Coconut

Today I think of Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk and Galangal (iIn my cuisines list, you can see it.). I should let you know more about "coconut milk", it's very important for milky soup. Have you ever known before? Let's come with me!!!

Every time you go to the Southern part of Thailand, you'll see the coconut trees beside the road or sea. The water inside the coconut fruit was very great, it's sweet and good flavour... It's really great... If you have a chance to try it, you should!!!

The coconut palm is grown throughout the tropical world, for decoration as well as for its many culinary and non-culinary uses; virtually every part of the coconut palm has some human uses.

For Uses
Nearly all parts of the coconut palm are useful, and the palms have a comparatively high yield, up to 75 fruits per year; it therefore has significant economic value. The name for the coconut palm in Sanskrit is kalpa vriksha, which translates as "the tree which provides all the necessities of life". In Malay, the coconut is known as pokok seribu guna, "the tree of a thousand uses". In the Philippines, the coconut is commonly given the title "Tree of Life". It its theorised that if you were to become stranded on a desert island populated by palm trees, you could survive purely on the tree and coconut alone, as the coconut provides all of the required natural properties for survival.

Coconut in market
Sold on a street at Guntur, India
Green Coconut Vendor in Delhi, India in Summer
A relatively young coconut which has been served in a hawker centre in Singapore with a straw with which to drink its coconut water. Uses of the various parts of the palm include:

Culinary :
- The white, fleshy part of the seed is edible and used fresh or dried in cooking.

- Sport fruits are also harvested, primarily in the Philippines, where they are known as macapuno. They are sold in jars as "gelatinous mutant coconut" cut into balls or strands.

- The cavity is filled with coconut water which contains sugar, fibre, proteins, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Coconut water provides an isotonic electrolyte balance, and is a highly nutritious food source. It is used as a refreshing drink throughout the humid tropics and is also used in isotonic sports drinks. It can also be used to make the gelatinous dessert nata de coco. Mature fruits have significantly less liquid than young immature coconuts; barring spoilage, coconut water is sterile until opened.

- Coconut milk is made by processing grated coconut with hot water or milk, which extracts the oil and aromatic compounds. It should not be confused with the coconut water discussed above, and has a fat content of approximately 17%. When refrigerated and left to set, coconut cream will rise to the top and separate out the milk. The milk is used to produce virgin coconut oil by controlled heating and removing the oil fraction. Virgin coconut oil is found superior to the oil extracted from copra for cosmetic purposes.

- The leftover fibre from coconut milk production is used as livestock feed.

- The smell of coconuts comes from the 6-pentyloxan-2-one molecule, known as delta-decalactone in the food and fragrance industry.

- The sap derived from incising the flower clusters of the coconut is fermented to produce palm wine, also known as "toddy" or, in the Philippines, tuba. The sap can also be reduced by boiling to create a sweet syrup or candy.

- Apical buds of adult plants are edible and are known as "palm-cabbage" or heart-of-palm. It is considered a rare delicacy, as the act of harvesting the bud kills the palm. Hearts of palm are eaten in salads, sometimes called "millionaire's salad".

- Ruku Raa is an extract from the young bud, a very rare type of nectar collected and used as morning break drink in the islands of Maldives reputed for its energetic power keeping the "raamen" (nectar collector) healthy and fit even over 80 and 90 years old. And by-products are sweet honey-like syrup and creamy sugar for desserts.

- Newly germinated coconuts contain an edible fluff of marshmallow-like consistency called coconut sprout, produced as the endosperm nourishes the developing embryo.

- In the Philippines, rice is wrapped in coco leaves for cooking and subsequent storage - these packets are called puso.

Non-culinary :
- Coconut water can be used as an intravenous fluid.

- Coir (the fibre from the husk of the coconut) is used in ropes, mats, brushes, caulking boats and as stuffing fibre; it is also used extensively in horticulture for making potting compost.

- Coconut oil can be rapidly processed and extracted as a fully organic product from fresh coconut flesh, and used in many ways including as a medicine and in cosmetics, or as a direct replacement for diesel fuel.

- Copra is the dried meat of the seed and, after further processing, is a source of low grade coconut oil.

- The leaves provide materials for baskets and roofing thatch.

- Palmwood comes from the trunk and is increasingly being used as an ecologically-sound substitute for endangered hardwoods. It has several applications, particularly in furniture and specialized construction (notably in Manila's Coconut Palace).

- Hawaiians hollowed the trunk to form drums, containers, or even small canoes.

- The husk and shells can be used for fuel and are a good source of charcoal.

- Dried half coconut shells with husks are used to buff floors. In the Philippines, it is known as "bunot", and in Jamaica it is simply called "coconut brush"

- In the Philippines, dried half shells are used as a music instrument in a folk dance called maglalatik, a traditional dance about the conflicts for coconut meat within the Spanish era

- Shirt buttons can be carved out of dried coconut shell. Coconut buttons are often used for Hawaiian Aloha shirts.

- The stiff leaflet midribs can be used to make cooking skewers, kindling arrows, or are bound into bundles, brooms and brushes.

- The roots are used as a dye, a mouthwash, and a medicine for dysentery. A frayed-out piece of root can also be used as a toothbrush.

- Half coconut shells are used in theatre, banged together to create the sound effect of a horse's hoofbeats. They were used in this way in the Monty Python film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

- The leaves can be woven to create effective roofing materials, or reed mats.

- Half coconut shells may be deployed as an improvised bra, especially for comedic effect or theatrical purposes. They were used in this way in the 1970s UK sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum for example.

- Drained coconuts can be filled with gunpowder and used as Improvised explosive devices.

- In fairgrounds, a "coconut shy" is a popular target practice game, and coconuts are commonly given as prizes.

- A coconut can be hollowed out and used as a home for a rodent or small bird. Halved, drained coconuts can also be hung up as bird feeders, and after the flesh has gone, can be filled with fat in winter to attract tits.

- Fresh inner coconut husk can be rubbed on the lens of snorkelling goggles to prevent fogging during use.

- Dried coconut leaves can be burned to ash, which can be harvested for lime.

- Coconuts can be used as ammunition for homemade catapults.

- Dried half coconut shells are used as the bodies of musical instruments, including the Chinese yehu and banhu, and the Vietnamese ??n g?o.

- Coconut is also commonly used as a herbal remedy in Pakistan to treat bites from rats.

- The "branches" (leaf petioles) are strong and flexible enough to make a switch. The use of coconut branches in corporal punishment was revived in the Gilbertese community on Choiseul in the Solomon Islands in 2005.

- In World War II, coastwatcher scout Biuki Gasa was the first of two from the Solomon Islands to reach the shipwrecked, wounded, and exhausted crew of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 commanded by future U.S. president John F. Kennedy. Gasa suggested, for lack of paper, delivering by dugout canoe a message inscribed on a husked coconut shell. This coconut was later kept on the president's desk, and is now in the John F. Kennedy Library.

- Coconut trunks are used for building small bridges, preferred for their straightness, strength and salt resistance


Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org

Lime

In my kitchen, the most ingredient for me is "Lime". Because of I love sour taste recipes, this ingredient is very necessary for me... Tom Yam Kung (Sour soup), Som Tam (Papaya Salad), fried rice etc., lime juice is needed for these...

In addition, lime was used as herb. My mother and I take the lime juice with honey for the good excretory system.
Lime is a term referring to a number of different fruits (generally citruses), both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3-6 cm in diameter, generally containing sour pulp, and frequently associated with the lemon. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and beverages.

Varieties
The most commonly available commercial limes (or Limon) are the larger, greener Persian lime (Citrus latifolia) and the smaller, yellower Key lime (Citrus aurantifolia) (also known as the Mexican Lime). "Key lime" is an American retronym, as the original fruit known in English as a "lime" was Citrus latifolia, derived from the Persian name, limu (the fruit was introduced to Europe during the Crusades).

Other lime varieties include :
Mandarin lime (Citrus limonia)
Kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix)
various Australian limes
Sweet lime (Citrus limetta)
Palestine sweet lime (Citrus limettioides)
and musk lime (X Citrofortunella mitis).

Uses

For Drinks:
Lime fruit, and particularly their juice, are used in beverages, such as limeade (akin to lemonade). Alcoholic beverages prepared with limes include cocktails such as gin and tonic, margarita, mojito, Caipirinha and Cuba libre, as well as many drinks that may be garnished with a thin slice of the fruit or corkscrew strip of the peel (twist). One customary consumption of tequila is in shots accompanied by lime wedges and salt. Beer is often served with limes in Mexico. Lime juice is the primary ingredient of Bonji Water, a popular drink in southern parts of Kerala, India. Lime juice is also used in some commercial soft drinks.

Lime juice is made into sirup and sauce and pies similar to lemon pie. "Key Lime Pie" is a famous dish of the Florida Keys and southern Florida, but today is largely made from the frozen concentrate of the 'Tahiti' lime.

Mexican limes are often made into jam, jelly and marmalade. In Malaya, they are preserved in sirup. They are also pickled by first making 4 incisions in the apex, covering the fruits with salt, and later preserving them in vinegar. Before serving, the pickled fruits may be fried in coconut oil and sugar and then they are eaten as appetizers.

For Cooking:
In cooking, lime is valued both for the acidity of its juice and the floral aroma of its zest. It is used in Key lime pie, a traditional Florida dessert, and is a very common ingredient in authentic Mexican, Southwestern United States and Thai dishes. It is also used for its pickling properties in ceviche. Additionally, the leaves of the Kaffir lime are used in southeast Asian cuisine. The use of dried limes as a flavouring is typical of Persian cuisine. Limes are also an essential element in Tamil cuisine.

For other uses:
Juice: In the West Indies, the juice has been used in the process of dyeing leather. On the island of St. Johns, a cosmetic manufacturer produces a bottled Lime Moisture Lotion as a skin-conditioner.

Peel: The dehydrated peel is fed to cattle. In India, the powdered dried peel and the sludge remaining after clarifying lime juice are employed for cleaning metal.

Peel oil: The hand-pressed peel oil is mainly utilized in the perfume industry.

Twigs: In tropical Africa, lime twigs are popular chewsticks.

Medicinal Uses:
Lime juice dispels the irritation and swelling of mosquito bites.

In Malaya, the juice is taken as a tonic and to relieve stomach ailments. Mixed with oil, it is given as a vermifuge. The pickled fruit, with other substances, is poulticed on the head to allay neuralgia. In India, the pickled fruit is eaten to relieve indigestion. The juice of the Mexican lime is regarded as an antiseptic, tonic, an antiscorbutic, an astringent, and as a diuretic in liver ailments, a digestive stimulant, a remedy for intestinal hemorrhage and hemorrhoids, heart palpitations, headache, convulsive cough, rheumatism, arthritis, falling hair, bad breath, and as a disinfectant for all kinds of ulcers when applied in a poultice.

The leaves are poulticed on skin diseases and on the abdomen of a new mother after childbirth. The leaves or an infusion of the crushed leaves may be applied to relieve headache. The leaf decoction is used as eye drops and to bathe a feverish patient; also as a mouth wash and gargle in cases of sore throat and thrush.

The root bark serves as a febrifuge, as does the seed kernel, ground and mixed with lime juice.

In addition, there are many purely superstitious uses of the lime in Malaya.

Plants known as "lime"
Australian limes
Australian desert lime (Citrus glauca)
Australian finger lime (Citrus australasica)
Australian round lime (Citrus australis)
Blood lime
Kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix) (a.k.a. kieffer lime; makrut, or magrood)
Key lime (Citrus aurantifolia) (a.k.a. Mexican, West Indian, or Bartender's lime)
Mandarin lime (Citrus limonia)
Musk lime (X Citrofortunella mitis)
Palestine sweet lime (Citrus limettioides)
Persian lime (Citrus x latifolia) (a.k.a. Tahiti or Bearss lime)
Spanish lime (Melicoccus bijugatus) (a.k.a. mamoncillo, mamn, ginep, quenepa, or limoncillo) (not a citrus)
Sweet lime (Citrus limetta) (a.k.a. sweet limetta, Mediterranean sweet lemon)
Wild lime (Adelia ricinella)
Limequat (lime kumquat)
Lime tree (Tilia sp.)

Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org, and http://www.hort.purdue.edu

Tamarind

The tamarind was used along with the lime juice for giving the tom yam goong soup and Som Tam (Papaya Salad) they're sour flavour. We can use it instead the lime juice for many receipe. In Thailand, tamarind's very famous for cooking - fresh fruits, dry fruits, and leaves.
There're 2 groups of Tamarind, sweet and sour tastes. The sour tamarid is used for cooking. Dry fruits was used for . In addition, young leaves of Tamarind are used for curry also. My mother usde it for sour curry soup with prawn.

Habitat
The tree is native to tropical Africa and is now naturalised and widely cultivated throughout India as well as other tropical countries, including the Caribbean, south east Asia and China, where it is found on roadsides and in gardens.

Parts used
Fruits, fruit pulp, seeds, leaves, flowers and bark

Food Uses
The food uses of the tamarind are many. The tender, immature, very sour pods are cooked as seasoning with rice, fish and meats in India. The fully-grown, but still unripe fruits, called "swells" in the Bahamas, are roasted in coals until they burst and the skin is then peeled back and the sizzling pulp dipped in wood ashes and eaten. The fully ripe, fresh fruit is relished out-of-hand by children and adults, alike. The dehydrated fruits are easily recognized when picking by their comparatively light weight, hollow sound when tapped and the cracking of the shell under gentle pressure. The shell lifts readily from the pulp and the lengthwise fibers are removed by holding the stem with one hand and slipping the pulp downward with the other. The pulp is made into a variety of products. It is an important ingredient in chutneys, curries and sauces, including some brands of Worcestershire and barbecue sauce, and in a special Indian seafood pickle called "tamarind fish". Sugared tamarind pulp is often prepared as a confection.

For this purpose, it is desirable to separate the pulp from the seeds without using water. If ripe, fresh, undehydrated tamarinds are available, this may be done by pressing the shelled and defibered fruits through a colander while adding powdered sugar to the point where the pulp no longer sticks to the fingers. The seeded pulp is then shaped into balls and coated with powdered sugar. If the tamarinds are dehydrated, it is less laborious to layer the shelled fruits with granulated sugar in a stone crock and bake in a moderately warm oven for about 4 hours until the sugar is melted, then the mass is rubbed through a sieve, mixed with sugar to a stiff paste, and formed into patties. This sweetmeat is commonly found on the market in Jamaica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. In Panama, the pulp may be sold in corn husks, palmleaf fiber baskets, or in plastic bags.

The fruits are eaten fresh and made into a refreshing drink and the pulp is an important ingredient of Thai and Indian cuisine. Fresh and dried fruits are used as a sour flavouring agent in curries, fish, chutneys and sauces. They are sweet and sour, cooling, carminative, digestive, laxative and antiscorbutic. The bark, leaves and seeds are astringent. The tender leaves and flowers are cooling and antibilious and are used in constipation, colic, cough, dyspepsia, fever, flatulence and urinary infection. The fruit pulp or the leaves may be used in the form of a poultice for external application to inflammatory swellings to relieve pain, and a poultice of the flowers is useful in inflammatory affections of the conjunctiva. The ripe pulp of the fruit is considered as an effective laxative in habitual constipation and enters into many Ayurvedic preparations, where it may be given for loss of appetite and nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. An infusion of the leaves is used as a gargle for aphthous ulcers and sore throats and for washing indolent ulcers. Guatemala the dried fruit is taken as a febrifuge, for urinary tract infections and infections of the skin and mucosa, including ringworm and other fungal diseases. The bark is used as a tonic and febrifuge and the ash obtained by heating it with salt in an earthen pot is mixed with water and taken orally for colic and as a gargle or mouth wash. In the Canary Islands the dried fruit is eaten as a choleretic. Tamarind seed xyloglucan (TSX) is used as a thickener, stabiliser, gelling agent and starch modifier for food, textile and toiletry use.

Young leaves and very young seedlings and flowers are cooked and eaten as greens and in curries in Thai and India. In Zimbabwe, the leaves are added to soup and the flowers are an ingredient in salads.

Food Value
Analyses of the pulp are many and varied. Roughly, they show the pulp to be rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, thiamine and riboflavin and a good source of niacin. Ascorbic acid content is low except in the peel of young green fruits.

Other Uses
Fruit pulp: in West Africa, an infusion of the whole pods is added to the dye when coloring goat hides. The fruit pulp may be used as a fixative with turmeric or annatto in dyeing and has served to coagulate rubber latex. The pulp, mixed with sea water, cleans silver, copper and brass.

Leaves: The leaves are eaten by cattle and goats, and furnish fodder for silkworms–Anaphe sp. in India, Hypsoides vuilletii in West Africa. The fine silk is considered superior for embroidery.

Tamarind leaves and flowers are useful as mordants in dyeing. A yellow dye derived from the leaves colors wool red and turns indigo-dyed silk to green. Tamarind leaves in boiling water are employed to bleach the leaves of the buri palm (Corypha elata Roxb.) to prepare them for hat-making. The foliage is a common mulch for tobacco plantings.

Flowers: The flowers are rated as a good source of nectar for honeybees in South India. The honey is golden-yellow and slightly acid in flavor.

Seeds: The powder made from tamarind kernels has been adopted by the Indian textile industry as 300% more efficient and more economical than cornstarch for sizing and finishing cotton, jute and spun viscose, as well as having other technical advantages. It is commonly used for dressing homemade blankets. Other industrial uses include employment in color printing of textiles, paper sizing, leather treating, the manufacture of a structural plastic, a glue for wood, a stabilizer in bricks, a binder in sawdust briquettes, and a thickener in some explosives. It is exported to Japan, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Tamarind seeds yield an amber oil useful as an illuminant and as a varnish especially preferred for painting dolls and idols. The oil is said to be palatable and of culinary quality. The tannin-rich seedcoat (testa) is under investigation as having some utility as an adhesive for plywoods and in dyeing and tanning, though it is of inferior quality and gives a red hue to leather.

Medicinal Uses: Medicinal uses of the tamarind are uncountable. The pulp has been official in the British and American and most other pharmacopoeias and some 200,000 lbs (90,000 kg) of the shelled fruits have been annually imported into the United States for the drug trade, primarily from the Lesser Antilles and Mexico. The European supply has come largely from Calcutta, Egypt and the Greater Antilles. Tamarind preparations are universally recognized as refrigerants in fevers and as laxatives and carminatives. Alone, or in combination with lime juice, honey, milk,
dates, spices or camphor, the pulp is considered effective as a digestive, even for elephants, and as a remedy for biliousness and bile disorders, and as an antiscorbutic. In native practice, the pulp is applied on inflammations, is used in a gargle for sore throat and, mixed with salt, as a liniment for rheumatism. It is, further, administered to alleviate sunstroke, Datura poisoning, and alcoholic intoxication. In Southeast Asia, the fruit is prescribed to counteract the ill effects of overdoses of false chaulmoogra, Hydnocarpus anthelmintica Pierre, given in leprosy. The pulp is said to aid the restoration of sensation in cases of paralysis. In Colombia, an ointment made of tamarind pulp, butter, and other ingredients is used to rid domestic animals of vermin.

Tamarind leaves and flowers, dried or boiled, are used as poultices for swollen joints, sprains and boils. Lotions and extracts made from them are used in treating conjunctivitis, as antiseptics, as vermifuges, treatments for dysentery, jaundice, erysipelas and hemorrhoids and various other ailments. The fruit shells are burned and reduced to an alkaline ash which enters into medicinal formulas. The bark of the tree is regarded as an effective astringent, tonic and febrifuge. Fried with salt and pulverized to an ash, it is given as a remedy for indigestion and colic. A decoction is used in cases of gingivitis and asthma and eye inflammations; and lotions and poultices made from the bark are applied on open sores and caterpillar rashes. The powdered seeds are made into a paste for drawing boils and, with or without cumin seeds and palm sugar, are prescribed for chronic diarrhea and dysentery. The seedcoat, too, is astringent, and it, also, is specified for the latter disorders. An infusion of the roots is believed to have curative value in chest complaints and is an ingredient in prescriptions for leprosy.

The leaves and roots contain the glycosides: vitexin, isovitexin, orientin and isoorientin. The bark yields the alkaloid, hordenine.


Ref : http://www.divineremedies.com, and http://www.hort.purdue.edu

Black Pepper

Black Pepper Powder is the most famous for herbal seasoning in Thai Food. My mum use it in many recipes - it was used in fired rice, soft-boiled rice, noodle, curry, soup etc. For me, about 1 tea spoon of Black Pepper Powder I want for soft-boiled rice... It makes me feel good...

In addition, Thai people usd green fresh pepper for spice in curry.

Green pepper is the whole fresh berry that is frozen or preserved, while white pepper is the fully matured fruit from which the outer fleshy layers have been removed before drying and black pepper is the almost mature complete berry that is dried and separated from their stalks.

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The same fruit is also used to produce white pepper, red/pink pepper, and green pepper. Black pepper is native to South India and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single seed.

Dried ground pepper is one of the most common spices in European cuisine and its descendants, having been known and prized since antiquity for both its flavour and its use as a medicine. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine. Ground black peppercorn, usually referred to simply as "pepper", may be found on nearly every dinner table in some parts of the world, often alongside table salt.

The word "pepper" is derived from the Sanskrit pippali, the word for long pepper via the Latin piper which was used by the Romans to refer both to pepper and long pepper, as the Romans erroneously believed that both of these spices were derived from the same plant. The English word for pepper is derived from the Old English pipor. The Latin word is also the source of German pfeffer, French poivre, Dutch peper, and other similar forms. In the 16th century, pepper started referring to the unrelated New World chile peppers as well. "Pepper" was used in a figurative sense to mean "spirit" or "energy" at least as far back as the 1840s; in the early 20th century, this was shortened to pep.

Varieties : Black and white peppercorns

Black pepper is produced from the still-green unripe berries of the pepper plant. The berries are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the fruit, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The berries are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the fruit around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer, the result of a fungal reaction. Once dried, the fruits are called black peppercorns.

White pepper consists of the seed only, with the fruit removed. This is usually accomplished by allowing fully ripe berries to soak in water for about a week, during which the flesh of the fruit softens and decomposes. Rubbing then removes what remains of the fruit, and the naked seed is dried. Alternative processes are used for removing the outer fruit from the seed, including removal of the outer layer from black pepper produced from unripe berries.

In the U.S., white pepper is often used in dishes like light-colored sauces or mashed potatoes, where ground black pepper would visibly stand out. There is disagreement regarding which is generally spicier. They do have differing flavors due to the presence of certain compounds in the outer fruit layer of the berry that are not found in the seed.

Pepper as a medicine

'There's certainly too much pepper in that soup!' Alice said to herself, as well as she could for sneezing. — Alice in Wonderland (1865). Chapter VI: Pig and Pepper. Note the cook's pepper mill.Like all eastern spices, pepper was historically both a seasoning and a medicine. Long pepper, being stronger, was often the preferred medication, but both were used.

Black peppercorns figure in remedies in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicine in India. The 5th century Syriac Book of Medicines prescribes pepper (or perhaps long pepper) for such illnesses as constipation, diarrhea, earache, gangrene, heart disease, hernia, hoarseness, indigestion, insect bites, insomnia, joint pain, liver problems, lung disease, oral abscesses, sunburn, tooth decay, and toothaches. Various sources from the 5th century onward also recommend pepper to treat eye problems, often by applying salves or poultices made with pepper directly to the eye. There is no current medical evidence that any of these treatments has any benefit; pepper applied directly to the eye would be quite uncomfortable and possibly damaging.

Pepper has long been believed to cause sneezing; this is still believed true today. Some sources say that piperine, a substance present in black pepper, irritates the nostrils, causing the sneezing; some say that it is just the effect of the fine dust in ground pepper, and some say that pepper is not in fact a very effective sneeze-producer at all. Few if any controlled studies have been carried out to answer the question.

As a medicine, Pepper appears in the Buddhist monastic code, chapter five, as one of the few medicines allowed to be carried by a monk.

Pepper is eliminated from the diet of patients having abdominal surgery and ulcers because of its irritating effect upon the intestines, being replaced by what is referred to as a bland diet.

Pepper contains small amounts of safrole, a mildly carcinogenic compound.

It has been shown that piperine can dramatically increase absorption of selenium, vitamin B and beta-carotene as well as other nutrients.

Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org and http://www.ageless.co.z

Tumeric

In Thailand, Turmeric is used for healthy skin. My mother used the Tumeric powder for scrubbing and cooking - this is one of herbs in my garden... Turmeric is very famous in Thailand for many uses, let's come with me to know them...

Species: C. longa

Binomial name : Curcuma longa

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae which is native to tropical South Asia. It needs temperatures between 20 and 30 deg. C. and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered annually for their rhizomes, and re-seeded from some of those rhizomes in the following season.

It is also often misspelled (or pronounced) as tumeric. It is also known as kunyit (Indonesian and Malay) or haldi or pasupu in some Asian countries. In medieval Europe, turmeric became known as Indian Saffron, since it is widely used as an alternative to far more expensive saffron spice.

The Turmeric plant, though long used as an important coloring agent for curries and other foods, is also an important medicinal herb, used by both Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine practitioners.

Known also by is Latin name curcuma longa or simply curcumin, the Turmeric plant is used to treat a number of medical disorders, including digestive disorders, liver problems, and skin diseases. It has also been proven effective in stimulating improvement in bile flow, making it very beneficial for people suffering for both digestive and gall bladder problems.

The plant is a relative of the Ginger plant, and grows to a height of 5 feet in tropical parts of southern Asia. The plant is characteristic in having a sharp, bitter taste. The Turmeric roots are dried and boiled to make the familiar yellow powder most commonly used in food preparations.

As a medical preparation, it is used for curing digestive disorders, helping to break down fats during the digestion process. It also has been proven useful for stomach problems ranging from gastritis to stomach problems caused by stress or alcohol. The Turmeric herb is also said to be very effective in treatment for inflammations caused by osteoarthritis and for helping to unclog arteries partially blocked by atherosclerosis. Its use in breaking down saturated facts in cholesterol is becoming well accepted. Turmeric's effectiveness against cancer and liver disease is being studied as well.

Besides the common yellow powder for cooking uses, Turmeric is also available in Turmeric capsules and as an extract. Though it can be used by virtually all ages of people, it must not be over ingested as various side effects can occur. These include stomach upsets and even ulcers. The herb's possible interaction with other herbs or drugs is also a problems; and amounts exceeding recommended doses should not be taken. It should not be taken by people suffering from gall stones or partial bile passage blockage without the approval of a qualified herbal medicine practitioner. Tumeric may also interact with drugs such as resprine; used to treat high blood pressure.

Uses as Food
Turmeric powder is used extensively in Indian cuisine.
Commercially packaged turmeric powderIn non-Indian recipes, turmeric is sometimes used as a coloring agent. It has found application in canned beverages, baked products, dairy products, ice cream, yogurt, yellow cakes orange juice, biscuits, popcorn-color, sweets, cake icings, cereals, sauces, gelatins, etc. It is a significant ingredient in most commercial curry powders.

Turmeric is used to protect food products from sunlight. The oleoresin is used for oil-containing products. The curcumin/polysorbate solution or curcumin powder dissolved in alcohol is used for water containing products. Over-coloring, such as in pickles, relishes and mustard, is sometimes used to compensate for fading.

In combination with annatto, turmeric has been used to color cheeses, yogurt, dry mixes, salad dressings, winter butter and margarine. Turmeric is also used to give a yellow color to some prepared mustards, canned chicken broths and other foods (often as a much cheaper replacement for saffron).

Turmeric is widely used as a spice in Indian and other South Asian cooking. Momos (Nepali meat dumplings), a traditional dish in South Asia, are spiced with turmeric.

Uses as Medicine
In Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric is thought to have many medicinal properties and many in India use it as a readily available antiseptic for cuts, burns and bruises.

It is taken in some Asian countries as a dietary supplement, which allegedly helps with stomach problems and other ailments. It is popular as a tea in Okinawa, Japan. It is currently being investigated for possible benefits in Alzheimer's disease, cancer and liver disorders.

Uses as Cosmetics
Turmeric is currently used in the formulation of some sunscreens. Turmeric paste is used by some Indian women to keep them free of superfluous hair. Turmeric paste is applied to bride and groom before marriage in some places of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, where it is believed turmeric gives glow to skin and keeps some harmful bacteria away from the body.

The Government of Thailand is funding a project to extract and isolate tetrahydrocurcuminoids(THC) from turmeric. THCs (not to be confused with tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC) are colorless compounds that might have antioxidant and skin-lightening properties and might be used to treat skin inflammations, making these compounds useful in cosmetics formulations.

Uses as Dye
Turmeric makes a poor fabric dye as it is not very lightfast (the degree to which a dye resists fading due to light exposure). However, turmeric is commonly used in Indian clothing, such as a chira.

Uses as Gardening
Turmeric can also be used to deter ants. The exact reasons why turmeric repels ants is unknown, but anecdotal evidence suggests it works.

Ref : http://www.organicindia.com and http://en.wikipedia.org

Lemongrass

As my posted for "Lemongrass Herbal Tea", I will let you know more about "Lemongrass".

Cymbopogon is a genus of about 55 species of grasses, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World and Oceania. It is a tall perennial grass. Common names include lemon grass, lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, citronella grass, fever grass or Hierba Luisa amongst many others.

Uses of Lemongrass

Lemon grass is widely used as an herb in Asian (particularly Vietnamese, Hmong, Khmer, Thai, Lao, Malaysian, Indonesian, Philippine, Sri Lankan) and Caribbean cooking. It has a citrus flavour and can be dried and powdered, or used fresh. The stalk itself is too hard to be eaten except for the soft inner part. However, it can be finely sliced and added to recipes. It may also be bruised and added whole as this releases the aromatic oils from the juice sacs in the stalk. The main constituent of lemongrass oil is citral, which makes up around 80% of the total.

Lemon grass is commonly used in teas, soups, and curries. It is also suitable for poultry, fish, and seafood. It is often used as a tea in African and Latino-American countries (e.g. Togo, Mexico, DR Congo).

East-Indian Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), also called Cochin Grass or Malabar Grass, is native to Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Burma,and Thailand while the West-Indian lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), also known as serai in Malay, is assumed to have its origins in Malaysia. While both can be used interchangeably, C. citratus is more suited for cooking. In India C. citratus is used both as a medical herb and in perfumes.

Lemongrass is used in herbal teas and other nonalcoholic beverages in baked goods, and in confections. Oil from lemongrass is widely used as a fragrance in perfumes and cosmetics, such as soaps and creams. Citral, extracted from the oil, is used in flavoring soft drinks in scenting soaps and detergents, as a fragrance in perfumes and cosmetics, and as a mask for disagreeable odors in several industrial products. Citral is also used in the synthesis of ionones used in perfumes and cosmetics.

As a medicinal plant, lemongrass has been considered a carminative and insect repellent. West Indian lemongrass is reported to have antimicrobial activity. Oil of West Indian lemongrass acts as a central nervous system depressant. Oil of East Indian lemongrass has antifungal activity. The volatile oils may also have some pesticide and mutagenic activities

Lemongrass Herbal Tea

Lemongrass Herbal Tea is used as a therapy for colds, congestion, fever, cough, sore throat and laryngitis. It has a pleasant citrus taste and one of the best herb for killing stress. As a hot herb, lemongrass tea is use as a digestion stimulant in cases of flatulence, indigestion, and constipation. In the hill-tribes villages, fresh lemongrass also used as a general tonic, for bone and joint pain, and topically for sprains, bruises, and sore muscles.

Ref. : http://en.wikipedia.org and http://www.hort.purdue.edu