The hawthorn fruit, also known as qiuzi, haihong, red hawthorn, or nai zi, is also called the eight-ribbed hawthorn or da baliang due to the eight prominent ridges on its fruit. Its skin boasts a vivid, eye-catching red hue, while the flesh is yellowish-white with a rich, fragrant aroma. When eaten fresh, it offers a sweet-tart flavor with a crisp texture.They are abundantly produced in Huailai, Hebei, and widely cultivated in other northern regions, including Yunnan.
Are crabapples edible?
Are crabapples edible? Yes, crabapples are edible and suitable for general consumption.Hawthorn fruit is neutral in nature, sweet with a slight sourness, and enters the spleen and stomach meridians. It promotes fluid production, quenches thirst, strengthens the spleen, and stops diarrhea. It is primarily used to treat indigestion, food stagnation with abdominal distension, enteritis with diarrhea, and hemorrhoids.
Containing sugars, various vitamins, and organic acids, crabapple fruit helps replenish intracellular fluids, thereby promoting fluid production and quenching thirst. Its rich content of vitamins, organic acids, and pectin aids gastrointestinal digestion of food and drink, making it useful for treating indigestion, food stagnation, and abdominal distension.With a sweet and slightly sour taste, crabapple's sweetness soothes the stomach while its sourness provides astringency. It functions to constrict and stop diarrhea, harmonize the middle burner, and alleviate dysentery, effectively treating diarrhea, loose stools, and thin bowel movements. Crabapple contains abundant essential nutrients like sugars, various vitamins, and organic acids, supplying nourishment to the body and enhancing immunity.
Select crab apples that are uniformly sized, with fresh, sturdy stems and plump flesh free from insect damage. Store them in bags in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place.
Can infants and young children eat crab apples? Yes, they can.For young children, small portions are acceptable, but avoid excessive consumption. As with any food, maintaining a balanced diet and reasonable intake is essential. Can pregnant women eat crab apples? Pregnant women may consume crab apples in moderation, but excessive intake is not recommended. Crab apples are rich in folic acid and offer benefits such as quenching thirst, strengthening the spleen, alleviating diarrhea, and treating indigestion, making them a suitable fruit choice for expectant mothers.However, due to their sour taste, pregnant women with gastric ulcers or excessive stomach acid should avoid them. How to eat crab apples? Crab apples can be eaten in various ways, either raw or cooked. They can be washed and eaten directly. Alternatively, peel and dice them to make a salad.Wash them, remove the residual calyx at the stem end, and simmer in a clay pot with a pinch of salt until the flowers bloom. Once cooled, they become a premium canned preserve.
Beyond fresh or cooked consumption, crabapples serve as excellent ingredients for wine-making, honey production, jams, fruit vinegars, fruit wines, and dried fruit strips.Quince can also be sliced and air-dried to achieve 30% moisture content, yielding dried quince that stores for up to three years. When steeped in water with cane sugar, dried quince yields a sweet-tart beverage with a rich, fresh quince aroma. It cools the body, clears heat, strengthens the spleen, and stimulates appetite, offering excellent therapeutic and health benefits.
Dried Scallop with Sea Buckthorn Fruit
Method:
1. Soak dried scallops in water for 30 minutes, drain thoroughly, then steam over high heat for 40 minutes. Remove, cool, and shred into thin strips. Reserve.
2. Clean shrimp, remove intestinal tract, then combine with diced pork, cornstarch, and salt. Mix vigorously by hand until sticky. Add remaining filling ingredients and seasonings, stirring until well blended.
3. Divide the filling into 12 portions. Place one portion into each wonton wrapper. Pinch the edges closed using your thumb and index finger, then gently flatten the top filling with your fingers. Steam over high heat for 8 minutes.
Green Bean Paste Sea Buckthorn Fruit
Ingredients: 500g glutinous rice flour, 400g mung bean paste, 150g dry fine rice flour, 150g ham sausage, 20g soybean flour, 200g white sugar.
Method:
1. Combine glutinous rice flour and rice flour in a 4:1 ratio in a bowl. Add sufficient water and knead into a dough. Roll into a log, cut into sections, and flatten each piece with a rolling pin.Poke a small hole in the center and insert a small ham stick to form the shape of a raw crabapple. Steam until cooked, then sprinkle with soybean flour and white sugar to serve.
Raw Crabapple-Shaped Dumplings
Ingredients: 100g all-purpose flour, 1 egg white, a pinch of salt, 150g shrimp meat, 25g fatty pork,25g water chestnuts, several green onions, ginger, scallions, cornstarch slurry, salt, pepper, sesame oil to taste.
Method:
1. Mix flour with egg white, salt, and water into a dough. Let rest for 10 minutes. Mince shrimp, slice water chestnuts into thin pieces, and finely chop ginger and scallions.
2. Beat the shrimp paste until sticky, then mix in seasonings. Roll the rested dough into a thin sheet, cut into 8cm squares, trim corners to form circles.
3. Place 15g filling on each dough circle, fold into a ball with seam side down. Press a hole in top and insert a green plum.Steam for 4 minutes, remove, arrange on a plate, and brush with oil.
Hawthorn Fruit Weight Loss Recipes
Breakfast: 50g steamed buns, red bean porridge (10g adzuki beans, 20g hawthorn berries, 3g lard, small amounts of ginger, scallions, salt, MSG), stir-fried leeks with bean sprouts(100g Chinese chives, 200g mung bean sprouts, 5g vegetable oil, small amounts of salt and MSG).
Dinner: 150g steamed sweet potato, 25g millet porridge, stir-fried bok choy (200g bok choy, 5g vegetable oil, small amounts of ginger, salt, and MSG).
Snack: 100g hawthorn fruit.
Hawthorn Fruit Remedies
1. Clears heat, promotes digestion: Slice hawthorn fruit, sun-dry, then steep in water with sugar.
2. Relieves indigestion and diarrhea: Combine 30g fresh hawthorn fruit, 30g fresh shepherd's purse, 3 slices ginger, 2 scallion whites.Remove skin and seeds from hawthorn fruit, slice thinly. Place shepherd's purse and hawthorn slices in pot with water, ginger, and scallion whites. Bring to boil, then add seasoning. Consume in one sitting, twice daily for 5 consecutive days.