Felt cherry

The type of cherry representing small bushes or trees up to 3 m high and presently carried to the sort Plum, carries the name "Felt Cherry", or scientifically "Prunus tomentosa Thunb". This plant is entirely covered with small stamping dark green leaves with the soft omission resembling felt superficially than and its name is caused.

Grow up felt cherry as a high-adornment and fruit plant with juicy not acid berries of an oval or round form. Fruits of cherry hang on short fruit stems, densely adjoining one to another as well as sea-buckthorn fruits. Time of blossoming of a plant falls on the period since the end of April until the beginning of May, maturing of fruits – since the end of June until the beginning of July, depending on weather conditions and the region of growth.

The homeland of felt cherry is Mongolia, China and Korea on which open spaces it grows in a wild look, in Europe and North America it was widely adopted only in the middle of the 20th century.

Felt cherry – useful properties and structure

Berries of felt cherry contain pectins, 16-32 mg of vitamin C, 8-10% of sugars (glucose and fructose), 1% of malic and citric acid, and also tannins. In 100 g of pulp of berries 0,6% of anthocyans, 0,29% of catechins and 0,17% of flavanols, and also bioactive polyphenols contain. Thanks to these substances, felt cherry is efficient kapillyaroukreplyayushchy means.

Despite all useful properties, cherry felt in traditional medical practice is practically not used, however many doctors recommend to use fruits for increase in regular activity of intestines, improvement of digestion of fats and proteins, increase in appetite.

Kernels of stones are rich with fat oil (from 17 to 35%) as a part of which there is a linolic acid having antiatherosclerotic effect. Without recommendation of the doctor it is better not to use them, they contain a glycoside dl-mandelonitrile gentiobioside which, being split in intestines, forms cyanhydric poisonous acid.

Felt cherry is vitamin-rich C, B, PP and P, and gland in it contains more, than in apples. She is useful at an anemia, promotes reduction of growth of atherosclerotic plaques, reduces arterial pressure, prevents development of a stroke and heart attack.

Energy value of 100 g of felt cherry makes 52 kcal, the content of proteins makes 0,8 g, fats – 0,2 g, carbohydrates – 10,6 g.

Cherry felt – recipes

Sweet berries of felt cherry are a dietary product, they can be used in the presence of stones in kidneys and a liver, gastritises and ulcer diseases of intestines and stomach, and also that who wishes to get rid of excess weight.

According to reviews, felt cherry is most useful and tasty fresh, however in cookery it can be overworked or dried, do juice, jam, compotes, jams, syrup and a fruit drink of it.

Process of preservation of berries of this grade of cherry is similar to a compounding of preparations from usual garden cherry. If not to add sugar to it, and to use fructose as sweetener – such delicacy can be used also at an easy form of diabetes.

Fruit jelly from felt cherry which recipe of preparation passes from father to son in Korea from where extended worldwide is very popular. Cherry fruits (600 g) are carefully washed out under cold water, cleared of fruit stems and stones, put in a large pan, filled in with 3 glasses of water and cook to a razvaristy state.

Then berries are passed through a sieve, the received cherry weight is put on slow fire again, add 150 g of sugar to it and cook until it does not begin to get denser. Then 2 tablespoons of honey and 5 tablespoons of starch divorced in the same amount of water are added to cherry weight, liquid constantly is stirred slowly and cooks until its consistence begins to remind dense kissel. Ready weight spreads on molds and is cooled for 3 hours then fruit jelly is cut and is ready to the use.

Many hostesses prefer to clear fruits of felt cherry of stones and to fill up with sugar, then display on banks and close polyethylene covers, receiving a certain similarity of jam.

Felt cherry jam cooks on the same technology, as any other jam, however, in it it is possible to put much smaller amount of sugar, sourness is unusual for berries of this grade of cherry.

According to reviews, felt cherry is fine raw materials for preparation of compotes for the winter. Berries are washed away and displayed in sterile banks, obdaty by boiled water, filled in to the neck with the boiling sugar syrup and closed by sterile covers. 400 g of sugar have to fall on one liter of syrup, ready compote can be stored no more than 8 months in the dark cool place.

Felt cherry – the fruit plant which extended worldwide from Asia, and received popularity thanks to the tasty and sweet berries. Useful properties of this grade of cherry allow to apply it at treatment of various diseases, and low calorie content does it by an ideal product at observance of a diet.