LEMONGRASS
Cymbopogon,
better known as lemongrass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian,
and tropical island plants in the grass family.
Some
species (particularly Cymbopogon citratus) are commonly cultivated as
culinary and medicinal herbs because of their scent, resembling that of lemons (Citrus
limon). Common names include lemon grass, barbed wire grass, silky
heads, citronella grass, cha de Dartigalongue, fever grass, tanglad, hierba
Luisa, or gavati chahapati, amongst many others.
Lemongrass
is widely used as a culinary herb in Asian cuisines and also as a medicinal herb in
India. It has a subtle citrus flavor and can be dried and powdered, or used
fresh. It is commonly used in teas, soups, and curries. It is also
suitable for use with poultry, fish, beef, and seafood. It is often used as a
tea in African countries such as Togo, south
eastern Ghana Volta
Region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Latin
American countries such as Mexico. Lemongrass
oil is used as a pesticide and a preservative.
Research shows that lemongrass oil has antifungal properties.
Despite
its ability to repel some insects, such as mosquitoes, its oil is commonly used
as a "lure" to attract honey bees.
"Lemongrass works conveniently as well as the pheromone created by the
honeybee's Nasonov gland, also known as attractant pheromones.
Because of this, lemongrass oil can be used as a lure when trapping swarms or
attempting to draw the attention of hived bees."
Citronella
grass (Cymbopogon nardus and Cymbopogon winterianus)
grow to about 2 m (6.6 ft) and have magenta-colored base stems. These
species are used for the production of citronella
oil, which is used in soaps, as an insect
repellent (especially mosquitoes) in insect sprays and candles, and in
aromatherapy. The principal chemical constituents of citronella, geraniol and citronellol,
are antiseptics, hence their use in household disinfectants and soaps. Besides
oil production, citronella grass is also used for culinary purposes, as a
flavoring.
Citronella
is usually planted in home gardens to ward off insects such as whitefly adults.
Its cultivation enables growing some vegetables (e.g. tomatoes and broccoli)
without applying pesticides. Intercropping should
include physical barriers, for citronella roots can take over the field.
Lemongrass
oil, used as a pesticide and preservative, is put on the ancient palm-leaf manuscripts found in India as a
preservative. It is used at the Oriental Research Institute Mysore,
the French Institute of Pondicherry,
the Association for the Preservation of the Saint Thomas Christian Heritage
in Kerala,
and many other manuscript collections in India. The oil also injects natural
fluidity into the brittle palm leaves, and the hydrophobic nature
of the oil keeps the manuscripts dry so the text is not lost to decay due to
humidity.
East
Indian lemon grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), also called Cochin
grass or Malabar grass, is native to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand,
while West Indian lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is native to South Asia and maritime Southeast Asia. While both can be
used interchangeably, C. citratus is more suitable for cooking. In
India, C. citratus is used both as a medical herb and in
perfumes. C. citratus is consumed as a tea for anxiety in Brazilian
folk medicine, but
a study in humans found no effect. The
tea caused a recurrence of contact dermatitis in one case.
Lemon
grass is also used as an addition to tea, and in preparations such as kadha,
which is a traditional herbal brew used in Ayurvedic medicine
KAFFIR LIME LEAF
Kaffir lime leaf
is a key ingredient in Thai cooking as well as other Southeast-Asian cuisines.
It is probably one of the most aromatic of all herbs and a wonderful addition
to many Thai and Southeast-Asian soups, curries, and stir-fries. The thick
leaves are dark green and shiny on one side, and pale colored and porous on the
other.
Kaffir
lime leaves are not the same as leaves from a regular lime tree. Kaffir limes (Citrus
hystrix) are different from regular limes in that they are very
bitter with bumpy skin. In Thailand, the kaffir limes are not consumed but are
used mainly in producing household cleaning products. The leaves are very
aromatic and can be consumed if cooked or very thinly sliced. They are
hourglass-shaped "double" leaves, meaning there are two leaves at the
end of the stem.
Buying
Kaffir Lime Leaves
Kaffir
lime leaves can be purchased fresh, frozen or dried from Thai or
Vietnamese food stores (some Chinese food stores carry them while others do
not). In Asian food stores, you'll find them either in the fresh produce
section alongside the other herbs, or in the freezer section. A few of the
larger regular supermarket chains in the US and Canada are also starting to
sell lime leaves—look for them in the fresh herbs section.
Note
that dried lime leaves are not as aromatic or flavorful as fresh or frozen. One
package of fresh lime leaves will last you a year or longer, and
they freeze well. Take one or two leaves out as you need them, then
wrap up the package and return it to the freezer until next time.
Cooking
With Lime Leaves
Think
of kaffir lime leaves as the Asian equivalent to bay leaves. They can be
added whole to Thai curries, soups, and stir-fries (and removed before eating
the dish), and can also be cut up into very thin slivers and added to spice pastes,
or used as a topping for many recipes.
If
still attached to the stem, remove the leaf by holding onto the joint between
the two leaves and tear away the leaf. The best way to prepare lime leaves
is to cut them very thinly (into sliver-like pieces) with a pair of clean
scissors, discarding the central stem/vein. Frozen lime leaves can be used
right away, or briefly rinsed under hot water to thaw and bring out the
fragrance.
Many Thai recipes
feature lime leaf as a key ingredient, such as chicken
stir-fry, green
curry, chicken
fried rice, and Thai
steamed mussels. If a recipe calls for kaffir lime leaves and you
cannot find them, or choose not to use them, do not substitute with another
ingredient—skip it. There is no replacement for the unique flavor the kaffir
lime leaf imparts to a dish.
CELERY
Celery (Apium
graveolens) is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that
has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous
stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its
stalks, leaves, or hypocotyl are eaten and used in cooking. Celery seed
is also used as a spice and its extracts have been used in herbal
medicine.
Celery
leaves are pinnate to bipinnate with rhombic leaflets 3–6 cm
(1.2–2.4 in) long and 2–4 cm (0.79–1.57 in) broad. The flowers
are creamy-white, 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) in diameter, and are
produced in dense compound umbels. The seeds are broad ovoid to globose, 1.5–2 mm
(0.059–0.079 in) long and wide. Modern cultivars have
been selected for solid petioles,
leaf stalks. A
celery stalk readily separates into "strings" which are bundles of
angular collenchyma cells exterior to the vascular
bundles.
Wild
celery, Apium graveolens var. graveolens, grows to 1 m
(3.3 ft) tall. It occurs around the globe. The first cultivation is
thought to have happened in the Mediterranean region,
where the natural habitats were salty and wet, or marshy soils
near the coast where celery grew in agropyro-rumicion-plant
communities.
North
of the alps wild celery is found only in the foothill zone on soils with some
salt content. It prefers moist or wet, nutrient rich, muddy soils. It cannot be
found in Austria and is increasingly rare in Germany.
In
North America, commercial production of celery is dominated by the cultivar
called 'Pascal' celery.Gardeners
can grow a range of cultivars, many of which differ from the wild species,
mainly in having stouter leaf stems. They are ranged under two classes, white
and red. The stalks grow in tight, straight, parallel bunches, and are
typically marketed fresh that way, without roots and just a little green leaf
remaining.
The
stalks are eaten raw, or as an ingredient in salads, or as a flavoring in
soups, stews, and pot roasts.
