The growth of the world's population requires more products. Vegetable oil is no exception. The world produces and consumes a huge amount of it. On the territory of Russia, sunflower oil is the most common - one of the types of vegetable oil. In addition to it, there are still several dozen varieties, all of which have a name according to the plant or fruit from which it is produced. The most popular include palm, soybean, rapeseed, olive and sunflower. Moreover, they differ in terms of world production and consumption, for example, palm oil occupies a leading position, accounting for 36%, soybean oil is in second place - 26%, rapeseed oil is in third - 15%, and sunflower oil is only in fourth, occupying 9 percent of the total. .
What is it made from
Palm oil is extracted from the fruits of the oil palm tree, which is native to West Africa. Its Latin name - Elaeisguineensis - translates as "olive" (elaion) and "Guinean" (guineensis). For the first time, mention of it is found in the records of merchants traveling the African continent, dated to the 15th century. Today, however, Indonesia and Malaysia have become the main suppliers of this natural product. It is not difficult to guess why - thanks to the perseverance and hard work of these East Asian peoples, and of course the warm and humid climate there. One third of the world's palm oil is grown and produced in these regions. In nature, palm trees can reach 30 meters, cultivated varieties - 15 meters. The tree begins to bear fruit at the age of 3-4 years. From one hectare of young palms, you can collect up to 3 tons of fruits, from mature plants - up to 15 tons. Plantation-grown palm trees yield 2-4 crops per year. The fruits of the oil palm tree, similar to plums, grow in whole seedlings - many thousands of "heaps" weighing from 25 kilograms.
What are the fruits of the palm tree
Looks like oil palm fruit similar to a plum or a date, under the pericarp of which there is an oily pulp, then follows a nut shell with an inner core (oil is also prepared from it - palm kernel oil).
What are the main types of oils made from the fruits of the oil palm
palm oil color directly depends on the color of the flesh of the fruit. It can have a wide color spectrum: from yellowish to dark red. Its scent is reminiscent of violets. After processing, including rectification (separation into components), bleaching and deodorization, it can be used in food. Basically, the refined product is used in the frying process, as a salad dressing. It is also one of the components in the preparation of ice cream, chips, "quick" cereals, chocolate, various bakery and confectionery, sausages, mayonnaise, etc.
Palm kernel oil extracted from kernels very similar in characteristics to coconut, and is often used with / instead of it. The process of production and processing of this species is more complex and expensive. It is produced in smaller quantities and is valued more than usual. The scope of the palm kernel product is the production of high-quality expensive cosmetics and perfumes.
About useful and harmful properties
It's impossible not to say that there are types according to the degree of processing: raw, refined and technical.
The most expensive of them is the first - raw. But it does not occur with us. Unrefined palm oil contains a lot of vitamin E, provitamin A, carotenoids. This is the positive side of the product properties.
Its harm lies in:
- high content of saturated fats,
- high melting point, or refractoriness,
- low levels of linoleic acid.
If such a degree of benefit / harm possesses that has not been purified, then the refined benefit loses - that's for sure, and the harmful characteristics increase.
next view according to the degree of processing - technical. Most often, this type is used for the production of inexpensive cosmetics and technological lubricants. It is the cheapest. And therein lies the trick. Many food manufacturers add a technical variety to their production process in order to save money. There is no need to talk about its harmfulness. It is enough just to remember the raw product and increase it eleven times!
Buy or not buy products that include palm oil - everyone decides for himself.
Did you know that date palms are divided into male and female? The male specimen has a different type of flowers, which makes it possible to distinguish it from the female "individual". Since ancient times, it has been known that good harvest need male and female date palms. For several dozen women's - one man's. One palm tree can produce a quarter of a ton of dates.
A palm tree is ideally suited for life in the desert: its trunk can protect not only from heat, but also from cold too. Dead leaves provide additional protection. By the way, fresh palm leaves are very durable and the inhabitants of the corresponding latitudes make clothes from them. Thus, people are well protected from the scorching sun and dust. In very hot weather, the palm tree grows only at night, resting during the day.
But how does a date palm in the desert do without water? Fortunately, without water, it does not grow. The reality is that the date only grows where groundwater comes fairly close to the surface, and with its powerful, long roots, the palm tree can reach them. The surroundings form an oasis, to the delight of those who travel through the arid regions. You, if you decide to grow a date palm at home, do not worry - in our latitudes, even in the greatest heat, the date will feel great.
Of the five thousand varieties of dates, everything can be divided into three groups: dry, semi-dry and juicy. Naturally, juicy ones are the most expensive and tasty, but in many respects they are inferior to dry ones. The latter are known for strengthening the walls of blood vessels, have antioxidant and antiradical activity.
Peaches, of course, do not grow on the Venezuelan peach palm. Its eighteen-meter trunk and even leaves are covered with very sharp needle-like spines that protect ripening fruits from people and animals.
Egg-shaped bright red or orange-yellow fruits the size of a small peach or apricot hang in huge grape-like clusters. The fleshy outer part of the fruit tastes like a chestnut and if you boil it in salt water, you get a delicious dish, rich in vitamins. Sometimes these fruits are roasted and eaten with molasses or sprinkled with sugar syrup. In Central and South America, peach palms are planted in whole plantations.
In Upper Egypt, the doom palm grows (in other places it is called the ginger palm). An interesting feature distinguishes it from other palms. On a tree 10-12 meters high, 3-4 branches grow. Each of them ends with a bunch of fan-shaped leaves, between which flowers appear: on one tree - female, on the other - male. In female trees, the flowers are replaced by large clusters of beautiful shiny yellow-brown fruits. There are up to 200 of them in one bunch. The ginger palm is the most important source of food for the poor in Egypt (they eat the fibrous mealy husk of the fruit, which tastes like gingerbread).
Doom palm - the only branching palm in the world
In the swampy forests and flooded lowlands of tropical America, Africa and Madagascar, the raffia palm tree grows, from the sweet juice of which wine is made. The fruits and apical bud of raffia are used as food as a vegetable, and oil is pressed from the seeds.
Another genus of wine palms is jubea. It combines honey or wine, palm, elephant and wonderful Chilean. They grow in the mountains along the Pacific coast of Chile up to a height of 1200 meters.
Their smooth 25-meter trunks with a diameter of about a meter serve as a source of sweet juice up to 400 liters from one adult tree, which, in turn, is used to make molasses (hence the name honey palm) and wine. The fruit is 4-5 centimeters long with edible pulp similar to a coconut. The leaves are used to make fiber and also serve as roofing material.
The main source of vegetable oil in the tropics is the fruits of coconut and oil palms. The oil palm grows in the western part of Equatorial Africa. On a trunk about 30 meters high, bearing over 150 three-meter pinnate leaves, clusters of drupe fruits hang. One such brush consists of 600-800 fruits and weighs up to 25 kilograms. The seeds of the fruit contain about 50% of the so-called palm oil used to make margarine.
In Oceania, along with the coconut palm, which gives milk and butter, grows breadfruit. All types of trees of the genus Artocarpus of the mulberry family are called breadfruit. They bear fruit in "loaves" weighing up to 12 kg! In the pulp of oval fruits, starch accumulates, which, as it ripens, turns into ... dough. “If someone plants a breadfruit tree, he will do more to feed his descendants than a grain grower. cultivating his field all his life in the sweat of his brow .. ”- wrote James Cook.
Usually breadfruit trees bear fruit for 70-75 years. On one tree, 700-800 “loaves” ripen annually. The fruits are filled with sweet pulp. Drinks are made from unripe fruits, and something similar to bread is baked from ripe ones. The fruits of the Indian breadfruit tree are impressive - up to a meter in diameter! The branches could not withstand such a load, so the "loaves" grow right on the trunk. The African breadfruit traculia has smaller fruits - up to half a meter in diameter and weighing up to 14 kg. In Madagascar, the patriarch of breadfruit trees has been preserved - 20 m high, trunk girth 50 m.
And from the starch of the sago palm growing in New Guinea, pancakes are made. The palm tree blooms at the age of 16, it is true, it is cut down, before flowering, when the largest amount of starch is in its core. The core is removed, pressed through a small sieve onto a hot metal surface and sago is made, from which the palm is called sago.
Without any processing, you can use the milky juice of the milk tree itself - the Venezuelan galactodendron. In composition, it is close to cow's milk and resembles cream with sugar! And if the juice is boiled, then a delicious curd mass is formed.
In Madagascar, you can admire a stunning tree from the Begonia family with bizarre fruits. It is called sausage, because on its branches there are a lot of brown sausage-shaped fruits randomly hanging on long stalks. Each such "sausage" can be about half a meter long and 10 cm in diameter. However, this is also the name of the Japanese aukuba. Its leathery leaves are covered with golden yellow spots and dots, somewhat reminiscent of pieces of fat on a sausage cut. The resemblance, however, is rather distant.
Off the east coast of Africa - the focus of strange, peculiar forms of plant life. Here, on the rocky slopes of the mountains, you can find a cucumber tree (Dendrosicyos socotrana) - a plant with prickly wrinkled leaves, thorny, similar to ordinary cucumber fruits and a thick stem swollen with milky juice, consisting of soft whitish cellular tissue, which is easily cut with a knife. It is the only tree in the gourd family.
On the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, a palm tree also grows, the thickened juice of nuts of which, in its own way, palatability almost indistinguishable from butter.
There are also plants - "lollipops". For example, the leaves of the Paraguayan stevia shrub are more than 300 times sweeter than sugar, while the leaves of Mexican sugar grass are 1,000 times sweeter. The red berries of the herbaceous plant Toumatokus dannelii from the African savannah are 2,000 times sweeter than sugar, and the red berries of Dioscorephyllum cumminisia from the forests of Nigeria and other West African countries are 3,000 times sweeter. In West Africa, the sweetest plant grows - the ketemf shrub, which contains the substance toumatin, which is 100,000 times sweeter than sugar!
On the islands of Oceania there is a type of tropical tree - "cakes". They grow in abundance yellowish fruits that taste like sweet cakes.
Candy tree, or Japanese raisin tree, is a representative of the buckthorn family, native to Japan and China - sweet hovenia. To be precise, they are actually dry, and the taste of this vegetable candy is not for everyone: it resembles sour inedible raisins, but the twisted axis of the inflorescence holding them is juicy and fleshy. Each tree can produce 35 kg of "candy", neither sweet nor rum-flavored.
In the forests grows the plant calir-kanda, called in the local dialect “deceive the stomach”. After eating 1-2 leaves of it, a person feels full for a whole week, despite the fact that there are no nutrients in the leaves. Due to the ability to create the illusion of satiety, tablets and infusions from the leaves of calir-kanda are recommended for people who want to lose weight.
A plant like a palm tree represents jubilation, a sunny beginning, glory and honesty. The straight trunk of the palm symbolizes triumph, blessing and victory. The constancy of the palm tree in its irreplaceable foliage, permanent greenery gave reason to associate the power of the tree with the symbol of victory. No wonder the palm branch has long been awarded to the winner along with the laurel wreath. The palm among the peoples of the territories in which it grows is a tree of life, self-reproducing like an androgynous.
The image of a palm tree without fruits symbolizes the masculine principle and in many cultures is associated with the phallic symbol - the basis of male power. Palm tree with dates symbolizes the feminine and fertility.
The palm tree, both at a young and at an old age, bearing a large number of fruits, became a symbol of prosperity and longevity in old age.
Different countries endow the palm tree with their own symbolism, so in China the palm tree means dignity, fertility and retirement, in Arabia the palm tree is the tree of life. In Christianity, the palm tree characterizes the righteous, immortality, the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem, divine blessing, paradise, and the triumph of the martyr before death. Separately, palm branches represent triumph and glory, victory over death, sin, and resurrection. Early Catholicism associated the palm tree with burial and ranks this plant as a symbol of the person who made the pilgrimage. In Egypt, the palm tree is counted among the calendar trees, which let out a new branch only once a month. In Greece, the palm tree is the emblem of Apollo of Delos and Delphi.
Palm trees in the tropics are common. There are many varieties of palm trees. They differ not only appearance but also fruits. What kind of fruits do not have palm trees. There are fruits in palm trees large, medium, small.
There are palms on which there is one fruit, but very large. More often there are fruits, which are very numerous on palm trees.
They are collected in brushes. Brushes with fruits hang from palm trees without touching the trunks. 
Some fruits are found next to the trunks of palm trees. 
In the botanical garden, on the site, a plant that looks like a palm tree forms a very large fruit. Although not heavy, the dimensions are impressive. 
I don't have room to grow any type of palm. That's why I don't try to grow them. So for fun I plant some fruits of palm trees. 
Just to see how they germinate and what palm seedlings look like. From the fruits of nearby growing palm trees falling to the ground, small plants constantly appear on the ground. These plants are simply removed when the grass is cut. I also remove these plants as unnecessary weeds. Somehow, at the very beginning of my stay here, I put a coconut on the ground. A sprout has formed. Leaves have appeared. But there is no further growth. The soil in this place is completely unsuitable for plants. This is building sand with cement, which was used to level the area near the house. The coconut tree does not die, but it does not grow either. This suits me, as it would close the already narrow passage in this place. It seems a pity to throw it away - after all, the plant is alive. Twice I also planted small fruits of palm trees brought from other places. The fruits were attractive to look at. There was no rapid growth. Perhaps more time was needed. If these fruits germinate, then I will see it. Since the sprouts of palm trees are very strong and it is impossible not to notice them.
Description of peach palm fruits, taste and aromatic characteristics. Chemical composition, benefit and harm. How are palm peaches eaten? Popular recipes.
The content of the article:
Peach palm (lat. Bactris gasipaes) is a plant of the Palm family without a voluminous crown, which has a not very thick trunk up to 30 m high with evergreen leaves, the length of which can be 3.6 m. The flowers are yellow-white in color, the fruits are edible, yellow, orange or red, depending on the season, are collected in clusters of 50-70 pieces, the skin is thin. Inside lies a juicy pulp with a sweet aftertaste and one large bone. The jungle of South America is called the birthplace of this palm tree - Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia. In the wild, it grows mainly along the shores of the Amazon, and is cultivated in Costa Rica and India, the Philippines, in a word, in the tropics, where all year round hot and sunny. In food, the fruits are most often consumed in a fried or boiled form.
Composition and calorie content of peach palm fruits
The calorie content of peach palm fruits has not been fully elucidated, but it is definitely low. But it is known that 100 g of pulp contains 37 g of carbohydrates necessary to maintain vitality for high level and improving performance.
Consider the benefits of vitamins in the composition of fruits:
- Vitamin C. Ensures the normal functioning of the immune system, increases defensive forces body and does not get sick, especially in winter.
- Vitamin E. Necessary for the timely regeneration of tissues after injuries, maintaining the water-salt balance, preventing diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
- Vitamin A. Promotes a good metabolism, which eliminates the appearance of obesity, diabetes and a number of other problems. It is a powerful antioxidant that neutralizes the negative effects of free radicals and thus prevents premature aging and the growth of neoplasms.
- Vitamin B. With its help, the condition of the skin, nails, hair improves, the level of hemoglobin normalizes, visual acuity increases, all metabolic processes in the body are restored and bad cholesterol is removed from the blood.
- Vitamin K. Participates in the work of the liver, kidneys, gallbladder, pancreas. It is also important that it neutralizes the strongest and most dangerous poisons - aflatoxin, coumarin, etc. This reduces the likelihood of the appearance of cancer cells and reduces their number in time if they are nevertheless formed.
Particularly worth highlighting magnesium and potassium which have a positive effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system. They strengthen the heart muscle, normalize its contractions and supply it with enough blood to prevent a heart attack.
deserves the closest attention, and calcium with phosphorus, which strengthen bones and teeth, promote tissue renewal after injuries and prevent the development of various dental diseases (caries, periodontal disease) and rheumatic, such as arthrosis.
Palm fruits are also rich in zinc, which is very useful for men who want to lead a full intimate life. It also has a positive effect on blood sugar levels, reducing it. It is a reliable antioxidant that protects cells from destruction.
Note! The fruits are high in starch and vegetable fats.
Useful properties of peach palm fruits
They improve overall well-being, as a result of which fatigue and migraine disappear, appetite is restored and mood rises, and the amount of vital energy increases. Sleep is also normalized, due to which bags under the eyes, swelling on the face and a number of other signs of fatigue are eliminated. All this is possible due to the fact that the product has tonic and soothing properties.
Here are the benefits of peach palm fruit:
- Normalizes cardiac activity. This is facilitated by strengthening the heart muscle, restoring its normal rhythm, providing this organ with a volume of blood sufficient for stable functioning. Such effects can minimize the possibility of a heart attack, stroke, angina pectoris, arrhythmia and a number of other cardiac diseases. That is why the product is more useful than ever for people who have crossed the 60-year mark, who are more prone to this than young people. It should also be noted that the pressure level decreases, which, in turn, improves the general condition.
- Takes care of blood vessels. The pulp of fruits cleanses their walls from cholesterol accumulating there for years, sooner or later forming life-threatening plaques. She dissolves them and gently brings them out, without clogging the passages and without disturbing the blood flow. This helps to restore it and prevent a lack of oxygen in various internal organs, to which it enters just along with the blood. In the same way, the development of thrombophlebitis, varicose veins, atherosclerosis and a number of other vascular diseases is prevented.
- Accelerates skin regeneration. The fruits of the tree contain iron, potassium and magnesium, which are actively involved in the renewal of damaged tissues. Therefore, they will be most welcome for those who suffer from dermatitis, eczema, urticaria and other skin diseases. They are recommended to be included in the diet even in the presence of wounds and cuts on the body, which, due to this, heal many times faster.
- Strengthens health. Fruits increase immunity, due to which the body becomes stronger and less exposed to harmful bacteria, viruses and infections. This minimizes the possibility of influenza, tuberculosis, hepatitis. It also reduces the likelihood of infection with helminths, staphylococcus, streptococcus, and this is very important for the prevention of tonsillitis, tonsillitis and other otolaryngological pathologies.
- Increases hemoglobin. If its level in the blood is low, then a person may be disturbed by constant dizziness, nausea, a feeling of coldness in the limbs, weakness, hair loss, peeling of the skin and exfoliation of nails. As a result of insufficient production of red blood cells internal organs they do not receive the amount of blood and, accordingly, oxygen necessary for normal work. The same fruit eliminates such a deficiency and provides normal nutrition for the liver, kidneys, heart, intestines, etc. It is worth looking very carefully at the fruits of this palm tree, first of all, for pregnant women, who in most cases have a low level of hemoglobin.
- Improves bone health. Fruits supply the body with phosphorus and calcium, which are especially valuable for the joints. They make them stronger and more durable, which minimizes the risk of injuries (dislocations, fractures) and various rheumatic diseases - arthrosis, arthritis, osteoporosis, etc. For this very reason, they are recommended to be included in the menu primarily for older people who are at risk of developing these pathologies is much higher than in young people.
- Increases potency. This is made possible by the content of zinc in the product, which is widely known as the “male” trace element. It improves the quality of intimate life, enhances libido and sexual arousal, promotes good erections and prevents impotence.
Note! Fruits have immunocorrective, firming, analgesic, hemostatic and regenerating properties.
Contraindications and harm to peach palm fruits
It is strictly contraindicated for people with allergic reaction on these fruits, which usually looks like redness and itching of the skin, irritation of the nasal mucosa and sore throat. The product must be included in the menu for pregnant women and the elderly very carefully. It is also worth doing this with great care for any diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
To exclude harm from the fruits of the peach palm, you should try not to eat them in the morning. Before this, you should either have breakfast with something else, or, in extreme cases, drink a glass of warm water, which will eliminate irritation of the gastric mucosa with fruit pulp.
How are peach palm fruits eaten?
Raw they are practically not eaten because of the specific taste. Before cooking, the fruits are poured with water and left for 1-2 hours, after which they are dried and boiled in salt water for 2-3 hours. They are served hot to the table, most often with some kind of gravy.
No less popular is the combination of pulp with cheese and mayonnaise. It can be boiled, fried, stewed. The peel from the fruit and seeds are always removed. They make wine, various soft drinks, desserts. There is also experience in manufacturing oil and flour based on the product.
Peach Palm Recipes
You need to take only fresh, raw fruits, not covered with mold and with a rather hard peel, which, moreover, should also be smooth. They can be added to absolutely different dishes - salads, desserts and even soups. They can be fried, stewed, boiled, stuffed and baked in the oven, they are very tasty and healthy.
Of all the recipes with peach palm fruits, the following can be offered:
- Jam. Wash the "peaches" (1 kg), dry them, cut in half and remove the seeds. Then grind, add boiled water(50 ml) and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. After the appearance of a large amount of juice in the pan, stir the mass and remove it from the stove. Then combine sugar (300 g) and warm water(100 ml), boil the mixture and mix with boiled palm fruits. After that, put the mass on fire again and do not remove for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly with a spoon. After this time, beat it with a blender, pour into clean glass jars with a volume of 0.5 l and roll up with sterilized lids. Dip the finished jam in the cellar, turn the jars upside down and leave in this form for 2-3 days.
- . Dissolve gelatin (20 g) in cold water (100 ml) and leave to swell for about 30 minutes. Do the same with the same amount of gelling agent, only this time use canned pineapple syrup as the liquid. Next, crumble some shortbread cookies as small as possible without any additives and put it in a baking dish lined with special paper. Then mix sugar (120 g), liquid cream (100 ml), vanillin (1 tsp) and beat the mass with a blender. Bring the gelatin swollen in water to a boil and combine with cottage cheese grated through a sieve. Mix these two compositions and fill them with the cookies previously laid out in the mold, put it in the refrigerator. After 20 minutes, lay out the fruits cut in a semicircle around the edges and add boiled gelatin soaked in syrup. Put the dish in the refrigerator for 3 hours to cool and solidify.
- Jam. Wash, peel and seeds and chop the fruits (1.5 kg). Put them in a multicooker bowl, add sugar (700 g) and cook in the “Jam” mode for about 50 minutes, stirring the mass periodically and removing the resulting white film or foam. After this time, beat the mixture with a blender until a homogeneous slurry without lumps. Immediately spread the finished jam in sterilized jars, roll up the lids and put it upside down for 2-3 days, then return it to its normal position. It can be used both for greasing a slice of bread for tea, and adding it as a filling to pies, pies, buns.
- stuffed fruits. Wash and boil them (200 g) in salt water together with the peel and bone. Then peel them and beat with a blender. After that, stew white chicken meat (200 g), fry champignons (150 g), grate hard cheese (150 g). Combine all this, season with grated garlic (3 cloves), sprinkle with pepper and salt to taste, pour sour cream (2 tablespoons). Then wash, cut the fruit in half and fill with the prepared mixture. Put them on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil and place in a hot oven for 15 minutes.
Note! The fruits tolerate heat treatment well, without losing their taste and usefulness. Moreover, after cooking, they become much softer and more pleasant in salads.
Interesting facts about peach palm fruits
On one tree, an average of 7 clusters weighing up to 10 kg grows every year. The fruits have a diameter of about 5 cm and look like ordinary peaches or apricots from the side, which is why the plant got its name. In order for a person to get enough, it is enough to eat 5-6 fruits at a time, which, by the way, are folk medicine serve to eliminate pain in the abdomen and head.
Ripe palm fruits do not remain usable for long, already 3-5 days after harvest they become moldy or become soft. It is for this reason that it is almost impossible to find them fresh in those countries where this plant does not grow. Most often, fruits are sold in supermarkets in canned in metal cans or on order in online stores.
Boiled fruits are very popular in Costa Rica, where street vendors offer to try them as a snack. In Panama, in addition to people, these fruits are also loved by parrots, for which they are used as food. By the way, here the harvest is carried out all year round, but it is especially rich in the period from October to November.
The palm tree is protected from animals by sharp thorns, which are used by the Indians for tattooing. They - those who live along the banks of the Amazon - call this plant peihuara, and for them the fruits of the tree are one of the staples in the food system.
What does a peach palm tree look like - look at the video:
We talked about how peach palm fruits are eaten, how they are best cooked and what to serve with. And it is obvious that there are a lot of options here, you can easily replace ordinary peaches or apricots with these fruits, they do not lose to them either in taste, or in benefits, or in ease of preparation. You only have to try them once to be sure.
What do we, the inhabitants of the middle latitudes, know about palm trees and their fruits? In our stores there are dates (already in the form of dried fruits) and coconuts. The latter we call nuts, although they are not. Botanists classify coconuts as berries. Thus, closer to a watermelon than a hazelnut, despite its hard shell. But there are other fruits of palm trees, in addition to coconut and dates. And also edible. Which? We will talk about them in this article. And by the way, bananas do not grow on palm trees, but are fruits. perennial grass. These are tropical wonders.
Coconut palm
When the Portuguese first saw the berries of this tree, they had no doubt that it was a nut. The tasty fleshy core, hidden under a shell as hard as wood, attracted their attention. For the "shaggy" hairs on the fetus, the Portuguese dubbed it "coco" - "monkey". And so it happened: in English, the overseas berry began to be called coconut. And the name was translated into Russian literally: Scientists consider Malaysia to be the birthplace of the berry, from where the fruits, perfectly floating, spread by sea currents throughout the tropical region. Why is the coconut palm called the universal nurse? Yes, because wood is a valuable material. Its leaves serve as roofing for huts. The fruit of the coconut palm different stages ripeness gives juice, milk, oil, tasty pulp. The farm even uses the hard shell of the “walnut”. Various products are made from it.
The fruit of the coconut palm: a universal "breadwinner"
"Hairy nuts" form the basis of the well-being of many residents of the Pacific region. When they are less than five months old, they have coconut juice inside. It is sour-sweet in taste and perfectly quenches thirst. Juice contains many nutrients. As it matures, drops appear in this liquid. The juice turns into milk. This fragrant, sweet emulsion is widely used in cooking, cosmetology and traditional medicine. Milk is left to "sour" - it turns out something like sour cream. They also make oil from it. During the period of maximum maturity, when the mass of the fruit of the coconut palm reaches one and a half to two kilograms, pulp is formed inside the shell. They scrape it off the walls and make a mass out of it. delicious dishes. Dried, it can be stored for years. This is the one we use for topping cakes.
Date palm
This short tree bears the scientific name Phoenix. Palm began to be cultivated in ancient times - in Mesopotamia, in the IV millennium. In various regions, it gives hybrids, and not always with edible fruits. What we are accustomed to eating is the dried fruit of the Phoenix dactylifera palm. It is a squat shrub with feathery leaves that are metamorphosed into sharp spines at the base. The fruits are very high in calories (220-280 kcal per hundred grams). In addition, when dried, they can be stored and transported for a long time. In India, tari, a sweet wine, is made from the local Phoenix silvestris palm species. But the Robelin date from Laos, which gives black fruits, is grown as an ornamental indoor plant. In Europe, Phoenix canariensis Chabaud grows in the Canary Islands. This high - up to 15 meters - tree gives small amber fruits.
peach palm
The homeland of this high - up to 30 meters - tree is the jungle of the Amazon basin. Local Indian tribes have long cultivated this plant, since not only the fruits of palm trees are edible, but also the stem peeled from the bark. The leaves were used for roofing huts. The scientific name of the palm is Bactris gasipaes, and the popular name is "peach", because of the round pink-orange fruits. They certainly taste different from Mediterranean fruits. They hang in long bunches of hundreds of pieces. The fruit has a thin skin and a mealy, sweetish pulp. The stone is large, with a pointed top. The Indians boil the fruits in salted water for several hours and use them with sauce as a side dish, like we do potatoes. Local vodka is also prepared from the pulp. Since it is rather dry, it is ground and added to flour for various pastries. There is only one minus the peach palm. Harvesting a rich harvest is hampered by sharp, dagger-like black and long spikes in the upper part of the trunk.
seychelles palm
The fruit of the tree with the scientific name Lodoicea maldivica is truly a champion. When ripe, it reaches eighteen kilograms in weight, and its dimensions are impressive - more than a meter in circumference. The locals cannot complain about the crop failure either. One Seychellois palm brings about seventy such weights consistently. The fruit, however, ripens for six whole years. But don't wait so long! One-year-old fruits are eaten. It is at this age that the pulp has the consistency of jelly, because later it hardens and becomes strong, like ivory. This delicacy used to be highly valued. Europeans called this "nut" sea coconut (coco de mer) and paid big money for it. The fruit of the Seychelles palm was endowed with magical properties and was considered a panacea for all diseases. No less amazing is the tree itself. Unlike coconut palms, Seychelles stand unbendingly under a hurricane wind, like stone columns. And they begin to bear fruit only when they reach the age of a hundred years. When it rains, you can hide under the crown of the Seychelles palm tree, as if under the most reliable roof. The leaves of the tree form grooves-water traps. The streams of rain roll down to the cuttings at the trunk and then along it to the roots.
ginger palm
The name of the tree speaks for itself. Only here the taste is not the fruits of palm trees, but fibrous mealy husks. Although the poor strata of the population eat dryish bunches. This palm tree has one feature that distinguishes it from others. A tree can have three or four branches. Each of them ends with fan-shaped leaves, among which flowers appear. Not all of them turn into fruits, because ginger palm trees are different sexes. Only female individuals give people clusters of shiny beautiful light brown fruits. In southern Egypt, this tree is called especially poetically - "dum palm".
Acai
The tree is native to the north of Brazil, the modern state of Para. Acai palm fruits are small, round, up to one and a half centimeters in diameter. Like figs, the berries come in two varieties: greenish and dark purple. They taste like raspberries or blackberries with a slight hint of walnut. But this is not what distinguishes the acai fruit from other palm berries.
They contain as much protein as cow's milk. In total, a handful of small fruits can satisfy the hunger of an adult: the product has 182 kcal. High in them and the content of iron, vitamins B and E. At the same time, a very low level of cholesterol. Acai palm fruits are recommended for athletes, as they promote muscle regeneration, and are also prescribed for patients with anemia. They are used as food in fresh, and subjected to heat treatment. Liqueurs and wines are made from fruits, and salads are made from kidneys.
Serenoa
This tree from Southeast Asia has other names. Most often it is called a dwarf or creeping palm. The tree brings berries 2-3 centimeters in size. Outwardly, the fruits of the creeping palm tree look like large olives. Seenoa berries are very useful.
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