Lychee is a small bittersweet berry covered with a crunchy shell. The fruit grows in tropical evergreen trees, whose height reaches 10-30 meters. The birthplace of the berry is China.
Lychee has an oval or round shape, the ripe fruit has a dense red shell with a large number of sharp tubers. Only the pulp of the fruit is used in food, which has a gelatinous structure, and in color and flavor it resembles peeled white grapes. Inside the pulp is an oval brown bone. The main lychee crop occurs in May-June.
Currently, lychee is grown everywhere throughout the subtropical territory of Southeast Asia, where there are no severe winters and the climate is quite dry.
Lychee is mainly used in fresh foods. However, desserts (ice cream, jam, jam), jam, jam, Chinese wine can also be prepared from the pulp of the berry. You can also find dried lychee. At the same time, the peel of the fruit becomes stiff and the dried pulp with bone is rolled freely inside. Lychee in this form is called lychee nut.
Selection and storage
When buying lychee in the store, you should pay attention to the shell. It must be red, not too soft and without visible damage. The brown color indicates the freshness of the lychee.
Lychee fruits contain a large amount of nutrients, including vitamins (C, E, K, group B, PP, H), minerals (calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, sodium, iodine, selenium, manganese) , organic acids and pectic substances.
Oriental medicine doctors use lychee for the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis, the normalization of sugar levels in diabetes, the work of the liver, lungs and kidneys. Along with medicinal herbs and lemongrass, lychee is used to treat cancer and restore strength in the fight against disease. At the same time, at least 10 fruits should be consumed per day.
Due to the high content of potassium in the pulp of the fetus, its use is recommended for people with cardiovascular diseases, with high blood cholesterol and anemia. It is also used to treat the stomach, pancreas and intestinal malfunction. In Hindu medicine, lychee is considered an aphrodisiac, which increases sexual desire and male power.
