Celery or lovage? Coming into the market is easy to make a mistake with their choice. Not everyone knows that celery and lovage are not the same, but different plants and their similarity is only conditional. Let's try to understand the truth and learn to recognize them at first sight.
Table of contents
- What is a lovage?
- Use in cooking
- Medicinal properties
- Cosmetology
- Growing
- Contraindications
- What is celery?
- Culinary use
- Treatment characteristics
- Cosmetology
- Cultivation
- Contraindications
- Celery and lovage, how does it differ from one another?
What is a lovage?
Lovage is an edible, medicinal, perennial, herbaceous plant of the umbrella family. Since ancient times, known as a spicy culture, which has a pronounced taste and aroma.
Historical homeland - Iran. It has similarities with parsley and celery. The British called him “love parsley”, while in Russia they call him “winter celery”.The main destination: culinary and medicinal.
Botanical description:
- thick, branched roots;
- root depth approximately 0.5 m;
- height 2m and more;
- stem dense at the base, juicy;
- leaves are large, pinnately dissected;
- leaf color is dark green;
- inflorescences are white, small;
- spicy flavor;
- taste slightly hot;
- pleasant aftertaste, bitter.
Lovage plant is not only tasty, but also very useful. It consists of more than 200 substances. Among them are potassium, vitamins of a wide group of action, malic acid, mineral compounds and essential oils. In Russia, all parts of the plant were considered a means, enhances the masculine power , and in European countries - a female aphrodisiac.
Use in cooking
Lovage is a spice for gourmets. In fresh form, the most suitable young foliage. With age, it becomes tough and less tasty. Leaves can be prepared for the winter, dried or frozen.
Lovage blends well with seasonal vegetable salads, hot first, meat and fish dishes.
Medicinal properties
The rhizome and juice of all parts of the culture is famous for its healing power. It is used in folk medicine for the treatment of:
- dropsy;
- getting rid of worms;
- internal disease;
- rheumatism;
- gout;
- diseases of the upper respiratory tract;
- nervous disorders and insomnia;
- Alcoholism.
Cosmetology
For cosmetic purposes, extracts from parts of lovage are used. It is added to shampoo against hair loss and for hair growth. Juice helps to whiten the skin of the face. It is used in creams against freckles and to reduce pigmentation.
Baths with the addition of such an aromatic oil relieve skin inflammation, heal microcracks and cuts. Lotions and decoctions treat acne, pimples, purulent inflammation.
. Cultivation
Lovage is grown in sunny areas or in partial shade. Starting in May, you can feast on his young, juicy leaves. Vegetable demanding moisture, when the drought leaves turn yellow. It is frost-resistant and does not demand shelter. Propagated by the seed method and the method of dividing the mother bush. It takes root in a new place painlessly and grows very quickly.
Contraindications
All parts of the culture should not be consumed by young children, pregnant women, as well as with a tendency to hemorrhoids and pyelonephritis. Doctors do not recommend to get involved in them with stomach diseases and intestinal problems.
What is celery?
Celery is known to the world for many thousands of years, as a useful spice. In the wild, it grows in the regions of the Mediterranean Sea on wetlands and salt marshes. It is a spicy, edible, umbrella annual plant. There are three types: leaf, root and stalked.
Botanical description:
- root system is weakly branching, small;
- plant height from 0.3 to 1 m;
- stem is a succulent, dense stalk, and thin and grassy in leaf;
- leaves are not large pinnately dissected type;
- color is saturated green;
- inflorescences are small, greenish;
- flavor spicy;
- taste is pleasant, not spicy;
- tasteless without bitterness.
Celery Root
By the amount of vitamins is among the top five healthy vegetables. It contains amino acids and carotene, essential oils, nicotinic acid, amino acids, thiamine and riboflavin, vitamins E, A, B and androsterone( male sex hormone) .
Cooking Applications
Cookers use all parts of the plant “from versch to root”.Leaves and roots go to vegetable salads, meat and fish dishes, for making soups and broths. They can be dried or frozen, while celery does not lose its positive qualities.
Petioles can be eaten fresh, added to salads, in first and second courses. Roasted or roasted petioles - this is a delicious side dish, they are served with meat and fish dishes. Use healthy juice from petioles and use it in combination with tomato, cucumber and cabbage.
Root celery is a separate story. It is baked like a turnip. Cook and fry like potatoes. Vegetable goes well with apples, grapefruit, chicken breast, cheeses and nuts.
Medicinal characteristics
Herring, as a medicine, is not inferior to lovage. Beneficial effect on the digestive tract, improves appetite. Drinking its leaf juice at night calms the nerves and ensures good sleep. .Nutritionists recommend eating it for weight loss.
In traditional medicine, it is used as:
- diuretic and laxative;
- stimulator of digestive organs;
- in the treatment and prevention of kidney disease;
- for blood purification;
- in diabetes mellitus.
Cosmetology
It is difficult to overestimate the miraculous properties of celery aimed at rejuvenation of female beauty .Its juice stops suitable for all skin types and for any age. It stops cell aging, relieves irritation, serves as a tonic, nourishing and cleansing agent.
The world's leading manufacturers prepare the best creams based on extracts from all parts of celery. Acne and pimples are treated with it. There are hundreds of folk recipes for masks and lotions with its use.