Longan and Lychee
We’ve finally got around to planting out the summer bedding
and small cells of vegetables this week.
Sweet peas, sunflowers, pansies, geraniums and fuchsias have
all gone into pots for a bit of summer colour and the broccoli, courgettes and
kale have gone into their growing positions. We still have a few places to
plant up but the old broccoli plants from last year are still both producing
tiny florets and the yellow flowers are a magnet for the local bee population.
I’ve promised the spent plants to a horse owner in a couple of weeks when the
flowers have died down which will save me having to chop them up to fit into
the compost bin.
It was a great idea to plant out the peas, beans, coriander,
lettuce and chives straight into the garden as they are all thriving and
haven’t been kept in check or neglected by being in small potting cells. We might have lost one or two seeds to the
mice and plants to the slugs and snails but you would never notice unless you
were counting stems.
Longan Fruit
Hands up who has heard of a fruit called ‘Longans’? Up until this week my hand would be flailing
in the air too.
A pack of them caught my attention in the local supermarket
and although they have travelled all the way from Vietnam and not grown
locally, I thought I would buy a pack to see what they were like. You can put
your hands down now.
The longan tree is actually one of the better-known tropical
members of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae), to which the lychee also belongs
which has been a popular dessert for years in restaurants.
Longan fruits are similar in structure to lychee but more
aromatic in taste. It is native to Southern Asia. The translation from
Cantonese literally means "dragon eye" which is so named because it
resembles an eyeball when its fruit is shelled (the black seed shows through
the translucent flesh like a pupil/iris). I tried not to let the fact it feels
like you would expect an eyball to feel put me off trying them. Dried longan fruit
are often used in Chinese cuisine and Chinese sweet dessert soups. In Chinese
food therapy and herbal medicine, it is believed to have an effect on
relaxation.
They go back a long time, its earliest record of existence
draws back to the Han Dynasty in 200 BC and are now grown all over the world
but I doubt they will do well in Ireland because of both the weather and labour
needed to pick the fruit. During
harvest, pickers must climb ladders to carefully remove branches of fruit. It
has been found that longan fruit remain fresher when still attached to the branch,
so efforts are made to prevent the fruit from detaching too early. Mechanical
picking would damage the delicate skin so the preferred method is to harvest by
hand. Knives and scissors are the most commonly used tools.
Apart from being eaten fresh and raw, longan fruit is also
often used in Asian soups, snacks, desserts, and sweet-and-sour foods, either
fresh or dried, and sometimes preserved and canned in syrup.
Folk medicine
Longan is commonly found in traditional Eastern folk
medicine as opposed to modern Western medicine. In ancient Vietnamese medicine,
the "eye" of the longan seed is pressed against snakebites to absorb
the venom; this method was ineffective but it is still commonly used today.
Saving the Seeds
I decided to plant up the large seeds along with a few
lychee seeds I have. It’ll be interesting to see if they germinate and grow
under protection in the tunnel. I thought well drained, sandy soil would be
ideal to replicate their natural conditions. I don’t think there’s much else to
do to get them growing other than keeping the post watered.
Carn Show 2017
The 105th Inishowen Agricultural Show in Carndonagh is all
set for the 15th of July. The last date for all entrants is this
Saturday 17th June so if you haven’t filled in the entry forms for
your category it’s time to get the pen out.
It’s a few years ago since our dog won the “Best Large Dog” category but
we still have the rosette. There are
loads of categories to enter ranging from Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Goats,
Donkeys, Dogs, Butter, Eggs, Honey, Fruit, Vegetables, Flowers, Pot Plants,
Cake Making and Scones. Homes Industries Exhibition, Photography, Amateur
Painting, Carriage Driving and many more. Something for everyone!
