Beefsteak Plant – Spicy, Beautiful And Useful Perilla Shico
Beefsteak Plant – what is so special about it, where to put it and how to use it? Externally Beefsteak Plant is unusually good, especially ornamental varieties ̶ lush bush, large wavy leaves with serrated and even fringed edges, rich in various shades of burgundy and purple leaves – beautiful! Growth ornamental varieties can be up to 1.5 meters and with leaves over 20 centimeters.
What is a good Beefsteak Plant?
It is worth mentioning at once that in the modern classification of plants not everything is smooth, and therefore indifferent sources you can find completely different names of the railing: vegetable, oilseed, ornamental, Nanjing, basil, purple, Himalayan, and so on. Although, from the point of view of botany, the genus is monotypic and there are no species as such.
The origin of the railing is purely Asian, presumably, Sino-Indian (found in the wild in the Himalayas), cultivated there for more than a century, and maybe even a millennium. With the light hand of the Chinese, the railing got to Korea, Japan, and firmly settled there. Wandering in different places, the plant was changed externally and internally (in appearance and shades of taste), resulting in its diversity.
For ease of perception, we will adhere to the division into vegetable varieties, which are used in cooking, and ornamental, which is better used in the design of the garden.
The appearance of a vegetable railing is also not expendable: quite lush rounded bushes with large serrated leaves from green to purple and purple tones, and there are two colors (variety “Misaki” – green on top and purple on the back of the leaves).
But more than one appearance can strike the oriental beauty, its leaves have a bright taste with shades of anise, cinnamon, pepper, basil, caramel, lemon, rosemary, and its own ̶ railing. All these flavors are not in one plant, but in different ways are combined in different varieties.
The above-ground part of the plant contains essential oil rich in citral, which is used in the confectionery industry and is also present in toothpaste and oral fresheners.
The seeds contain quite a lot of railing oil, which is used both in the technical and pharmaceutical industries. In China, based on railing oil is produced drugs that reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The set of useful substances contained in the plant, allows you to produce on the basis of its anti-allergic, dermatological, antimicrobial drugs, cosmetics, as well as drugs for the treatment of joint diseases, strengthening the walls of blood vessels.
Using railing in cooking
Traditional use of vegetable handrail – as a seasoning. In other words, it is best to dry or freeze it. In summer, you can add fresh meat, fish, rice, vegetables, and fresh salad, but summer ends so quickly. Only the taste has entered, and everything is already frozen.
Therefore, the blanks should be taken care of in advance. Perilla is good to add to the turquoise and marinades, purple leaf varieties will make the color of the marinade and pickled pink.
Lemon and caramel-dominated varieties are a wonderful addition to tea, and the taste of salad with these flavors will be more refined. Shiso tea with railing leaves is popular in Japan. It has immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antitoxic, and soothing properties. It is also used for sushi preparation and as a side dish for fish and meat dishes.
Vegetable railing, let’s say, was prepared, now in turn decorative. It has so many applications that even its heavily “broken” bushes may not be enough. First, it can be dried directly in bunches. Dried grass is useful for decoction or infusion, which is good for rubbing inflamed skin (allergic rashes, insect bites, acne).
In healthy skin, the decoction will preserve moisture, smooth out fine lines, saturate the skin with trace elements. When rinsing the hair, it will get rid of seborrhea and dandruff, give the hair an attractive shine, restore the fat and water balance of the scalp.
- Leftover logs, embedded in the soil of fruit trees and strawberries, will not let the pests winter in the ground. You can also use the potatoes from the Colorado potato beetle as a railing bottle, but here you need a lot of logs. Raspberries are also good to cover or just put on top of them.
- Dried bundles of the railing, placed at the corners of utility rooms, will scare away mice and many insects that like to start where they are not welcome.
In general, an interesting handrail plant is worth planting. It is both useful and pleasant to the eye.
