Lemon grass
Lemon grass: One of the rare spices in the grass family (like cereals), its bulb, or more rarely leaves (usually in teas) are eaten. It is preferable to use fresh bulbs that have a delicate lemon flavour. They are found in all Asian grocery stores.
History
Plant originally from tropical Asia: Sri Lanka or India for Cymbopogon Flexuosus and Malaysia and Indonesia for Cymbopogon Citratus. Its medicinal and cosmetic properties are known since Ancient Egypt, the Greeks and the Romans.
Vertus
- Against rheumatism and sprains
- Diuretic
- Tonic
- Digestive
- Anti-tussive
- in herbal tea: digestive and sedative
- Against mosquitoes: burn the dry leaves
Tips and tricks
- Very fresh stems easily take root in water, they just need to be planted in a sunny spot
- Equivalence: 1 teaspoon dry powder (sereh) = 1 fresh stem but the flavour is less subtle
Composition
Feuilles
- 0.2-0.5% essential oil
- 35% cis-citral
- 40% trans-citral
- 14% myrcene
- 3% geranyl acetate
- 2% methyl heptenone
- 1% linalool
The plant
Cymbopogon citratus ou Andropogon schoenanthus Cymbopogon flexuosus
Poaceae family (or grasses)
Tropical hardy plant that grows in a humid sunny climate
Long and thin leaves, with cutting edges, stiff, pale-green-grey, pushes in dense tufts, left to grow 3 to 4 years, then collected 3 times a year. Reproduction through division of the tufts.
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