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What is a calabash used for?
Calabash is the term used for artefacts made from the hard shell of a fruit in the gourd family “Lagenaria siceraria.” Once the calabash is dried and hollowed out it can be used for serving or storing food. It can also be used as an inkpot, cosmetic container and by market women as a money box.
Is calabash used for cooking?
Calabash (Lagenaria siceraria) is also known as opo squash, bottle gourd or long melon. This is an amazing fruit which can be used not only as vegetable in cooking but also to make utensils and musical instruments. If it is harvested dried, the inner part is scooped out and used as a bottle, utensil or a pipe.
Is calabash good to eat?
In time, the trees produce the round fruit. These large fruits take six months to ripen. Calabash tree facts make clear that the fruits are not edible to humans but they are used for a variety of ornamental purposes. The black calabash fruits, however, are edible.
How do you eat calabash fruit?
Cut the calabash fruit into halves with a saw. The outer shell is very hard that you cannot just cut it with knife. Split open then scoop out the flesh of calabash fruit. Mash the flesh into pulp (it usually froths).
Is cucumber a gourd?
Plants in the cucurbit (gourd) family include melons, pumpkins, squash and cucumbers. Each of those different cucurbits includes plants of different species and genera (plural of genus). So musk melon’s scientific or botanical name is Cucumis melo, with “Cucumis” as the genus and “melo” as the species.
What are the benefits of calabash?
The leaves have the ability to decrease blood pressure and headaches. The leaves can also be crushed and applied to wound to stop bleeding. If mixed with castor oil, it also acts as a purgative and laxative herb. Calabash is not only known for its healing powers but also as an ally in food preparation.
What can calabash fruit be used for in Africa?
There are several other uses of calabash. In Africa, it is called Tupperware tree because of its multifarious uses. When dried, the fruit’s shell can be used to make various kinds of utensils, ornaments and musical instruments. The dried shells can be used to create bowls for drinking and eating or for carrying water.
Are there any health benefits to eating calabash?
Health benefits of calabash. It may be utilized to remedy colds and coughs. It contains chlorogenic acid as well as crescentic acid. Some folks used the young fruits to cleanse the womb by squeezing out the juice from the roasted fruits and then combine it with castor oil medicinal herb.
What can you do with dried calabash shells?
The dried shells can be used to create bowls for drinking and eating or for carrying water. The wood is used in making cattle yokes, wooden wheels and ribs in boat building. Indeed, there’s a lucrative business waiting for those who cultivate calabash.
What can you do with a calabash gourd?
The moist, white flesh of the immature fruit dries out as the fruit matures. The young fruits are used for culinary purposes, much like summer squash, in Italy (where they are known as cocuzzi), China, and India. They are also known as calabash gourd. The mature bottle gourds have a variety of other uses, too, first and foremost as containers.