Such vegetable as vegetable marrow, is known to all. But very few people guess a set of useful properties of this of vegetable ordinary-looking by sight which is, appears, related to pumpkin. Vegetable marrows are white, green, yellow and even black, and their pulp differs in tenderness. And though this vegetable has no expressed taste, it is widely used in cookery and, besides, is recommended for application in house cosmetology. So let's consider this surprising vegetable in details.
Caloric content and chemical composition
The vegetable marrow belongs to low-calorie products and contains only 24 kcal in 100 grams.
And combination of proteins, fats and carbohydrates such:
- proteins – 0.6 g;
- fats – 0.3 g;
- carbohydrates – 4.6 g.
But at the same time this vegetable has very broad chemical composition, than and its remarkable properties are caused:
- the structured water;
- B1, B2, B9 vitamins;
- vitamin C;
- RR vitamin;
- apple acid;
- minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, zinc, manganese, selenium, copper).
Besides above-mentioned substances, very necessary for our organism, this vegetable contains cellulose and food fibers.
Advantage for an organism
The vegetable marrow brings us big benefit not only in terms of cookery and dietology, but also it is very respected by cosmetologists and folk healers.
It is possible to distinguish the following from useful properties of this vegetable:
- Normalizes digestive system that is very important in old age.
- Is a dietary product, accelerates a metabolism and helps with fight against excess weight.
- It is possible to give to babies, since seven-months age.
- Strengthens a cardiovascular system and lowers cholesterol indicators.
Strengthen a cardiovascular system by means of cowberry, cashew, yogurt, radish of daikon, tomato juice, ginger, dried apricots.
- Has soft diuretic effect that helps at the elevated pressure and diseases of kidneys and a liver.
- Brings excessive salts out of an organism therefore it can be applied to prevention of diseases of joints.
- Juice from a fresh vegetable marrow calms nervous system.
- Vegetable flowers in traditional medicine use in the form of broth at problems with skin.
- Seeds of vegetable marrows are included creams for improvement of work of sebaceous glands.
- The crushed pulp of vegetable has bleaching, moistening and anti-cellulite effects.
- Except all this, from a vegetable marrow it is possible to prepare a huge number of dishes which will help to diversify our menu with advantage for health.
What to pay attention upon purchase to
It is possible to buy vegetable marrows both in supermarkets, and in the markets.
The main thing is to conform to the simple rules not to do harm to the organism:
- To buy fruits during their natural maturing: the middle of May – the end of July.
- Optimum length of vegetable has to be up to 20 cm, and weight – up to 350 g. The big fruits which were already overripe in them there are a lot of seeds, and in food such are no good.
- Pay attention to a peel. It has to be thin and smooth. And here the thick peel at small vegetable marrows can speak about processing by hazardous substances.
- On vegetable dents, dark stains, damages should not be visible. It can demonstrate to long storage or rotting of a product.
How to store in house conditions
There are several ways which are applied to storage of a vegetable marrow of the house. Everything depends on that, what is the time you need to store this vegetable and also from those conditions which you can create.
The very first and plain way of storage – in the fridge. In such a way it is possible to keep vegetables within half a year.
Important! Even in cold vegetables are not insured from rotting therefore before preparing something from them, it is necessary to examine them attentively.
That vegetable marrows remained in the fridge longer, it is necessary to perform couple of simple operations:
- you should not wash the vegetables only bought, just wipe them with a dry rag;
- prepare a plastic bag and previously make in it openings for intake of air;
- put vegetables in a package and densely tie;
- now it is possible to put at last a package of vegetable marrows in special office for storage of vegetables.
If you want to keep vegetable marrows for longer term, or you have no excess place in the fridge, then it is possible to store them in freezing office.
Such way is very convenient for preparation of dishes as you can cut them especially for definite purposes.
For example, for vegetable stew cut in cubes, and for frying it is possible to cut rings or in any other way, convenient for you.
After all of you cut, spread out vegetable marrows to a pallet and freeze them. Then shift them in plastic bags and use when it is necessary.
Whether you know? Freezing is not only convenient way of storage of products, but also the most useful. The fact is that at such way of storage all useful properties of products remain in original form. Therefore safely freeze vegetables and fruit that even in the winter to receive substances, necessary for an organism, from natural sources.
It is possible to store vegetable marrows even just in the apartment, but for this purpose too it will be required to create some conditions:
- wipe vegetable marrows with a dry rag, accurately removing from them all dirt;
- storage requires the dark and dry place. It can be the place under a bed or the storeroom, or any other place where there are such conditions.
Consider that vegetable marrows are stored in such conditions not for long – about three months therefore it is necessary to eat them as soon as possible.
Well and the last method which is already used more and more seldom, especially in city conditions, – storage in a cellar.
If you the happy owner of a cellar, or at you are the private house with the cellar, then, of course, you do not ask a question where to keep products for the winter.
In a cellar and places there is a lot of, and it is rather cool that vegetables and fruit were stored long time.
But that they were stored even longer, we can give several advice:
- try to store vegetable marrow fruits separately from each other that is so that they did not adjoin;
- air the room for storage more often;
- if one vegetable marrow decayed, then immediately remove it from all others because the others can begin to decay too.
What can be prepared and what it is combined with
Fruits of a vegetable marrow are simply created for culinary experiments, they are combined with very many products, for example, with meat, grain, other vegetables, dairy products, eggs and so on. Ways of preparation also weight – frying, cooking, roasting, suppression, pickling.
It is possible to make the most tasty caviar which was very popular in the USSR of vegetable marrows and now its many love and prepare, marrow fritters, vegetable stew to add them to vegetable soup, to bake with cheese and spices, to make baked pudding or just to fry ringlets. Fruits of a vegetable marrow is a fine garnish for meat or fish, also they are often used in the most various salads, pickled as cucumbers in banks.
As a garnish also use lentil, bulgur, haricot siliculose, a kinoa.
Vegetable marrows are very popular vegetables which are cooked worldwide, using the unique methods.
For example, in the countries of Asia these vegetables are steamed, and given with dense sauce which name chutney.
Ginger, hot pepper, coco, lemon juice, nuts, sour fruit and spices is its part.
In the western countries the people watching over the health like to eat crude vegetable marrows or to drink from them fresh juice. And in South America eat even young escapes and leaves.
Whether you know? Earlier the vegetable marrow was used only as an ornamental plant because of its beautiful large flowers, however soon to people also the remarkable taste of the fruits growing instead of inflorescences opened.
Thus, fruits of this vegetable can be used for preparation of various culinary masterpieces, besides such dishes will not only have excellent taste, but also will be very useful.
Masks for beauty and health of face skin and hair: recipes
Fruits of a vegetable marrow found the application and in cosmetology: many women and girls cook from this vegetable of a mask to improve and fill with useful substances face skin and hair.
For production of masks use also such vegetables as spinach, carrots, pumpkin, a celery, green radish.
The positive effect is guaranteed against such masks, the vegetable marrow contains vitamin E which interferes with skin aging, zinc and copper which are protection against harmful ultra-violet radiation and also the manganese improving microcirculation of vessels of skin.
In the course of drawing a mask and its preparation it is necessary to remember:
- the vegetables bought on a mask have to be fresh, they need to be washed up well;
- you have to know the type of skin before drawing a mask not to overdry it or to cause formation of heat-spots;
- your leather has to be purified from dirt;
- it is necessary to wash away a mask accurately, slightly warm water;
- there is a possibility of an allergy;
- if at skin there is a large number of hair, then it is better to consult with the expert.
So, if you the owner of dry skin, then such mask is useful to you:
- well wash out vegetable marrows and cut with thin stripes;
- put stripes on area of the face and neck and wait a quarter of hour;
- after that wash by means of warm water or not boiled milk.
It is important! That pieces of a vegetable marrow did not slide off a face and a neck, the procedure is recommended to be carried out in horizontal position and to enclose a towel under the head.
This plain mask consisting only of one ingredient will perfectly fill water balance for your dry type of skin.
Also apply masks with addition of blueberry, rosemary, hempy, peach and rape oils, hawthorn fruits to dry skin, Semyon of a flax.
At dry skin it is possible to make still such nutritious mask: that to prepare it, take a yolk, a teaspoon of fresh marrow juice and mix everything.
Put a mask on a face and 20 minutes later wash away it by means of warm water, and in conclusion drench the person with cold water.
In case you have the fat or combined skin, mix in suitable capacity the pounded vegetable marrow and the oat-flakes which are previously steamed out in a proportion 1 to 2. Put on a face and wait for full drying of mix. Further wash away it slightly warm water. Thanks to such recipe, excessive skin fat is eliminated, and skin takes a well-groomed form.
The mask against wrinkles is popular among already more mature ladies.
For preparation of a mask from wrinkles use a cornel, a peppermint, sea-buckthorn and fir oils, parsley, fennel, a girasol.
For its preparation take the third part of an average by the vegetable marrow size, clean and rub on a small grater.
Add one tablespoon of honey to marrow weight and carefully mix.
Put mix on a face and wait 20 minutes, then wash. This means effectively eliminates small wrinkles and reduces emergence of new.
For improvement of a condition of hair and delay of process of formation of a gray hair before washing of the head it will be useful to rub marrow juice in skin. If your hair became dry, fragile and unattractive, then you can be helped by such marrow mask: squeeze out juice of one fruit, add to it a tablespoon of olive oil and a little milk.
Evenly apply mix on all length of hair at least for half an hour, further well wash out hair and, using shampoo, wash up the head as usual.
Contraindications and harm
Any, even the most useful product can be in certain cases not desirable for the use. And vegetable marrow here not an exception.
Carefully it is necessary to eat vegetable marrows at diseases of stomach and kidneys. The fact is that in the raw they can cause irritation of a stomach, and because of high content of potassium – violation in work of kidneys. And therefore if there is a presence of similar illnesses, it is the best of all to consult on this matter with the treating doctor not to do harm and not to cause exacerbation of a disease.
In conclusion we will tell that a vegetable marrow — very surprising vegetable. It has a low caloric content, but it is a lot of useful properties. And absolutely insignificant contraindications do not belittle its advantage in any way.
And if you are healthy, then eat this vegetable in a large number in different types, do broths, masks and receive the maximum advantage.