Stachis is a perennial herb plant, whose homeland is China. The second name for the culture is the Chinese artichoke is more common in France, Belgium and other European countries. In China itself, this plant has been known since ancient times. In the twentieth century, stahis began to be cultivated in America, Europe and Russia.
Description of the culture
Deciduous plant with oval leaves and white or red flowers forms a bush up to 60 centimeters high. Stachys stem is rectangular, covered with woolly hairs, rather rough to the touch. Due to this feature, the plant has another name – woolly stakhis (Byzantine chistets). The main stem develops quite quickly, and then begins to branch strongly, letting out the most powerful shoots at its base. The leaves of the Chinese artichoke are also covered with woolly hairs, dark green, oblong and rather large. The edges of the leaves are serrated with a pointed tip. Sometimes rosettes of leaves are located very close to the ground. This is a new type of stakhis, which is called silver carpet. Stakhis blooms with spike-shaped inflorescences with small flowers.
The roots of the plant are distinguished by their length and strong branching; tubers are formed on their underground branches, like potatoes. The tubers of the Chinese artichoke are very unusual in appearance, they have a lot of curls and constrictions, and their surface has a pearly sheen. The weight of one stachis tuber is small – up to 7 grams.
To decorate home gardens and grassy parks, it is common to grow a separate type of stachis – hummelo purifier. This beautiful plant in spring forms an unusual cluster of leaves, in the center of which lilac-red flowers begin to bloom in summer. The inflorescence consists of 20 flowers up to 2 centimeters in size. Thus, it is a very bright and large flower that does not go unnoticed in any garden. The reviews of those who raise the cyst show that even without inflorescences the plant looks very decorative, since the pillow of curly pearly leaves is unusual and attractive in itself.
Useful properties of stachis
The composition of wool stachis tubers is very useful, they contain a lot of easily digestible carbohydrates, proteins, fats and as much as 12 milligrams of vitamin C.
By the content of vitamin C and many components necessary for health, stachis is many times superior to potatoes.
The healing properties of the Chinese artichoke are amazing. Its medicinal effect helps with high blood pressure and stomach ulcers. He prevents the occurrence of oncology. There is no starch in the Chinese artichoke, which means its benefits in diabetes are quite obvious. Stachis tubers produce an insulin-like effect in the blood.
The medicinal effect of wool stachis is also manifested in diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract, cardiovascular diseases, problems in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system.
In order to feel all the usefulness of the Chinese artichoke, it must be consumed fresh or baked at temperatures up to 60 degrees. High temperatures kill a lot of usefulness in the composition of the product. The healing properties of stachis will help cure pulmonary diseases, normalize blood sugar, and calm nerves. To do this, simply brew 2 tablespoons of the leaves of this culture in three glasses of boiling water, insist on the mixture for 8 hours and drink the resulting broth 4 times a day before meals in small portions.
Cooking application
Chinese artichoke is a very tasty dish. In a boiled state, it is slightly similar to cauliflower, asparagus or corn. Stachis is prepared very simply – tubers washed in running water must be boiled in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. When the water is drained, vegetable oil should be added to the finished tubers.
The Chinese artichoke can also be fried, pickled or salted – in any form it is very tasty and incredibly healthy. It is easy for them to decorate the holiday table, as a side dish, it will suit any meat or fish, complement a soup or stew from vegetables and mushrooms. Dried root crops can be stored for a very long time, it does not lose either the taste or useful properties. You can saturate sauces with chopped dried stachis or add it to sandwiches.
Raw tubers are also to be eaten. If you eat raw Chinese artichoke, you need to store its tubers in bags on the shelf of the refrigerator so that the vegetable does not lose its taste. Wool stachis can be stored all winter. To do this, you need to sprinkle the tubers with sand, put them in a box and bury them in a shallow ground. Even in the spring, the product will have a very fresh taste and all usefulness will be preserved. Absolutely edible in this product are the leaves that add piquancy to any salad based on them.
Exotic stahis dishes are prepared in the best restaurants in the world. In Asian countries, the vegetable is called “Khorogi”, which means “longevity”, since Chinese artichokes are very nutritious and healthy.
The following is an example of preparing 6 servings of stahis, which is used by many European restaurants:
- Gently peel 800 grams of tubers of Chinese artichokes by removing dirt from them as follows – wrap root vegetables with coarse salt in a towel and rub well together.
- Clean tubers are put in a double boiler and after boiling they simmer at a minimum temperature for about 8 minutes.
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil is poured into the stewpan, heated and 2 minced cloves of garlic are added to it. Garlic is cooked until golden brown.
- Add 2 tablespoons of salted butter and cooked tubers of Chinese artichoke to the finished garlic. Season the dish with salt and spices to taste and simmer on the fire for another 3 minutes.
- Stakhis dish is decorated with chopped chervil (can be replaced with any other spicy herb) and sprinkled with juice of 1 lemon.
The tenderness of the vegetable dish, in which the main role is played by the Chinese artichoke, is complemented by the mass of useful properties of this product. Using this culture as a food, you can ensure your longevity, well-being and flowering appearance.