longans

[froggie]

looks nice. like lychees. tastes similar?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longan

 

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LONGANS, ONE OF THE STARS OF CHINESE MEDICINE Longans have become popular both in the West and East for their health properties. The fruit has had a long history of use in the Orient, and can treat a variety of ailments and conditions. As Jacqueline M. Newman reported in the Fall 2000 issue of Flavour and Fortune: "Longan is known in Chinese as long yan gou. This fruit has three botanical names: Euphoria longan, Longan aril, and Arillus longan. All of them refer to dragon eye fruit, another common name for this fruit that grows on trees that reach heights of 35 feet or more. The tree is an evergreen, the fruit abundant, and it is light brown when ripe. Longans grow in bunches, as many as a dozen hanging down from a small central twig. They ripen in summer and they provide moderately juicy translucent flesh. There is one pit, dark brown in color, in each longan fruit.

 

"In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), these fruits are considered warm, sweet and astringent. Many parts of them are used medicinally including the fruit itself, which when dried, relieves anxiety. The leaves are said to cool the system, the flowers aid the kidneys, as do the seeds. The roots are used to treat diabetics and to treat gonorrhea. Also the fruit, with the exterior shell left on, are used in a tea known as san po tai made with rock sugar and tea leaves.

 

"The fruit as a TCM, is used for cardiac palpitations and books recommend an ounce of it steamed with a teaspoon of pickled Chinese dates to be consumed once a day. For weakness, and for those with lack of strength during pregnancy, the same amount of fruit is recommended mixed with two ounces of crystallized brown sugar, one ounce of red dates, and a teaspoon of fresh ginger; these to be steamed together and this amount eaten once a day.

 

"The longan has other roles in Chinese medicine, one touted is for those with premature gray hair. They should drink an ounce of longan wine blood tonic every morning and every evening. Longan wine blood tonic will also enrich their blood. Should you want to make some, the medicinal books say to take equal amounts of the fruit, knotweed (Polygonum multiflorum), and leatherleaf (Caulis reticulate), and three times that amount of rice wine. Then soak them together for ten days. There is a non-alcoholic longan tonic that simmers the same amount of fruit with an equal amount of sugar until very thick. It is taken twice daily, as well.

 

"Dried longan fruit that was soaked in hot water rather than sun-dried, is used for loss of appetite, ulcers that do not heal, wounds and bleeding, ringworm or other scalp itches, even for relief of armpit and body odor. For that last item, the recipe calls for half an ounce of the pit ground then mixed with two teaspoons of black pepper to make an poultice. This is put directly on the odoriferous body part, amount of time it needs to stay there not mentioned."

Edited June 13, 2009 by froggie

[Tabula Rasa]

nice informative post, thanks froggie....never heard of longans before...will keep eyes peeled for them....

[DaoChild]

Longans?

 

Wow I've never heard that name before.. My family in Haiti call them "Canepes" . They are my absolute favorite fruit in the world -- absolutely delicious. I've never seen them in asian markets though, only when I head into the Bronx where I see people selling them and sugar cane.

[gendao]

looks nice. like lychees. tastes similar?

 

"In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), these fruits are considered warm, sweet and astringent. Many parts of them are used medicinally including the fruit itself, which when dried, relieves anxiety. The leaves are said to cool the system, the flowers aid the kidneys, as do the seeds. The roots are used to treat diabetics and to treat gonorrhea. Also the fruit, with the exterior shell left on, are used in a tea known as san po tai made with rock sugar and tea leaves.

 

"The fruit as a TCM, is used for cardiac palpitations and books recommend an ounce of it steamed with a teaspoon of pickled Chinese dates to be consumed once a day. For weakness, and for those with lack of strength during pregnancy, the same amount of fruit is recommended mixed with two ounces of crystallized brown sugar, one ounce of red dates, and a teaspoon of fresh ginger; these to be steamed together and this amount eaten once a day.

 

"The longan has other roles in Chinese medicine, one touted is for those with premature gray hair. They should drink an ounce of longan wine blood tonic every morning and every evening. Longan wine blood tonic will also enrich their blood. Should you want to make some, the medicinal books say to take equal amounts of the fruit, knotweed (Polygonum multiflorum), and leatherleaf (Caulis reticulate), and three times that amount of rice wine. Then soak them together for ten days. There is a non-alcoholic longan tonic that simmers the same amount of fruit with an equal amount of sugar until very thick. It is taken twice daily, as well.

Yes, they tastee like lychees...yummy! Didn't know they had all those great medicinal properties, though..

Edited June 14, 2009 by vortex

[mat black]

I put the dried longan in a pot of boiled water and drink as tea. If you use them dries, try to get them whole rather than shrivelled, the whole ones are a better qualty and taste much nicer. The fresh ones are really nice, but make sure they are good quality and don't have too many at once.

 

Lychees I find sweeter, more warming and very nice for the stomach/spleen.