Medicinal and weight loss benefits of kumquat

Limes are soaked in honey to treat coughs, sore throats, and help purify the body and lose weight...

Vietnam has about 20 different lemon species, of which the pink lemon is a very popular "miracle drug". Pink lemons are usually available from August and September of the year. Honey and pink lemons have long been a valuable folk remedy due to their effectiveness in treating respiratory diseases.

All parts of the kumquat tree are considered valuable medicinal herbs, used to treat a number of diseases. In particular, kumquats are soaked in honey to treat coughs, sore throats, and to help purify the body and lose weight.

Responding to the effects of cherry lemons in a health newspaper, MSc. Dr. Nguyen Thi Hang, Deputy Head of the Department of Oriental Medicine (Phuong Te), Vietnam Academy of Traditional Medicine, said: Cherry lemons or regular lemons can be used as medicine to treat many diseases. Lemon peel and leaves contain a lot of essential oils, used to treat coughs, flu, reduce fever... so they are often included in the ingredients of leaf steaming pots. The fruit's pulp contains a lot of vitamins A, B1, B2, especially vitamin C, which has the effect of cooling, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, detoxifying... In addition, the lemon pulp contains a significant amount of citric acid (about 8% of dry weight) so it is very effective in preventing and treating coughs and hoarseness.

However, Dr. Nguyen Thi Hang recommends: for those who have severe coughs, coughs caused by bacterial infections, using lemon alone is not effective and requires treatment with antibiotics. Especially when using lemon, you should be careful when having diarrhea, bloating, avoid using it. Lemon stimulates the secretion of body fluids, so it can make stomach pain and diarrhea worse. Overusing lemon soaked in honey to treat coughs also causes harm to the digestive tract.

How to choose delicious lemons:

According to the experience of housewives who often buy lemons, we should buy the best lemons in September, when the lemons are in season, the price is not only cheaper but the quality of the fruit is also higher, the lemons are much bigger and more beautiful than at the beginning of the season. We should not buy lemons at the end of the season, when the price of lemons will be more expensive, the quality is also lower.

When choosing, you should choose ripe lemons, thin skin, light yellow color and must be very fresh to contain a lot of essential oils in the skin. Normally, the flesh of lemons must be peach pink, but there are also some fruits with turmeric yellow flesh. We should choose lemons depending on the purpose of use.

If you choose to buy lemons soaked in honey or salt (soak the whole fruit) to treat respiratory diseases, you should choose fresh, old lemons with smooth skin, when cut open you will see pink-red flesh, about 20 fruits/kg in size. Note, do not choose lemons that are too big, because lemons are often most valuable for the essential oils in the peel and seeds to treat respiratory diseases.

Ingredients to soak kumquat with honey:

- 1kg of lemons, choose slightly old fruit, shiny peel, pink flesh, choose fresh, ripe yellow fruit, thin peel

- 1 liter of wild honey

- 0.8kg rock sugar

- Glass bottle

- Bamboo slat compression tray

How to soak honey lemon:

Step 1: Wash the lemons, mix a little salt with cooled boiled water, soak for 30 minutes, then remove the lemons and let them dry completely. If they are not dry enough, take a clean, dry towel and wipe each lemon thoroughly. Note that when doing this, your hands, cutting board, and knife must be completely dry and not wet. Cut the lemons into thin slices, soaking the seeds is best.

Step 2: Crush the rock sugar, pour a layer of sugar into the jar, then a layer of lemon, a layer of sugar, a layer of lemon. Continue until all the lemon is used up. Except for the large sugar cubes that are placed on top.

Step 3: Finally, pour in honey, press the lemon down, close the lid, and leave for about 3 months to use.

Note: When first soaking, check the jar regularly. If you see bubbles after a few days, skim them off. Do not let the lemon float up from the grill because it will easily get moldy and scum. You should soak the lemon for as long as possible. At first, the fresh lemon will taste a bit bitter, but after a long time, the peach lemon will taste like apricot jam, which is good for the throat and improves health.

Finished product requirements:

- Honey lemon has the aroma of ginger and honey, moderate sourness but not harsh, not bitter.

- The solution is slightly viscous, clear yellow, and does not foam.

- After soaking at room temperature, when the sugar is completely dissolved and the lemon pieces sink and no longer float, we can store them in the refrigerator and use gradually.

How to use:

- After the lemon has absorbed the honey and the rock sugar has dissolved, you can keep the jar intact for adults. If you want to use it for children, you can take out the lemon, squeeze the seeds through a sieve, then put it in a blender to puree the lemon, then mix well with the resulting solution to form a smooth mixture.

- Honey lemon can be used for children over 1 year old to prevent or treat coughs caused by colds. For prevention, you can give your child 1-2 warmed teaspoons each morning. When your child has a cough caused by colds, you can give them 3-4 times a day, 1-2 warm teaspoons each time.

- Adults can also use it daily or when coughing with a dosage of about 3-4 teaspoons each time./.

According to vov.vn