This wild vegetable is rich in dietary fiber and has lower calories than apples! If you miss it, you will have to wait another year!

There are many wild vegetables in spring. Those growing in the soil include dandelions, shepherd's purse, toon, amaranth, etc.; those growing on the trees include locust flowers, willow buds, and elm seeds (8 kinds of "buds" that you must eat in spring, if you miss them you will have to wait another year!). Among them, elm seeds are the most attractive!

Recently, different ways of eating elm seeds can be seen on major social platforms, including elm seed steamed bread, elm seed fried rice, and steamed elm seeds. Recently, a new way of eating elm seeds has emerged - elm seeds mixed with raw eggs. How about this way of eating?

Image source: A social platform

Let me first say the conclusion: there are health risks, and it is not recommended to follow suit. Next, let's talk about the nutrition of elm money and how to eat it best!

Elm seeds have lower calories than apples!

Elm money is also called elm fruit, elm seeds, elm kernels, and elm pod kernels. When fresh and tender, it is green in color, with flaky edges and a bulging middle filled with seeds. Its shape is somewhat like ancient copper coins, hence the name "elm money".

Elm seeds are one of the most popular wild vegetables in spring, and they taste sweet and fragrant. Although elm seeds are small and inconspicuous, they can be found on the roadside in many cities, and they are very nutritious! According to the data in the Chinese Food Composition Table, elm seeds are good in dietary fiber, carotene, zinc, iron and other nutrients, and the calories are not high.

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1. Dietary fiber

Compared with other spring vegetables such as dandelion, shepherd's purse, Chinese toon and amaranth, elm seeds have the highest dietary fiber content. The insoluble dietary fiber content of elm seeds is 4.3 g/100g, which is 2 times, 2.5 times, 2.5 times and 2.7 times that of dandelion leaves, shepherd's purse, Chinese toon and amaranth respectively.

Eating 100 grams of elm money can meet 17% of the minimum daily dietary fiber requirement of the general population. Cooking dishes with elm money can enhance satiety, help us control appetite, avoid eating too much staple food, and is also beneficial to intestinal health. At the same time, the rich dietary fiber in the diet can also help us lower the total cholesterol level in the body, which is beneficial to cardiovascular health.

2. Carotene

Although the carotene content in elm seeds is not at the top among wild vegetables, the content is still good, at 730 micrograms per 100 grams. This content is not as good as that of Chinese cabbage, but it is much higher than that of Chinese cabbage, nearly 10 times that of Chinese cabbage.

It is important for office workers who use their eyes frequently to consume more foods rich in carotene in their diet, as it helps maintain the health of their eyes and skin.

3. Zinc

The zinc content of elm money is among the best among common wild vegetables, at 3.27 mg/100 g, which is 1.5 times, 3.8 times, 4.8 times, and 9.3 times that of Chinese toon, Chinese amaranth, shepherd's purse, and dandelion leaves, respectively. Eating 100 grams of elm money can meet 27% and 38% of the zinc requirements of adult men and women, respectively. Zinc plays an important role in growth and development, maintaining immunity, skin health, and reproductive health.

4. Iron

The iron in elm seeds is excellent among vegetables, up to 7.9 mg/100 g. Although the iron absorption rate of plant foods is low, the iron content in elm seeds is higher than that of black fungus, black beans, spinach, red dates, etc. If you eat elm seeds with foods rich in vitamin C, such as bell peppers, kiwis, strawberries, guavas, etc., you can improve the absorption and utilization rate of iron in elm seeds, which is still helpful in iron supplementation.

In addition, even those who are losing weight do not have to worry about gaining weight by eating elm seeds. The calories in elm seeds are only 45 kcal/100 g, which is not as high as that in apples and is lower than that in dandelions which are also wild vegetables.

Are the various ways of eating elm seeds reliable?

Most of the vegetables we usually eat contain some oxalic acid to a greater or lesser extent. Some vegetables with high oxalic acid content need to be blanched before eating, such as spinach, shepherd's purse, spring bamboo shoots, amaranth, purslane, etc. However, elm seeds are different. Some literature mentions that elm seeds do not contain oxalic acid. Therefore, before using elm seeds to make food, there is no need to blanch them first, just wash them clean!

As for how to eat elm money, it has a sweet and fragrant taste. It is a good choice to eat it raw after cleaning. In addition to eating it raw, you can also try making many delicacies with elm money, such as elm money steamed bread, elm money fried eggs, steamed elm money, elm money cakes, elm money dumplings, elm money bags, elm money porridge, elm money rice, etc.

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However, as mentioned at the beginning, be careful about the recent popular elm seed rice, and don't follow the trend casually. This elm seed rice is made like this: cooked rice + a raw egg + a little soy sauce + a handful of elm seeds, then stir evenly and eat it directly.

It may look appetizing, but there are some food safety risks. The eggs we usually eat contain many bacteria that are invisible to the naked eye, including salmonella. Salmonella may contaminate eggs from infected hen reproductive tissues before the eggshell is formed, and then contaminate the inside of the egg.

Salmonella is afraid of heat, and it can be killed by cooking eggs. However, eating raw eggs without heating cannot kill Salmonella. If you eat raw eggs contaminated by it, it will cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, and in severe cases, it may lead to death.

Many friends would say: Just choose eggs that can be eaten raw. Eggs that can be eaten raw are indeed much safer than the ordinary eggs we usually use, but you must also pay attention to the storage conditions and time, and be sure to eat them according to the recommendations on the packaging instructions.

In comparison, fully cooked eggs are safer. You can replace the raw eggs in the elm seed rice with egg custard, which will taste better.

Summarize:

The tasting period of elm money is very short, so you must seize the opportunity and eat it quickly. Don’t miss this delicious dish on the spring table! How do you eat elm money at home? Please share in the comment section!

References

[1] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

[2] Yu Shuling. Discussion on the nutrition and health of elm seeds[J]. Chinese Food and Nutrition, 2009, 15(9): 60-61

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Review丨Zhang Yu, Researcher, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Doctor of Medicine