guelder-rose ordinary.
The guelder-rose ordinary is the bush growing to 3.5-4 meters in height. The plant has grayish-brown bark and impressive opposite leaves, three - or pyatilopasny. In gardening there are grades which with success are grown up as garden culture. The guelder-rose at the end of May-June blossoms. Fruits are red, bitter and juicy stone fruit, ripen in September and can hang all winter that does a plant also very ornamental. The guelder-rose is planted along garden sites, especially on fertile and damp soils where it yields top yields of valuable berries.
Advantage and medicinal properties of a guelder-rose
The guelder-rose is put on one step with such ""heavyweight wild plants"" as a dogrose, bilberry, a cranberry. In fruits of a guelder-rose ordinary vitamin C - important antioxidant, is 1.5 times more, than in raspberry berries, fruits of a lemon and other citrus, and the haematogenic iron is 1.5 times more, than in a dogrose. It is a lot of in fruits of a guelder-rose micro and the macrocells necessary for a human body and also organic acids, tannins and sugars.
In the medicinal purposes use flowers of inflorescences, young escapes, bark, fruits, seeds.
What diseases the guelder-rose treats
The guelder-rose was always applied in Russia as the all-strengthening vitamin means. The guelder-rose is a natural antibiotic. Tea from a guelder-rose at catarrhal diseases is especially useful, to hoarseness of a voice, cough. There is the simplest and clear recipe: one tablespoon of berries is kneaded in a glass, filled in with hot boiled water and about 10 minutes allow to infuse. Add to infusion to taste sugar or honey. Such drink is useful to both adults, and children. Take such drink in heat a look.
The guelder-rose softly reduces arterial blood pressure, normalizes work of a cardiac muscle, raises hemoglobin and improves composition of blood. Juice of fruits of a guelder-rose is accepted as the prophylactic preventing appearance of malignant tumors.
Fresh berries are a purgative and help at headaches, at migraines. The guelder-rose is useful at a sore stomach and a duodenum and also at gallstone and pochechnokamenny diseases.
All parts of a plant have antiseptic property. Infusion from fruits, flowers - good cosmetic natural means in house conditions. After repeated washings by infusion the skin becomes clear and gentle. Such procedures help at treatment of eczema, gnoynichok, furuncles. At a tonsillitis rinsings of a throat, washing of a nose are useful.
Application of a guelder-rose as a product: simple recipes
It is known that food is not only food, but also the medicine helping the person to be healthy and strong, young and beautiful. For a long time fruits of a guelder-rose used in preparation of drinks, kissels, kvass. Undoubtedly, the less guelder-rose is exposed to heat treatment, the higher it medicinal and nutritive properties. There are some of very simple recipes allowing to expand application of a guelder-rose in cookery and to diversify the family menu with such valuable product.
Juice from a guelder-rose. Take 500 g of berries of a guelder-rose, 100 g of granulated sugar, 100 ml of water. From berries wring out juice. The remained raw materials after an extraction are filled in with water and boiled 5 minutes, filtered. Then connect broth to the squeezed-out juice, add sugar, stir and cool.
Such juice - a successful and nutritious basis for preparation of various dishes and drinks. Instead of sugar it is possible to use honey. The prepared juice (it is possible without sugar) when freezing doesn't lose the useful properties, and can be used at preparation of fruit drinks, kissels. Juice of a guelder-rose can give beautiful color to any drink. When using berries of a guelder-rose it is necessary to remember that along with acid, berries contain also bitterness which will be to the taste not to everyone. Therefore, applying them in cookery, it is necessary to adhere to certain proportions.
Guelder-rose compote with apples. In 2 liters of water dissolve 300 g of sugar and add 200 g of berries of a guelder-rose and 400-500 g of the apples cut on segments. Cook on fire about 10 minutes, cool.
Kissel from a guelder-rose. 50-70 grams of juice of a guelder-rose, 150 grams of sugar, 40-50 grams of potato starch and 2 liters of water will be required. Starch is dissolved in a small amount of water and a thin stream poured in the beginning to boil sweet water with guelder-rose juice, stirring slowly bring to the boil. Kissel is cooled and given warm or cold.
Crude guelder-rose jam. Berries separate from branches and garbage, delete begun to rot. Then in a colander wash a baking plate with water, display on a towel for removal of excess moisture. Then berries mill the blender or via the meat grinder, mix with sugar in a proportion 1:1, once again mix and display on dry jars, close polyethylene covers and store in the fridge. Addition of honey instead of sugar does this classical recipe to more nutritive and increases product value. And at addition in crude jam of honey and walnuts is the medicine capable to restore breakdown, to normalize pressure and to strengthen heart.
Freezing of a guelder-rose for the winter. It is one of light recipes. Prepare berries, wash out, dry from moisture and freeze in the freezer a la carte. Such vitamin raw materials can remain about one year. It is the fastest way to prepare natural medicine for the winter.
Apple jam with a guelder-rose. On 2.5 kg of apples - 800 g of a guelder-rose, 2.5 kg of granulated sugar. From a guelder-rose wring out juice and merge in separate ware. Cut out a core from apples and cut segments and fill up them with sugar. The prepared apples are a little boiled that the droplet of syrup didn't spread. Then in merge juice from a guelder-rose, bring to the boil and hot display on jars, close covers, allow banks to cool down.
The steamed-out berries of a guelder-rose use for a stuffing of pies and also this tasty delicacy if to add sugar or a spoon of honey. From seeds cook coffee. For this purpose they are washed out from a cover, dried, overroasted.
Juice from a guelder-rose is added to various sauces for meat and fish, tint vodka. Berries add to salads, to stewed cabbage.