Physalis, the photo of which you must have seen more than once, belongs to the Solanaceae family. There are only two edible species - physalis vegetable and strawberry. The plant is also known as Peruvian gooseberries, strawberry tomatoes and earthen cherries, or cranberries. Decorative physalis is another type of plant that can not be eaten, however, growing it on a site, you can use it as a decorative element in the design of dishes or for making bouquets. This article will talk about how to grow this useful and very original plant. It also has several recipes for preparing a variety of physalis dishes.
Physalis, what is it: a berry or a vegetable?
Many gardeners who have just decided to get acquainted with physalis do not know to which genus this plant is classified: berries or vegetables? After all, care and cultivation will depend on which group it belongs to. What is physalis really? The biological structure of the plant belongs to berries, but most summer residents know it as a vegetable. But in fact, it is not so important what exactly this wonderful product is, because its beauty and usefulness are much more important than all this. So, we figured out the generic affiliation of the physalis species. What is this plant in terms of decorativeness and nutritional value? We will talk about this a little later, and now we will get acquainted with the external data of the plant.
What does physalis look like
How to know that the flower that they offer to buy is exactly physalis? What kind of plant is it and what structural features does it have? To begin with, it is worth remembering that in the form of a pot culture, you can buy not many varieties and types of physalis. This plant is quite large: berry species reach 60 cm in height and have a creeping stem, and vegetable species grow up to one and a half meters. The leaves of most varieties of physalis are oval, with slightly serrated edges. The flowers are small, pale yellow, with dark spots in the center, located at the base of young shoots. Even decorative physalis can not boast of bright inflorescences. But the yellow or bright orange fruits hidden inside the bright flashlight, which is the pericarp, are remembered for a long time. Depending on the variety, the color of the boxes with the fruit inside can vary from pale yellow to bright red. There are also varieties that differ in blue or a different color of berries.
Varieties of physalis
The most common varieties of edible physalis are considered Peruvian and raisin, which are popularly known as vegetable and berry. A large number of other varieties can also be bought at any store, however, these two have gained great popularity among summer residents. The raisin physalis, the photo of which you can see later, is small and has been loved by many gardeners for its compactness. It is this quality that allows you to grow it like a pot culture. Peruvian physalis is a very large plant, so it is unlikely to grow it indoors. In order for the crop to ripen in mid-summer, raisin physalis must be planted 3-4 months before the expected harvest date, and Peruvian even earlier - 5 months or more. Seedlings grown physalis gives abundant yields starting in mid-July.
The size of the physalis fruits is diverse, it primarily depends on the variety:
- Berry varieties of physalis are always smaller than vegetable. So, the fruit of strawberry physalis reaches a weight of 6-10 g. Other berry varieties are even smaller, their weight is on average 1-4 g.
- The most large-fruited among the physalis vegetable varieties are considered Moscow Early (up to 80 g), Large-fruited (up to 90 g) and Ground Gribovsky (up to 60 g).
- Decorative varieties of physalis have the smallest fruits - up to 2 g, however, the size of the amniotic cup in them is the largest of all varieties and species.
Planting physalis
What you need to know when growing physalis? That this plant is not as whimsical as it might seem at first glance. Despite the decorative and very unusual appearance for garden crops, physalis is similar in method of growing to a tomato that is usual and familiar to everyone. The best place on the site for its successful growth and fruiting is chosen in the same way as for tomatoes. Physalis in relation to the amount of sunlight is less whimsical than other nightshade. The planting plan for physalis in the open ground depends on what type of variety the plant belongs to: 70x70 cm for vegetable physalis and 60x60 cm for berry physalis. berry). It is better to plant physalis seedlings in soil or a greenhouse during the same period as tomatoes. Particular attention should be paid to watering: in the first week it is necessary to moisten the soil abundantly, making sure that no crust forms on it.
Plant Care and Formation
During plant growth, it is important to monitor the cleanliness of the beds from weeds, because close proximity to them can affect the development of the physalis bush. Earth cranberries or physalis does not need watering from the second half of summer, and is also not susceptible to various diseases characteristic of other nightshade plants. The plant practically does not need to form a bush, since the more it branches, the greater the yield you can get from it. This was influenced by the exact location of the flowers. Physalis (photos of it are presented in the review) must be nipped regularly for better branching.
The chemical composition of the fruit
Surely many readers will be interested in what nutritional value is characteristic of such a culture as physalis, what does this plant represent as a food product? You should immediately pay attention to the fact that you can eat vegetable and berry physalis in food, and decorative one is not suitable for this because of the small size of the berries and their low nutritional value. The fruits contain B vitamins (1, 2, 6 and 12), acids (malic, citric, succinic and many others), antioxidants, polyphenols, tannin and glucose. Despite such a variety of nutrients, the caloric content of physalis is small and amounts to only 53 kcal for every 100 berries. This is what makes the fruits of this plant an excellent vitamin and dietary product.
The benefits and harms of physalis
The effect on the human body of the fruits of the plant depends on how physalis is eaten - raw or cooked. When prepared, the physalis fruits act as an excellent diuretic and choleretic agent, which helps to not only reduce the risk of stone formation in the kidneys and gall bladder, but also to get rid of existing stones. In addition, physalis has a mild analgesic, immunostimulating and anti-inflammatory effect. These product properties are useful to those who have suffered a serious and prolonged illness. The raw fruits of physalis restore the normal functioning of the endocrine glands, and also contribute to recovery from hypertension, dysentery, gastrointestinal diseases and pyelonephritis.
The main contraindication to the use of physalis is individual intolerance to the product.
The use of physalis in cooking
Physalis can be used to prepare a wide variety of dishes: salads, hot and cold snacks, desserts, pickles and even wine. The main rule is to always remove the box from the fruit, because this part of the plant is poisonous. The greatest number of recipes with the use of physalis is reserved for the preparation of jam. The fact is that both vegetable and berry physalis have a spicy aftertaste that goes well with many berries and fruits. In addition, physalis in jam is also combined with zucchini, ginger and pumpkin.
As part of the first and second courses, physalis can generally be used as a decoration or a main component. It makes delicious casseroles, soups and sauces. For the preparation of snacks, in particular salads, you can use both fresh berries of physalis, and salty and even soaked fruits.
What to cook with physalis?
Here are some simple recipes for making physalis at home.
- Compote from physalis. To prepare it, you will need physalis berries, sugar and water, a little citric acid, vanillin, and ginger to taste well washed and peeled off the “lanterns”. First you need to prepare a syrup, for which sugar and water are mixed in equal proportions and bring the mixture to a boil. Pre-cooked for 5 minutes, the fruits of physalis are cooled in cold water and dipped in syrup (200 g of berries per 1 liter of syrup). After boiling add citric acid and other flavoring additives.
- Casserole of potatoes and physalis. The peeled and washed physalis berries (about 500 g) are cut in half or left whole based on their size. Potatoes (500 g) are peeled, washed and cut into pieces corresponding to the size of the physalis. Vegetables are mixed in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Then, leeks (200 g), chopped in half rings, and a little greens are added to the mixture. The mixture is laid out in a baking dish and placed in the oven for 20 minutes at a temperature of 200-210 degrees. Then it is necessary to add almost any vegetables to the sauce and sprinkle with 150 g of grated hard cheese, leave in the oven at a temperature of 210-220 degrees until fully cooked.
3.
Salty physalis. The preparation of this product is not much different from pickling, for example, cucumbers. For 1 kg of berries, you will need about 30 g of dill, 5 g of horseradish, garlic and hot red pepper in pods, as well as a salt solution prepared at the rate of 50 g of salt per liter of water. The physalis and seasonings placed in the container are carefully poured with brine and left at room temperature for about a week, after which it is necessary to drain and boil the brine, then pour it hot again into the container with berries. You can use salted physalis as an independent dish, as well as as a component of many salads.