User:Bibliomaniac15/Ginnan

Ginnan, also known as ginkgo nuts, are the fruit of the female maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba). This tree bears fruit after 20 years. Ginnan is ready for harvest in the fall and is used for its medicinal and culinary properties, as well as for decoration.

In a poem from the 11th century, the Chinese poet Ouyang Xiu that the notes are regarded as beads that they give to a dear guest. The seeds will be still and be roasted and eaten at weddings and other celebrations as a delicacy. They are used as a digestive agent, a male to fight disease and recover.

Development
In 1712, Engelbert Kaempfer described the nut and its maturation: "In late spring appear rather long, hanging catkins with many pollen on the branches of the crown. On a fleshy, strong stalk, which is an inch long and comes out from the same "cluster" as the leafstalk, hangs the fruit; it is completely round or oblong round, has the form and the size of a Damaszener plum and an uneven, with time yellow becoming surface. The fruitcoat is fleshy, juicy, white and quite hard;  it sticks to the nut which it encloses, so that this cannot come out; it is then one lets the fruitcoat decay in water and then squeezes the nut out, as one also does with the Areca catechu (Betel nut). The nut itself is called Ginnaù (misprint, correctly Ginnan) and resembles a pistachenut (in particular those, which the Persians call "Bergjès Pistài"), is however almost twice as large.  It has the appearance of an apricot core and possesses a thin, frail, whitish woodish shell;  in it is loosely situated a white, unstructured kernel, which blends the sweet of the almond with a bitter taste and is rather hard."

The seeds contain such acids and ginkgolic ginnol (which some bacteria and fungal infections). For thousands of years one considers them in Chinese traditional medicine as a means for the heart, the lungs , asthma , bronchitis , coughs , bladder and kidney problems , digestion , healing power of hearing loss and other ailments. The exterior (pericarp) of the seeds contain an oil and a small amount of urushiol that a contact allergy can cause in susceptible people.

Of note to tree
The Ginnan is the fruit of a female Japanese walnut tree and the tree seed that propagates. The reproductive process of the Japanese walnut include the reason that this unique tree species is an isolated and not a tree family. Reproduction is particularly because the Ginnan to be fertilized. Namely by pollen from a male Japanese walnut. The pollen blowing in the autumn the winds to the Ginnanzaadknopjes (pessaries).

After fertilization fallen leaves and fruit of the tree. The fertilized Ginnan look out first green, later green, yellow, orange and brown. It grows a new Japanese walnut. After 20 years the tree will flower.

Taste of Ginnan
Ginnan is twice the size of a pistachio nut or apricot. If they are just ripe, the fruit has an unpleasant smell, but the note has a rich nut flavor. The taste is compared to that of chestnuts, almonds, corn or potatoes. The fresh nuts taste better than packaged Ginnan. The nuts are low in fat. The hard shell of the Ginnan be peeled, so that the edible nut remains

The Use of Ginnan
Ginnan is used in different ways, but the note is best known for use in Japanese cuisine. They can be cracked and eaten as roasted nuts or processed into porridges, soups and vegetable dishes with rice or tofu. The edible seed, the core, especially in children with vitamin B6 deficiency often be eaten in large quantities, food poisoning prompted by MPN (4-methoxypyridoxine). Ripe Ginnan

Tradition The notes are in China to celebrate weddings and dyed strung together a garland for decoration. During the festivities, they cracked and eaten. Culinary uses Kaempfer mentions in his book from 1712, the Ginnan especially after the main meal to be served: "It is said that the nuclei, after dinner eaten, the digestive promotion and bloating in the abdomen reduced, so no they never the dessert a copious meal. After one of their bitter taste by cooking or roasting them have taken away as an ingredient in various dishes. The notes are not very expensive: a Belgian cost about two pounds of silver drachma. " Delicatessen In Japan and China as the Ginnan delicacy. Ginnan in Japan in various dishes, such as Chawan Mushi Mushi and Dobin. Roasted and salted Ginnan on a skewer Izakaya is a popular snack. Roasted Ginnan in Japan, particularly during festivals made. They are steel pans over a charcoal fire roasted (the pan is hereby continuously shaken), after which they are served in bags. In China, the note used as a breakfast, locally known as Congee. During the Chinese New Year, they served as part of the dish Buddha's Delight.