What is black carrot juice: cultivation, preparation and application
Black carrots, or scorzonera, are rarely seen on store shelves. This root vegetable is undeservedly forgotten, although in ancient times it was used for culinary and medicinal purposes. The product with an amazing sweetish taste and delicate aroma of vanilla has a rich chemical composition and many useful properties.
In this article we will tell you what kind of vegetable it is, how to grow it and use it for cooking and home remedies.
The content of the article
What is black carrot
Scorzonera, goat, black or sweet root, black carrot (Latin Scorzonera hispanica) are the names of the same culture from the genus Kozelets (Scorzonera). The plant is grown for root crops.
Homeland of culture - Southern Europe and Southwest Asia... Carrots grow almost everywhere in Europe, found in Georgia, the foothills of the Caucasus, in the European part of Russia. Especially appreciated in Turkey.
Features:
It is a perennial plant but is grown as an annual for obtaining thick cylindrical root crops.
Erect stems, branched, 25-75 cm high, densely leafy. The branches are sticking out, the base is covered with basal leaves.
Leaves are green or gray-green... The lower foliage is ovoid or oblong in shape, with many veins. The average foliage at the base is stalk-enveloping, oblong, the upper one is subulate.
Inflorescences are single cylindrical baskets with with pointed leaves, fleecy at the edges, yellow.
Root vegetables outwardly resemble the usual carrots.... Length - up to 15 cm, diameter - up to 5 cm, weight - 150-200 g. Skin color is black, flesh is creamy or white, juicy.
The culture enters the flowering phase in May... Root crops ripen at the end of May - June.
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Types and varieties
Scorzonera is abundant in shops and markets in Turkey... In the south of the country, the popular varieties are Black Knight, Purple Dragon, Pusa Asilta.
In Russia, culture has not yet gained much popularity, which is explained by the lack of information about its useful qualities and features of agricultural technology.
Reference. Some varieties of black carrots are included in the State Register: Overseas delicacy, Sunny Premiere and Healing.
| Specifications | Overseas delicacy | Sunny Premiere | Curative |
| Ripening period | 100-120 days | 101-120 days | 100-120 days |
| Power socket | Half-raised | Vertical | Half-raised |
| Leaves | Medium green | Ovate-elongated, on a long petiole | Ovate-elongated, on a long petiole |
| Root shape | Cylindrical | Cylindrical | Conical |
| Root vegetable color | Dark brown skin, white flesh | Dark brown skin, white flesh | Dark brown skin, white flesh |
| Length | 28-35 cm | 28-31 cm | 28-35 cm |
| Weight | 100-130 g | 60-80 g | 60-80 g |
| Yield | 1.8 kg / m² | 1.5-1.8 kg / m² | 1.5-1.8 kg / m² |
| Application | Cooking, traditional medicine | Cooking, traditional medicine | Cooking, traditional medicine |
Benefit and harm
The nutritional value of scorzonera is higher than that of orange carrots. The product contains B vitamins, ascorbic acid, zinc, inulin, potassium, asparagine, phosphorus.
Black carrots have such beneficial properties:
lowering blood pressure;- improvement of vision;
- acceleration of metabolism;
- increased immunity;
- removal of inflammation;
- diabetes mellitus treatment;
- elimination of radionuclides and toxins.
Scorzonera has been used since ancient times for preparation of antivenom for viper bites.
Possible complications:
- irritation of the gastric mucosa, which is why it is prohibited to use for gastritis and stomach ulcers;
- allergic reaction.
Healing properties
The rich vitamin and mineral composition allows use black carrots for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, influenza, ARVI, vitamin deficiency, anemia... Regular consumption of the product reduces excess body fat, regulates blood pressure, improves vision, and relieves inflammation.
Application
Scorzonera's appearance is not very attractive... Root vegetables resemble thick straight sticks or roots of some plant. But as soon as you remove the peel, you will have a white, juicy pulp with a slight vanilla aroma in your hands. The taste of carrots is similar to sweet radish or asparagus. The root vegetable is widely used in cooking and folk medicine.
In cooking
Black carrots added to first courses and salads, served as a side dish with meat, fish, cereals, used as a filling for pies, cook casseroles, omelets, fried with vegetables. The product is suitable for canning and freezing.
For making soup the root crop is washed, doused with boiling water, peeled, cut into pieces and thrown into boiling water. Gloves are used when cleaning so that the milky juice does not darken the skin of the hands.
For making salad the root vegetable is boiled in salted water for 30 minutes, then cut and seasoned with vegetable oil.
Council. To prevent the flesh from darkening after removing the skin, put the root vegetable in water slightly acidified with lemon juice or table vinegar.
Casserole with spinach and scorzonera
For cooking you need the following ingredients:
- scorzonera - 1 kg;
- lemon juice - 50 ml;
- butter - 15 g;
- spinach - 500 g;
- sour cream 15% - 150 ml;
- vegetable broth - 250 ml;
- eggs - 2 pcs.;
- hard cheese - 100 g;
- nutmeg, black pepper - to taste;
- sesame seeds - 3 tbsp. l.
Preparation:
- Scorzonera peel and boil in salted water with 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice until tender.
- Grease the bottom of the dish with butter, put black carrots, spinach, sprinkle with lemon juice.
- Mix the broth, eggs and sour cream, salt and pepper, add the nutmeg and pour the mixture over the vegetables.
- Grate cheese on a coarse grater, mix with sesame seeds and sprinkle on top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes in an oven preheated to a temperature of 200 ° C.
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In folk medicine
From root vegetables and black carrot leaves prepare infusions, decoctions, tinctures, ointment:
- Grind 20 g of dry leaves, pour 250 ml of water and cook for 15 minutes, then leave for half an hour and strain. The infusion is used for the treatment of ARVI, dermatitis, polyarthritis and gout, wiping the bites of mosquitoes and midges, washing wounds and abscesses.
- Grate 200 g of root vegetables, pour 250 ml of boiling water and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes, leave to brew for 30 minutes. The broth is taken orally, 30 ml 4 times a day, half an hour before meals. The remedy relieves bronchitis, diseases of the joints, liver.
- 2 tbsp. l. grated root pour 1 liter of boiling water, pour into a thermos, leave for 12 hours. Take 1 tsp. 30 minutes before meals for 3 weeks, then take a break of 7 days and repeat the course of treatment. The tool relieves liver and gallbladder diseases.
- Pour 200 g of root vegetables with 1 liter of alcohol, leave for 1 week. Use the tincture to tighten wounds, treat furunculosis.
- Pour boiling water over black carrot leaves, wrap in gauze and apply to places affected by arthritis.
- 1 tbsp. l. mix black tea with 1 tbsp. l. Scorzonera root, pour boiling water and take to reduce attacks of toxicosis.
- Combine pork fat with dry root vegetable powder.Use for rubbing painful joints, treating abscesses on the skin.
The nuances of growing
Scorzonera is grown like a regular carrot... The plant is resistant to cold and drought, tolerates frosts down to –30 ° C under deep snow cover.
Seeds germinate at + 4 ... + 5 ° С, however, the optimum temperature for fast germination is + 20 ° С.
The culture grows best in areas with early spring and cool summer, worst of all - in regions with late spring and early autumn. In the first year, a lanceolate rosette and long fleshy roots are formed, black or dark brown. In the second year, a stem up to 1 m high, flowers and seeds grow.
The growing season is 100-120 days... The plant prefers nutritious, deeply plowed soil after peas, cucumbers, potatoes, onions.
The soil is prepared in autumn: deep plowing is carried out and fertilized with humus. In the spring, the soil is loosened and seeds are sown to a depth of 2-3 cm.
Sowing scheme:
- two-line: the gap between the lines is 25-30 cm, and between the rows - 50-60 cm;
- single-line: the gap between the rows is 45-50 cm.
After the appearance of 2-3 true leaves, the seedlings are thinned out, leaving a gap of 5-6 cm, and then 10-12 cm.
If the plants shoot arrows, the flowers are cut off... Weeding and loosening are carried out as needed. Irrigate according to weather conditions. In the heat, the frequency of watering is increased, in rainy weather, they stop.
Harvesting is carried out in late autumn... The soil is pre-moistened for easy extraction of root crops. Dig in with a shovel very carefully so as not to damage the roots. If you cut them off, the product will not store well.
Scorzonera winters best in soil and much worse in a cellar.... Therefore, some of the root crops are dug up, the foliage is cut off, and the rest are stored in the ground, digging out as needed.
To obtain seeds, black carrots are left in the ground... In the first half of June, flowering begins, which lasts more than 30 days. The seeds ripen unevenly, so the collection stretches for a long period. Seed yield - 20 g / 1 m².
How to squeeze and apply black carrot juice
For making juice root vegetables are washed, doused with boiling water and peeled off the peel. Then twist it through a meat grinder, transfer the mass to clean gauze and squeeze out the juice. You can also use a blender or juicer.
Means used to heal wounds and ulcerative skin lesions... Juice lotions help cure bleeding gums.
For the treatment of urolithiasis juice is mixed with honey in a 1: 1 ratio and 1 tbsp. l. before meals for 2-3 weeks.
In case of individual intolerance, the drug is stopped.
Reviews
Most gardeners know black carrots under the name "goat"... Few people are engaged in the cultivation of culture, so there are few reviews about it. Those who have tried to eat root vegetables speak of the culture in a positive way.
Evgeniy, Kstovo: “Scorzonera, or black carrot, is not one of the popular cultures, but I learned about its beneficial properties from my grandmother. Last year I found seeds in the store and sowed them in the garden. The culture does not cause particular difficulties in growing. Agrotechnology is standard, as for ordinary carrots. He removed weeds, loosened the earth crust and watered. In the fall, I gathered part of the crop, and left part of it in the ground for seeds. Root vegetables have an unusual but pleasant taste. When cutting, a milky juice is released, which stains the hands, so you need to clean them with gloves ".
Larissa, Yelets: “I know about this plant since childhood. We called it "goat" and chewed on the young leaves. Recently I learned about the beneficial properties of black carrots and I plan to try its medicinal properties on myself. The plant has spread in our country house by self-seeding in large quantities ".
Conclusion
Black carrots, or sweet root, are not the same as regular orange carrots.Since ancient times, a cylindrical or conical root crop has been used for medicinal purposes. Over time, people have appreciated the high taste of the product. Soups, salads, pie fillings are prepared from it, stewed, fried, baked.
Growing a crop is no different from growing carrots. Seeds are buried in fertile soil, watered as needed, weeds are removed and loosening is carried out.
Infusions, decoctions, ointments based on black carrots help to cure diseases of the skin, liver, gallbladder, joints, promote the elimination of radionuclides, reduce oxidative processes in the body, tone and regulate blood sugar levels.