Onions, ginger and garlic are the indispensable seasoning "Three Musketeers" for our cooking, and among them, there is a plant that is very popular in China, but it has a completely different treatment abroad, and even some European countries spend 5 billion yuan every year to eliminate it, this plant is - artichoke.
So why does artichok have such a big difference in treatment in different countries?What kind of plant is it?
The source in this article is from Luxembourg IAS, (Invasive Alien Species of Luxembourg), published on June 30, 2015, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be edited, please read sensibly, for reference only!Artichoke, as can be seen from its name, is not a native plant of China, it was introduced from abroad, and after it was introduced to China, we gave this plant a very nice name called Jerusalem artichoke.
Therefore, artichoke is also known as Jerusalem artichoke, devil ginger and ginger is not spicy, this plant is native to North America, and its flowers are similar to sunflowers.
However, in China, artichoke can be used as a seasoning and delicacies, but the treatment abroad is "everyone shouts and beats", and even became the "public enemy" of the local plant world after being introduced to Europe.
The reason why artichoke will be rejected locally in Europe is mainly because of its very strong reproductive ability, the reproduction of this plant is a bit similar to dandelion, a plant of artichoke can give birth to thousands of seeds, seeds flying in the wind, falling to ** will take root and sprout in **, and soon form a "green ocean".
In addition, once the artichoke begins to grow, it is difficult to be removed, because it is not only spread by seeds, its rhizomes will be intertwined after rooting and germinating, as long as there are its rhizomes in the soil, then a new plant can soon be born next to it, and in just two or three years, there will be more rhizomes in the ground to the point where it cannot be treated.
Cut constantly, the reason is still messy" can be said to be the best description of artichoke, and the artichoke is very adaptable, cold and drought resistant, no matter what kind of environment it can quickly adapt, the vitality is very tenacious, can be called "can not be killed Xiaoqiang".
It is precisely because of the characteristics that the artichokes quickly flooded abroad, and some European countries have tried their best every year to deal with these artichokes, but whether it is manual or machine, the final effect is not satisfactory.
Artichoke grows wildly on foreign land, and the flowers of artichoke are everywhere in the wild, which not only encroaches on a large amount of land area, but also destroys the local ecological environment.
German sanitation workers, for example, have seen artichokes take over a large number of rivers and wetlands in Berlin, which were previously lush but are now home to artichokes.
Not only that, but every time they managed to clean the artichokes, it didn't take long for them to grow again.
In the United Kingdom, the original organic vegetable farms were invaded by artichokes, which occupied the land where vegetables were originally grown, affecting the income and normal life of farmers.
In order to get rid of these "invaders", the farmer spends a huge amount of money every year, but in the end the result is not ideal.
In order to eradicate these rampant artichokes, European countries have taken various measures, chemical herbicides, mechanical excavation and other methods have been used, but in the end the results are not very good, and it has brought more serious problems.
Britain also introduced two species of beetles from other countries, intending to make these beetles become natural enemies of artichokes, thereby inhibiting the growth of artichokes, but unexpectedly, these beetles were not interested in artichokes, but instead devoured rare plants and crops native to the United Kingdom.
It is said that the United States has invested $5 billion to curb the eradication of artichokes, but in the end it has had little effect, and Germany has caused an imbalance in the domestic plant ecology because of the growth of artichokes, causing annual losses of up to 500 million euros.
Reproduction is fast, difficult to **, artichoke with these two points, soon became a global ecological problem, some countries really have no choice but to think of introducing its natural enemies from the origin of artichoke.
There are also some countries that have changed their thinking, and since the artichoke cannot be eliminated, they simply try to develop its economic value.
However, what these foreigners did not expect was that the plants they tried so hard to eliminate were "turned into serfs and sung" in our country, and turned into a delicacy on the table, and even had to rely on artificial breeding to meet domestic needs.
Artichoke is a perennial herb native to North America with a very well-developed root system and tubers.
Later, in the Age of Discovery, Spanish seafarers brought the tubers of artichokes to Asia via the Maritime Silk Road.
At first, artichoke was cultivated in the Philippines, and later with the prosperity of China and Southeast Asia, artichoke was brought to China's Fujian, Guangdong and other coastal cities.
After the artichoke was introduced to our country, the local farmers were very curious about this plant that had never been seen before, and found that it grew very quickly, with high yield and strong adaptability, unlike the native ginger with high soil requirements, so the artichoke soon began to be popularized in various parts of the south.
Because the artichoke is introduced from abroad, so the people of our country also gave it an alias "devil ginger", this plant is not big, the appearance, taste and growth mode are very similar to China's native ginger, but the two are very different.
Although artichoke has ginger in its name, it does not belong to the ginger family, but to the sunflower attribute of the Asteraceae family, which are two completely different subjects, it is similar to the rhizome of ginger and has a similar taste, but the two are completely two families.
Artichoke and ginger are not only different in subject attributes, their taste is also different, ginger has a spicy taste, mainly used for seasoning raw materials, and artichoke is spicy but has a hint of sweetness, usually used for pickling pickles and stir-fried vegetables, artichoke can also be used to boil porridge, cooking, cooking methods are more diverse than ginger, and more popular with the people.
The aaa artichoke is rampant abroad, and Western countries have a headache for it, but in China, the fate of the artichoke is the opposite of the same.
Our people always have a variety of flexible ideas in the face of edible plants, and artichoke is cheap and has high nutritional value, so it is very popular in our country and has become a variety of delicacies made on the table of ordinary people.
This kind of plant, which was spurned by foreign countries, was mixed up in our country, and even later because the demand was too great, wild artichoke was not enough, and farmers began to plant it in large quantities.
In Shanwei, Guangdong Province and other places, artichoke has become a local professional cash crop, this industrial planting not only increases local income, but also creates a large number of employment opportunities for local farmers, after all, the planting, processing and transportation of artichokes all require manpower input.
Not only that, artichoke has strong reproductive ability and can take root everywhere, so China later planted it in desertified areas, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, loess high slopes and other places, using it to prevent wind and consolidate soil, improve the soil environment, so as to maintain ecological balance and store groundwater.
Artichoke has been introduced into China for hundreds of years, after a long period of application and exploration, people have discovered that in addition to the various uses of artichoke, in addition to edible, artichoke also has special medicinal properties, can be used in medicine.
Chinese traditional medicine uses the medicinal properties of artichoke to make it into a variety of prescriptions, which can be used to promote blood circulation and eliminate blood stasis, clear heat and detoxify, and have obvious effects on enteritis, fever, bruises, etc.
Later, modern scientific research also confirmed that artichoke has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, tumor inhibition and other effects, and its medicinal value is equal to the edible value of artichoke.
Artichoke is rich in dietary fiber, which can promote the peristalsis of the human intestine and help discharge waste from the human body, thereby regulating endocrine and beauty and beauty.
There is also a rich content of tuber starch in artichoke, and these starches are rich in high-purity fructooligosaccharides, which can also play a role in softening blood vessels, promoting metabolism and improving the body's immunity after being digested and absorbed by the human body.
Of course, as a Chinese with a long history of food culture, the practice of artichoke is even more diverse.
First of all, the most popular is the kimchi made of artichoke, after the prepared artichoke is processed, put it in half a basin of water, then add a handful of edible salt, stir well and soak the artichoke for 20 minutes, so as to remove the impurities on the surface of the artichoke.
After soaking, the artichoke is washed repeatedly to remove the rotten parts on the surface so as not to affect the taste.
After washing, the artichoke is dried, then cut into slices, then add an appropriate amount of green pepper and millet spicy, as well as homemade brine, stir all the ingredients evenly and seal them with plastic wrap.
The pickled artichoke can be eaten in about half a month, the pickled artichoke is sour and delicious, whether it is paired with white porridge or rice, it is very good to eat, and there is no ginger spicy, it is a very delicious and refreshing side dish.
In addition to being used as a side dish, artichoke is also very suitable for stir-frying, although ginger can also be used as a condiment for stir-frying, but the taste of ginger is more spicy, and many people can't accept this taste.
However, artichoke is different, adding artichoke to stir-fry not only adds flavor to the original ingredients, but also makes the spicy taste of artichoke itself sweeter and more acceptable.
In addition to the above-mentioned artichoke practices, artichoke specialty dishes have been developed in various regions of the country, such as ginger sweet and sour pork ribs in Jiangxi, artichoke stewed meat in Guangdong, etc., and many people will use artichoke to make various soups, such as ginger duck soup boiled with artichoke, the aroma of artichoke makes the soup more mellow and delicious, so that people can feel the warmth in the cold winter.
In addition to edible and medicinal uses, as mentioned earlier, the well-developed root system of artichoke also plays a role in windbreak and sand fixation, and the land protection network formed by its stems and leaves can effectively control soil erosion, which also makes Jiang an ideal plant for maintaining water and soil in desertified areas.
Nowadays, although people's living conditions have gradually improved, artichoke is still an indispensable condiment on people's tables, and China's artichoke planting industry is also gradually growing with the support of all walks of life, artichoke planting area has reached one million hectares, such a large planting industry, not only to meet the domestic demand for artichoke, but also to local farmers to bring considerable income.
Nowadays, the artichoke that has been rejected abroad has been perfectly integrated into the food culture of the Chinese nation, and our people will make full use of this exotic plant by using local resources, and also develop its edible, medicinal and environmental protection value, so that it can coexist harmoniously with Chinese culture, which also fully reflects the wisdom of China's working people.