Effects and edible methods of cotton dates

Cotton dates have a cultivation history of more than 300 years in my country. Cotton dates are also called cotton dates. The pulp is rich in nutrients, such as sugars, proteins, trace elements such as calcium and iron. It also contains a small amount of special substances such as carotene, etc. It mainly improves insomnia, dreaminess, physical weakness and sweating. There are many ways to eat cotton dates, which can be made into cotton date jam, dried cotton dates or ground into powder and soaked in water to drink.

1. Cotton Date

Cotton date is a large fruit species, with the fruit being larger than the smaller one. A single fruit weighs about 14 grams, or about 25 grams. The peel is yellow-white and oblong. The sunny side of the fruit is brown-red. The skin is crisp and thin, not easy to peel, and can be eaten with the skin. The flesh is white, slightly light green, and soft in texture, resembling cotton wool, so it is called "cotton date". It has less juice, is sweet and palatable, has good quality, and is most suitable for replicating candied dates. Every 100 grams of pulp contains more than 350 mg of vitamins, as well as protein, sugars, fats, inorganic acids, iron, phosphorus, calcium, etc. It also contains special substances such as carotene and thiamine, which can increase serum protein and albumin. It has the effects of tonifying the middle and benefiting the liver, treating insomnia, strengthening tendons and bones, invigorating the brain, improving thinking, and relieving sweating due to physical weakness. In addition to processing candied dates, they can also be made into dried dates, date jam, date cakes, or dried and ground into powder and brewed in water as a substitute for tea, which is quite beneficial to physical and mental health.

2. Medicinal Value

Mianzao Songshan Mianzao Shizaoer (Compendium of Materia Medica for Famine Relief), Tiansuan (Essentials of the Nature of Raw Medicinal Herbs), Dilan (Records of Medicinal Herbs in Lingnan), Shan Garlic (Jiangsu Plant Medicinal Records), Fresh White Head (Jiangsu Medicinal Materials Records), Dizao, Single Leaf Celery, Growth-inducing Grass, Medicinal Dog Garlic (Northeast Medicinal Plant Records), Old Crow Allium (List of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resources in Zhejiang), Single Leaf Spear (Su Medicine Handbook of Traditional Chinese Medicine).

Promote blood circulation, detoxify, reduce swelling and relieve pain. Treat breast congestion, intestinal abscess, traumatic injury, and pain in waist and legs.

① "Records of Medicinal Herbs in Lingnan" states: "Take the head and mash it, it can be used to treat breast sores and poisonous sores."

② "Northeast Medicinal Plants": "The alcohol extract of the leaves and rhizomes has a cardiotonic and diuretic effect. The whole plant is decocted and taken as a painkiller for toothache, muscle and bone pain, back and leg pain, gunshot wounds, bruises, etc.; it also has the effect of inducing labor."

③ "Zhejiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Resource Directory": "It is used to treat intestinal carbuncle and lung carbuncle and vomiting blood."

④Su Yi's "Handbook of Chinese Herbal Medicine": "It can promote blood circulation, reduce swelling, detoxify and relieve pain. It can treat injuries from falls, pain in the waist and legs, and pain in the tendons and bones; fresh bulbs can be crushed and applied externally to treat carbuncle and mastitis."

3. How to eat

1. Wash the fresh jujube and remove impurities.

2. Put it into a jar, add water and a small amount of precious Chinese medicine Polygonatum sibiricum (commonly known as chicken head root), and simmer over low heat until the soup is thick, red in color, and the jujubes are cooked. Then stop the heat.

3. Put it into the pot, add water and a small amount of salvia miltiorrhiza, thatch root or bamboo leaf, and cook it over low heat for 24 hours.

A local specialty of Zhongzhou and a unique fruit in Xinzheng City, it is commonly known as ground jujube and sticky jujube. It belongs to the Liliaceae family and is a perennial herb with underground phosphorus stems and linear leaves. It grows from the ground like leeks. Between July and August, upright flower stalks grow among the leaves, and small pink flowers bloom at the top of the stalks. Every April, after the jujube sprouts and grows leaves, farmers search all over the mountains for it, dig out the stems, wash off the dirt, and after multiple steamings, the sugar liquid comes out. The sweetness is refreshing. If you add some brown sugar, it will be even sweeter. The jujube is a hot tonic with high nutritional value and is sticky in nature. The jujube has a unique flavor and can nourish the body.