Tag: mosquitoes

Citronella is not used only against mosquitoes – Italian Cuisine

Citronella is not used only against mosquitoes


Lemongrass, also known as lemongrass, is a plant with a thousand uses, even in the kitchen: here's how to use it from minestrone to fruit salad

That of citronella it is one of the scents most reminiscent of summer: its citrus smell acts as a repellent against the notorious mosquitoes! But did you know that it can also be used in the kitchen? Also note how lemongrass is one of the most used ingredients in the Thai or Indian cuisine but today it is becoming increasingly popular also in the western one.
Here are some ideas to revisit the typical recipes of our kitchen with this plant and some useful information about the way of preservation and its benefits.

The benefits of citronella

Lemongrass has many beneficial properties: however, before taking it, we advise you to consult your doctor, to exclude interference with ongoing drug therapies. Lemongrass has an antipyretic function, so it lowers a fever. Helps stimulate digestion and combat insomnia and stress. It has diuretic and purifying properties, excellent therefore to be consumed as an infusion, to detoxify liver and kidneys. Finally, lemongrass is precious for skin care, it improves the appearance, reducing acne and pimples.

Where to find citronella and how to keep it

In Italy it is now possible to find fresh lemongrass also in the fruit and vegetable counters of the supermarket. To preserve it, there are different ways: it can be dried, or you can seal the green stems in a tightly closed plastic bag for up to 3 weeks, or freeze them for about 6 months.

Legume soup and cereals with lemongrass

There soup of legumes and cereals is a must, both in winter and in summer (to be consumed perhaps cooled). To flavor it, you can add citronella. Here's how to prepare it: soak the legumes for at least 12 hours, then pour them into the boiling broth and boil them for at least 35 minutes. Add the pearl barley and continue cooking for another 25 minutes. Finally, add lemongrass and corn to the soup, cooking for another 5 minutes. Finally, serve, taking care to remove the lemongrass stalks.

Lemongrass calamarata

There Calamarata, in spite of the name, it is not a dish based on squid, but it is a first course based on this typical pasta, which recalls squid rings. To prepare this, do this: peel the lemongrass, cutting it into slices. Melt the butter, adding the lemongrass and leaving it to infuse for about an hour. Meanwhile, boil the pasta and sauté the fennel in a scented oil with basil and garlic. Drain the pasta, season with the fennel and the lemon filtered butter.

Lemon grass salad

In summer, the fruit salad it is not only a simple dessert, but also the main meal on the most sultry days. Here is a really tasty version with citronella: boil 200 g of water with sliced ​​citronella, filtered and sweetened with fructose. Meanwhile, cut into cubes of melon and two of the grapes. Then add blueberries and raspberries and sweeten, pouring the citronella infusion. Serve fresh from the fridge.

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Foods that help us fight mosquitoes – Italian Cuisine

53401


Like every year, as soon as time makes us want to enjoy nature and the open air, they return inexorably mosquitoes to ruin our party. And like every year we rush to find effective but natural remedies. There are hundreds of tips on the internet, some quite unlikely. To be sure of using remedies that have a scientific basis it is worthwhile to go to the CNR website, where some researchers have collected them on Infozarmi.it.

We can use it as a repellent vinegar, lemon or one onion cut in half sprinkled with cloves, placed in large-based containers, or a decoction of mint and basil to be sprayed on the body.

Or you can try to supplement our normal diet with ingredients that by changing the smell of our sweat make us less appealing to evil insects.

THE'garlic, first, it contains a substance (the alumina) that gives our body an odor that makes the mosquitoes unable to recognize us. But it should be eaten raw, therefore it is useless to use it in preparations in which at the end the segments are thrown away. The advice is to eat often tomato bruschette well rubbed with garlic, and we will thus obtain two results, satisfy the palate and avoid annoying bites.

53401 The peperoncino, as garlic alters our odor but through other substances. It contains both B vitamins and vitamin C. These mosquito repellents are contained in abundance and together in this food but we also find them in citrus fruits (vitamin C) and in yeast (vitamins B).

Finally, in summer, it is advisable to season the food as much as possible with such spices basil, mint, thyme, lavender, nutmeg.
These foods spread repellent scents for insects and thus help in the perennial struggle without having to resort to chemicals that, although effective against mosquitoes, are harmful both to us and to other animals.

Cristina Papi
12 May 2014

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