"Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." Hippocrates 400 BC .
Nutrition is the science that interprets the interaction of nutrients and other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism.
"Drumstick tree" and variants thereof redirect here, Cassia fistula, the golden rain tree.
Moringa oleifera is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree of the family Moringaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of South Asia. Common names include moringa, drumstick tree (from the long, slender, triangular seed-pods), horseradish tree (from the taste of the roots, which resembles horseradish), and ben oil tree or benzolive tree (from the oil which is derived from the seeds).
Click on above Image to check the nutritional applications :
M. oleifera is a fast-growing, deciduous tree that can reach a height of 10–12 m (32–40 ft) and trunk diameter of 45 cm (1.5 ft).The bark has a whitish-grey colour and is surrounded by thick cork. Young shoots have purplish or greenish-white, hairy bark. The tree has an open crown of drooping, fragile branches and the leaves build up a feathery foliage of tripinnate leaves.
The flowers are fragrant and hermaphroditic, surrounded by five unequal, thinly veined, yellowish-white petals.
Flowering begins within the first six months after planting. In seasonally cool regions, flowering only occurs once a year between April and June. In more constant seasonal temperatures and with constant rainfall, flowering can happen twice or even all year-round.
The fruit is a hanging, three-sided brown capsule of 20–45 cm size which holds dark brown, globular seeds with a diameter around 1 cm. The seeds have three whitish papery wings and are dispersed by wind and water.
In cultivation, it is often cut back annually to 1–2 m (3–6 ft) and allowed to regrow so the pods and leaves remain within arm's reach
- Climate: Grows best in tropical or subtropical.
- Altitude: 0 – 2000 m.
- Rainfall: 250 – 3000 mm
- Irrigation needed for leaf production if rainfall < 800 mm.
- Soil Type: Loamy, sandy, or sandy-loam.
- Soil pH: pH 5 – 9
Moringa seed cake, obtained as a byproduct of pressing seeds to obtain oil, is used to filter water using flocculation to produce potable water for animal or human consumption. Moringa seeds contain dimeric cationic proteins which absorb and neutralize colloidal charges in turbid water, causing the colloidal particles to clump together, making the suspended particles easier to remove as sludge by either settling or filtration. Moringa seed cake removes most impurities from water. This use is of particular interest for being nontoxic and sustainable compared to other materials in moringa-growing regions where drinking water is affected by pollutants.
Moringa oleifera leaf powder was as effective as soap for hand washing when wetted in advance to enable anti-septic and detergent properties from phytochemicals in the leaves.
Moringa leaves are an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals. One cup of fresh, chopped leaves (21 grams) contains:
Protein: 2 grams
Vitamin B6: 19% of the RDA
Vitamin C: 12% of the RDA
Iron: 11% of the RDA
Riboflavin (B2): 11% of the RDA
Vitamin A (from beta-carotene): 9% of the RDA
Magnesium: 8% of the RDA
RDA: Recommended Dietary Allowance
Medical Definition of Recommended Dietary Allowance
Recom
Pottery is one of the oldest human inventions, originating before the Neolithic period, with ceramic objects like in the Czech Republic dating back to 29,000–25,000 BC, and pottery vessels that were discovered in Jiangxi, China, which date back to 18,000 BC.
Early Neolithic and pre-Neolithic pottery artifacts have been found, in Jōmon Japan (10,500 BC), the Russian Far East (14,000 BC), Sub-Saharan Africa (9,400 BC), South America (9,000s-7,000s BC),and the Middle East (7,000s-6,000s BC).
According to Cooking Experts:
Cooking in a clay pot not only has a variety of health benefits ,
I will try to list down all possible benefits while cooking with clay pots:
1. Preserves nutrients: Unlike other metal or aluminium pots, heat and moisture circulate through the pot during cooking. It leads to majority of nutrients getting preserved instead of evaporation.
2. Slow and even cooking: For dishes that needs slow cooking, clay is the best option available in natural cookware.
3. Less oil: As the food gets cooked in its own oils and liquids.
4. Cookwares from clay are inert in nature and doesn’t react much with food.
5. Food prepared in clay generally stays warm for a longer time up to 3-4 hours.
6. Natural sweetener: Clay acts as a natural sweetener and any acidic foods like potato, meat, rice will take some natural sweetness from the earthenware pot. This is the reason why liquids like water, tea and coffee tastes better in clay than any other vessel.
7. Maintains pH balance: Clay being alkaline in nature interacts with the acidity in the food, thereby neutralizing the pH balance in the food.
It is difficult to get quality pottery products in their purest form, but it isn't impossible.
If you really want to start cooking in clay pots, make sure you do not buy any glazed or polished one, rather try and find un-glazed ones. If you get your hands on them, you wouldn't want to miss the earthy flavors of food and surely never want to go back to other utensils.
Keep In Mind:
There are two main things which you should consider before buying a clay pot. The pot should be heavy and thick. When you knock it at the back, you should hear a ting sound. These two are enough to check a clay pot.
This is 3 days process and also simple:
1- First clean the clay pot to wash off dust. - Now fill it with water and keep aside undisturbed for a day.
You would hear a sizzling sound while washing the pot because of the small pores present inside the pot. There is no need to worry.
2- Next day, empty the pot and wipe it clean using a kitchen cloth. Now apply coconut oil or gingerly oil all over the clay pot both inside and outside using your hands.
- Keep it over low flame for 2 minutes. Then increase the flame to low medium and let it heat for 5 minutes.
- Now switch off the flame and let it come to room temperature.
- Fill the pot with water and keep it aside.
You need to follow these steps for 3 days.
Note:
During seasoning process, there will be few leakages of water drops for first two days but later on 3 rd day there will no leakage. It indicates that the clay pot is ready to cook.
We are slowly introducing the heat to clay pot and making it more stable. After 3 days process, clay pot is ready to use. - - Initially for first few times, do not heat the clay pot on high flame.
- Before keeping it on the stove, apply cooking oil inside the pot and then use for cooking.
Since the clay is porous, it is important to follow certain steps when cleaning the pot. Do not use soap or detergent to clean as the soap will soak into the pores of the clay and then leach into your food the next time you use it. Instead, use scalding hot water and a stiff brush to clean the pot. Baking soda or salt may be used as a cleanser with a scrub sponge.
For stubborn stains, use a very coarse unsoaped stainless steel pad, or let the cooker soak overnight filled with water and one to four tablespoons of baking soda. A baking soda soak will also help remove odors and freshen the cooker after cooking pungent foods.
Store your clay pot with the lid inverted, nestled inside the bottom with a paper towel in between so it can breathe. Make sure it is completely dry before you put it away. During periods of long storage, mold may form. To remove any mold, apply a paste of equal parts of baking soda and water. Leave it on at least 30 minutes, then brush, rinse well, and let it thoroughly dry, preferably in bright sunlight.
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