Hawthorn soaked in vinegar for 2 days, too powerful, super effective after 3 days, really admire the traditional methods of the older generation.
Never thought that soaking hawthorn in vinegar for 2 days would have such a powerful effect, solving many people’s big troubles.
Hawthorn is a very common ingredient. In daily life, we commonly see fresh hawthorn and dried hawthorn. Unlike other fruits, the biggest feature of hawthorn is its sour taste. Hawthorn fruits are loved for their unique sour taste, rich nutritional value, and are often used to make various delicacies and traditional medicinal materials.
Hawthorn fruits are rich in vitamin C, B vitamins, carotene, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and dietary fiber. Vitamin C content is particularly high, several times that of lemons, helping to boost immunity, promote iron absorption, and has antioxidant properties, capable of eliminating free radicals in the body, slowing down aging. The dietary fiber in hawthorn helps promote intestinal peristalsis and prevent constipation.
Hawthorn is not only a delicious ingredient but also a commonly used Chinese medicinal material. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that hawthorn has the effects of promoting digestion, activating blood circulation, reducing blood fat, and lowering blood pressure. It is often used to treat indigestion, poor appetite, high blood fat, high blood pressure, etc. Flavonoids in hawthorn, such as quercetin and hawthorn flavonoids, have anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects.
So what exactly is the effect of soaking hawthorn in vinegar? Follow my article below to find out.
First, let’s prepare a pound of fresh hawthorn. Carefully select and remove any poor-quality hawthorns, such as those with black discoloration or mold, from the bunch. It’s best to choose larger ones when buying, as it will make the subsequent processing steps easier.
After the selection, trim off the hard stems from the hawthorn and place them in a water basin. Add a pinch of salt and a spoonful of flour to the water, then mix by hand. Hawthorns are exposed to wind and sun while growing on trees, and pesticides are often sprayed to prevent pests during their growth. By washing with flour and salt, we can effectively clean the hawthorns.
Pour out the dirty water, refill the basin with plenty of clean water, and wash off the remaining flour on the hawthorns. At this point, the dirt inside the hawthorns will be washed away along with the flour. The water poured out will be very dirty, indicating that hawthorn is quite dirty.
Then fill the basin with water again, add three scoops of baking soda, as most pesticides used on fruits in the market are acidic. By soaking the hawthorn in alkaline baking soda water, not only can it be cleaner but it can also neutralize any pesticide residues on the surface, making it safer to eat.
Soak in the soda water for about 10 minutes, then remove the hawthorns, rinse them thoroughly twice with running water. After cleaning the hawthorns, cut them in half with a fruit knife, scoop out the hawthorn seeds and bottoms with a small spoon, set them aside. Cutting open the hawthorn, you can smell a very sour taste, which is appetizing and refreshing without even having to taste it, making it super appetizing and invigorating.
After preparing all the hawthorns, prepare several clean, dry bottles, preferably sealable jars. Place the hawthorns in the jars, not too many, filling about 80% full, placing some brown rock sugar as you add the hawthorns; the brown rock sugar can neutralize the sour taste of the hawthorns. Generally, a 1:1 ratio of hawthorns and brown rock sugar works well.
Once the hawthorns and brown rock sugar are set in the jars, we need to prepare some aged vinegar. Many friends think hawthorns are already sour, so adding vinegar would make it even more sour. In fact, the vinegar found in most supermarkets is only used as a condiment. However, the authentic aged vinegar from Shanxi is not as sour but has a sweet and sour taste, with a particularly delightful fragrance.
In Shanxi, vinegar is not just a condiment but also a beverage. The probability of cardiovascular diseases in Shanxi is very low, partly due to the locals’ habit of drinking vinegar. Vinegar contains components that have antioxidant and blood lipid-regulating effects. Drinking vinegar to a certain extent has a positive impact on cardiovascular health.
Fill the bottle with aged vinegar to 90% full, ensuring the hawthorns are completely submerged in the mixture of hawthorns, brown rock sugar, and aged vinegar. It’s best to use 10-year or 15-year aged vinegar. This type of aged vinegar is sweet and sour, suitable for direct consumption. After sealing the bottle, soak in the refrigerator for three days before use.
After a meal, take 1-2 hawthorns, pour two spoonfuls of aged vinegar over them, add some warm water to the cup, stir slightly, and then consume. Once soaked, hawthorns can also be eaten directly. Although the method of vinegar-soaked hawthorns is simple, its effects are anything but simple. The taste is sour-sweet, with the sourness generally outweighing the sweetness.
There is actually another method.
This method is more suitable for summer consumption. After cleaning the hawthorns, removing the seeds and cores, mash them in a food processor to make hawthorn puree. Then add an equal amount of aged vinegar, ensuring both the hawthorns and vinegar are a pound each. Next, prepare 3 taels of fresh ginger.
Ginger flesh is warm in nature, but ginger peel is cool in nature. If you are concerned about getting heaty, keep the ginger peel; if you spend a lot of time in air-conditioned rooms during the summer, where there is more humidity, peel the ginger. Cut the ginger into slices, chop it in a food processor, and mix it with the hawthorn puree. Then add 500 grams of brown sugar. After stirring well, the mixture will have a texture similar to sorbet.
Transfer the mixture to jars, filling them about 80% full, and seal the jar lids loosely to allow steam to escape. Steam in a steamer over high heat for two hours. Once steamed, quickly open the steamer, tighten the jar lids, and invert them on the table.
The ingredients inside the jars have been steamed at a very high temperature. As the temperature inside the jar gradually cools, the steam inside turns into water droplets, creating a negative pressure that causes the lids to slightly indent. This is similar to the sealing of various canned fruits found in supermarkets. After preparation, let it sit for 3 days before consumption.
Take a small spoonful after meals, dissolve it in warm water, and drink it, or simply enjoy a small serving of hawthorn-ginger-vinegar paste, melt it in your mouth. Regular consumption of hawthorn-ginger-vinegar paste can aid digestion and stimulate appetite, warm the womb for women during specific times. Unopened hawthorn sauce can be stored at room temperature but remember to refrigerate once opened.
One important note, it is not recommended to consume it on an empty stomach in the morning. Give it a try yourself.
That’s it for today. Thank you for watching, and see you tomorrow.
Due to its unique sour-sweet taste, hawthorn is widely used in making various delicacies. Here are some common hawthorn delicacies:
1. Hawthorn Cake: Clean and core hawthorns, boil with sugar until soft, cool, then cut into pieces for consumption. Hawthorn cake is sour-sweet and refreshing, ideal for cooling off in summer.
2. Hawthorn Jam: Boil hawthorns with sugar until thick, cool, then bottle and store. Hawthorn jam can be spread on bread or biscuits, or used as a dessert topping.
3. Hawthorn Tea: Slice dried hawthorns, steep in water, and enjoy. Hawthorn tea aids digestion and blood circulation, suitable for post-meal consumption.
4. Candied Hawthorns: Thread hawthorns onto sticks, coat with sugar syrup, cool until a hard shell forms, creating tangy-sweet candied hawthorns, a common street snack.
5. Dried Hawthorn Slices: De-seed hawthorns, marinate with sugar, dry or bake to make dried hawthorn slices, suitable for direct consumption or as a baking ingredient.
6. Hawthorn Liquor: Soak hawthorns in white liquor, ferment for a period, creating hawthorn liquor. Hawthorn liquor offers certain health benefits, suitable for moderate consumption.
