Steaming fruits is great for beauty and health! Besides the well-known salt-steamed orange, there are several other fruits that can be steamed, and they offer many health benefits. Now, let's explore the lesser-known benefits of steamed fruits!
1. Pear
Steamed pears have the effect of clearing heat, moistening the lungs, relieving coughs, and reducing phlegm. During the steaming process, you can also add other foods or herbs to enhance the cough and phlegm-relieving effects. The most common combination is Chuanbei rock sugar pear.
Chuanbei Rock Sugar Steamed Pear--Relieves Cough, Reduces Phlegm, and Moistens the Lungs
Method: Take one large snow pear, cut off the top, remove the core, and add 3 grams of Chuanbei powder and an appropriate amount of rock sugar. Put the top back on, place it in a bowl, and steam for 10 minutes over boiling water. After turning off the heat, let the pear cool down slightly. Drink the resulting liquid and eat the pear. Consume once daily for a good cough-relieving effect.
It is especially important to note that Chuanbei rock sugar pear is not suitable for those suffering from a wind-cold cough.
2. Apple
Although fruits are nutritious, their cool nature is not suitable for everyone. For people with a weak spleen and stomach or a delicate constitution, eating raw fruit can not only be difficult to digest and absorb but may also cause diarrhea. Steaming fruits not only reduces their cool nature but can also double their therapeutic effects.
When an apple is steamed, its pectin can not only absorb bacteria and toxins but also has an astringent effect to stop diarrhea and is easier to digest.
Method: Cut the apple (with the skin on) into small pieces, place them in a small bowl, and steam for 5 minutes. Let it cool slightly before eating.
3. Red Dates
The skin of dried red dates is very hard, and the flesh is firm, which can irritate the stomach lining. Therefore, people with a weak spleen and stomach should not eat them with the skin on. When cooked, red dates become easier to digest, and those with weaker digestive functions can eat them in moderation.
Boiling red dates with goji berries and longan can further warm the stomach, nourish the blood, and strengthen the body. Steaming red dates with goji berries and eggs can help those with poor qi and blood, as well as weak liver and kidney function.
4. Orange
The orange peel contains cough-relieving and phlegm-reducing ingredients, hesperidin and orange oil. These two components are only released from the peel after steaming. It is especially suitable for children with prolonged coughs.
Method for the cough remedy: Salt-Steamed Orange
Wash the orange, do not peel it. Cut off the top of the orange flatly. Sprinkle a little salt on the exposed flesh, then use a chopstick to poke a few holes in the flesh to allow the salt to seep in.
Put the cut piece of the orange back on, secure it with a toothpick, and place it in a bowl. No water is needed in the bowl. Place it directly in the steamer.
Steam for 15 minutes after the water boils. Eat only the flesh and the juice at the bottom of the bowl; do not eat the peel.
5. Hawthorn
Hawthorn contains a large amount of organic acids and fruit acids, making it unsuitable for people with excessive stomach acid. However, if cooked into a congee with red beans and rice and then sweetened with brown sugar, it becomes much milder. It not only aids digestion and lowers blood lipids but also has beauty and weight-loss benefits.
Hawthorn can also be steamed. The method is to remove the pits from the hawthorn, place them in a bowl, add rock sugar, and steam for 15 minutes. The steamed hawthorn is both sour and sweet and has therapeutic effects of stimulating appetite, aiding digestion, invigorating blood, and resolving phlegm.