Vinegar plant properties The cruet with a unique flavor and full of healthy properties, can be used in the kitchen and in medicinal treatments.
Learn more about it below:
Description of the plant The cruet is a perennial herbaceous plant with dark green, oval, wide, long and smooth leaves, with a texture similar to that of cress, which reaches up to 60 cm in height and its stem is hollow and reddish.
The flowers of the cruet are green or reddish and form in clusters.
This vegetable grows well on iron-rich, moist soils in shady areas near watercourses.
This plant can be harvested throughout the year, because after the harvest, the root produces new leaves.
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History of the vinegar plant
The cruet has been used since ancient times, being a plant native to Europe and Asia.
The Egyptians and the Romans used it as a condiment, due to its acid taste, for broths, lentils and tomato sauces.
The Greeks and Romans benefited from the properties of the cruet to improve digestion.
The Persian Emperor Charlemagne cultivated this plant in the palace gardens. cruet plant properties
Medieval doctors and healers used cruet to treat and cure cholera, plague, and scurvy.
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Uses of the vinegar plant
The leaves of this vegetable can serve as an ingredient in soups, salads, sauces, purees, vinaigrettes, sandwiches, cakes, pancakes, pastas and stews.
In addition to its usefulness in the kitchen, the cruet can be used in medicinal treatments, due to its healing properties.
This plant is rich in vitamin C, which is why it has antiscorbic properties and is used to treat bronchitis and increase appetite.
In addition, the vinegar has a diuretic, astringent and refreshing action on the body.cruet plant properties
In decoction, the cruet can be used to treat gingivitis and inflammation of the mouth.
Fresh cruet leaf poultices soothe skin irritation and itching caused by insect bites.
The foot bath with the cruet decoction stimulates blood circulation in the legs.
The cruet root in infusion or decoction has a laxative and diuretic action.
The fresh leaves, crushed and ironed on the skin of the face, close the enlarged pores and eliminate blackheads.
In herbal medicine, cruet tincture is useful as a laxative, cleanser, anti-anemic, and in the treatment of acne.
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Properties of the vinegar plant
The vinegar is a plant with a high cellulose content, which gives it the property of curing intestinal problems.
In the active ingredients of the cruet are calcium oxalates (responsible for the sour taste), potassium oxalate, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, tannic acid, anthraquinones and substances such as starch, mucilage and oils.
It is a vegetable rich in minerals such as potassium and magnesium and antioxidants, especially resveratrol, a nutrient that prevents cardiovascular problems and some types of cancer.
This vegetable has a hepatoprotective effect that benefits liver cells. For this purpose, you can have a cup of tea, three times a week.
Due to the presence of oxalates and anthraquinones, the vinegar has diuretic, digestive, purifying and anti-inflammatory properties.
Due to its nutritional composition and active ingredients, the cruet has the following
Medicinal properties and indications.
Treats disorders of the digestive system.
Helps heal hemorrhoids.
Helps heal ulcerations in the mouth.
Stimulates increased appetite in cases of organic and physical weakness and weakness.
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Contraindications of the cruet
People who have kidney stones and stones, arthritis, gout, rheumatism, hyperacidity should not use cruet.
The high ingestion of cruet leaves produces poisoning with kidney damage.
The vinegar has incompatibility and reactivity used concomitantly with mineral water and copper containers, which can cause adverse effects on the body.
Also know Rocket or rugula: Properties, benefits and contraindications
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Use tips
To prepare the cruet simply wash your leaves under running water to remove impurities and immerse them in an antiseptic solution for vegetables (which can be vinegar or baking soda) diluted in water.
Since the vinegar is rich in vitamin C, it should be used quickly and preferably raw, to keep its healthy properties intact.
For salads, it is recommended to use the youngest and most tender leaves, since they are less acidic.
Use the freshest leaves, free of dark spots and mildew.
For cooking, the newer leaves are ideal, as they cook faster, in contrast, the older leaves are more acidic, requiring two to three water changes to reduce acidity.
Do not cook cruet in an iron skillet, as the high acidity of this vegetable changes the color of the pan.
The ideal is to consume the cruet after the harvest, but if this is not possible, it can be kept in a clean and dry container, for a maximum of 3 days.
Those who still do not know the flavor of the vinegar and its nutrients, with all this information, already know the advantages of its consumption as food and its medicinal properties. Now just consume and try the peculiar and differentiated flavor of this vegetable on the palate, receiving the benefits it provides for health.
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