Wax gourd is mainly produced in summer, so it is named because when the melon is ripe, there is a layer of white powder on the surface, just like frost in winter, which is also the reason. Wax gourd is also called white melon.

Wax gourd is an annual herb in Cucurbitaceae. Originated in southern China and India, it is cultivated in all parts of China, and the main supply season is summer and autumn.

Wax gourd, the fruit is round, oblate or oblong, and the causal species are different in size, with the small weighing several kilograms and the large weighing several kilograms; The skin is green, and most varieties of mature fruits have white powder on the surface; The flesh is thick and white, the vegetables are loose and juicy, and the taste is light. Both young and old melons can be eaten. The quality of wax gourd, in addition to the tender melon picked early, generally requires the old wax gourd picked late: fully developed, ripe, firm meat, thick meat and small ventricle; The skin is bluish green with hoarfrost, with correct shape, no spots and trauma on the epidermis, and the skin is not soft or rotten.

Nutritional value of wax gourd

Wax gourd contains high water content, protein, sugar, carotene, vitamins, crude fiber, calcium, phosphorus and iron, high potassium salt content and low sodium salt content.

Edible effect of wax gourd

1. Lose weight and reduce blood fat

2. Protect the kidney

Regulating immune function, improving clinical symptoms and protecting renal function. Folk people have the effect of using winter melon skin, broad beans and water to decoct and drink water, which can treat edema of kidney disease and heart disease. Boiled soup of wax gourd and carp can treat chronic nephritis.

3. Clearing away heat and resolving phlegm

It has the effects of clearing away heat and resolving phlegm, reducing swelling and promoting diuresis.

4. Anti-cancer

Vitamin B 1 for cancer prevention and selenium for cancer prevention are quite rich in wax gourd. In addition, the crude fiber in wax gourd can also stimulate gastrointestinal peristalsis, so that carcinogens accumulated in the intestine can be excreted as soon as possible.

5. Moisturize and beautify

Wax gourd seeds can inhibit the deposition of melanin in the body and have good moisturizing and beauty effects.

6.7% has the effects of improving blood sugar level, lowering cholesterol, lowering blood lipid and preventing arteriosclerosis. Wax gourd contains propanol diacid, which has a good effect on controlling the transformation of sugar into fat, preventing fat accumulation, preventing hypertension and losing weight.

Tips for purchasing wax gourd

Look at the shape: the whole wax gourd is well-proportioned and has no spots; If it is a cut melon, choose a melon with thicker meat, less flesh and white melon meat;

Look at the flesh: cut melon, the flesh is tight and closely connected with the flesh is fresh, and the flesh collapses and is separated from the flesh for a long time.

Big picture of wax gourd. jpg Comparison of wax gourd. jpg

If you press it with your hand, it will be soft and collapse, and the melon body will be lighter and the shape will be asymmetrical. There are two kinds of wax gourd in the market: with frost and without frost. The meat without frost is thick, and it is not easy to make soup when fried, which is suitable for cooking; Frosted ones are easy to taste and suitable for soup.

Storage skills of wax gourd

Wax gourd likes temperature and heat resistance, and can be stored in a ventilated place.

Cooking skills of wax gourd

1. Melons are cool and should not be eaten raw.

2. Melon is an ideal daily food for relieving fever and diuresis, and the effect is more obvious if you cook soup with skin.

3. When cooking soup with melon and meat, the wax gourd must be put behind, and then simmered slowly with a small fire, so as to prevent the wax gourd from being overcooked and rotten.

Edible taboo of wax gourd

Winter melon is cold and cold, and people with spleen and stomach weakness, kidney deficiency and cold, long-term illness and diarrhea, and cold limbs due to yang deficiency should not eat it.

Women who have menstrual cramps and cold dysmenorrhea should not eat.

Edible suggestion of wax gourd

Remove the pulp and peel the wax gourd (if it is used for soup, it is not necessary to peel it, but the skin can clear away heat and damp), and rinse it with clear water.

It can be cut into thin slices of wax gourd for cold salad or stir-frying, and can be cut into 1cm thick slices or blocks for stewing soup, steaming or juicing.

Peeling. jpg cutting method. jpg When cold salad, you should first blanch the wax gourd with boiling water until it is transparent, and then add juice or seasoning to flavor it. You can stir-fry it or mix it with various vegetables and meat. Don't throw away the peeled winter melon skin, but wash it and dry it to make tea, which has a good effect of clearing away heat and reducing swelling. Winter melon is easy to boil when cooked for a long time, so make soup with winter melon and cook until it becomes transparent. Prickly heat: wax gourd slices are directly smeared with prickly heat.

Repair after sun exposure: Take wax gourd juice and rub it evenly on the skin, which has the effects of cooling, detoxifying and whitening the skin.