Most of the fruits you will meet in Thailand are wild. However, there are also farmed purposefully (for example, durian), which are agricultural crops. Among them, papayas fruit has a special place It is an essential ingredient in many national dishes. although he came to the Kingdom of Siam from the other side of the Pacific Ocean. AT the wild-looking melon-like papaya fruit is found in Mexico, Central and Latin America. Its juicy flesh is pierced chains of closed tubules filled with white milky juice.
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Miracle Fruit: both fruit and vegetable in one person
It grows on low (no more than 10 meters) palm trees. So what is it rather fruit. If you have never seen what a fruit looks like papaya in its natural form, you can easily confuse it unripe fruit with a bunch of coconut.
If you will read the description of the fruit papaya, then you can stumble upon its second name – breadfruit. Everything The fact is that when baking on fire, the fruit begins to exude aroma fresh bread.
Papaya Plantation
It is not necessary to wait until the fruit turns yellow-orange. Quite a few recipes, whose ingredients are unripe, green fruit. The taste of papaya fruit resembles a melon, but about the smell most connoisseurs tend to believe that he is the most looks like raspberries.
Eating this fruit can even be a separate dish which is often seasoned with grated parmesan. But it is already European invention, and Thais like to water the pieces this fructasok green lemon (lime) and use it in the quality of a wholesome breakfast (there are many proteins and carbohydrates in fruits) Hot and bracing Som Tam salad served in many national restaurants in Thailand, cooked on the basis of pieces of green papaya and dried shrimp. Chilli and garlic are added to it. piquancy.
Salad Som Tam with the addition of papaya
Each province of Thailand has its own, unique papaya recipes. It is consumed in the northeast. along with sticky rice. On the coast, this fruit is added to fish soups, seafood and meat dishes. Cut it in salads, using as a flavor pad between the egg and garlic. Also green fruits are stuffed with meat, rice seasoned with spices and stewed. The price of papaya in Thailand is an average of 25 baht per kilogram.
In general, there is one general rule: if papaya is immature, then used as a vegetable. Ripe fruits are used as fruits, added even to ice cream. Therefore, the question “papaya – Is it a fruit or a vegetable? “There is still no definite answer. Moreover, according to the scientific classification, it belongs to the genus cruciferous plants, the most famous of which is cabbage.
Green and ripe papaya fruits
The benefits of papaya
The exotic fruit of papaya is wonderful, first queue, the content in it of a special enzyme not found no other fruit. He was called so – papain. is he helps to improve digestion. Especially when The menu is dominated by meat dishes. Latin American Indians these properties are known for several thousand years. Worth note that it is used for the manufacture of medicines, doctors osteochondrosis.
The beneficial properties of papaya fruit are so numerous that are worthy of a separate treatise. The fruits contain proteins, carbohydrates and fiber, but remain low-calorie – per 100 grams of pulp only 39 calories. They contain full a set of vitamins and trace elements.
Papaya cut into slices
Virologist Luc Montagnier, who discovered the HIV virus, believes that she able to stop the development of pathogenic microflora.
The juice of the fruit of this plant has a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract, facilitating well-being, and in some cases of cured gastritis and peptic ulcer. He helps with dangerous insect bites, burns.
Thai medicine uses not only papaya fruits, but also leaves, the roots. They make anthelmintic and contraceptive drugs, drugs that alleviate the condition of asthma patients.
Possible harm to papaya
Contraindications fruit papaya first relate to those who suffer from allergies. Latex juice, contained not only in the fruit, but in all other parts plants can be irritating in severe cases leading to burns. Especially a lot of it in fresh, just taken from a branch of unripe fruit.
In addition, the fruits contain alkaloid Karpain. In fact – it is weak poison, due to which the plant is attributed to the anthelmintic properties. Overuse of papaya can lead to severe poisoning.
