Patchouli Latin name Agastacherugosa, also known as row of grass incense, put artemisia, large-leaf mint, Labiatae patchouli aromatic herb, is China’s traditional medicine and food plants, widely distributed throughout the country, the northeast of the main mountainous areas, semi-mountainous areas, especially in the Changbai Mountain District counties have a large area of wild or semi-wild distribution, in South Korea, Japan and other countries of East Asia also have a wide range of planting distribution.

Nutritional function of patchouli

Patchouli was initially widely used as a spice in ancient times, and like incense, sandalwood, clove, and woodruff, it was used by princes and nobles as an important material for making scented pouches and aromatherapy. Patchouli’s active ingredient is mainly volatile oil, can be used as a spice, also has antibacterial activity and antiseptic effect. Patchouli is not only unique aroma, as a kind of edible wild vegetables, but also rich in a variety of nutrients, such as amino acids, proteins, vitamins, fatty acids, carbohydrates, minerals and the human body must be trace elements, can be absorbed and utilized by the human body.

According to literature reports per 100g patchouli fresh leaves containing 72g of water, protein 8.6g, fat 1.7g, carbohydrates 10g, containing calcium 580mg, phosphorus 104mg, iron 28-5mg, carotene 6.38mg, Vc23mg, VB 0.1mg, VB2 0.38mg, VPP (niacin) 1.2mg.

Patchouli contains more protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other content than in cabbage, radish, green onion, lotus root, potato, rape, spinach and other vegetables, vitamin content is also higher, compared to patchouli can provide more nutrients for the growth of the body needs, high nutritional value, but also has a health care effect, it can be seen that as a vegetable has a potential value of development.

Application of patchouli in traditional food

2.1 Patchouli can be used in vegetables
The edible parts of patchouli are generally young stems and leaves, summer patchouli can be collected with boiling water blanching, and then dried and stored, to be soaked in winter and then eat, the deliciousness is not reduced, is a delicious health care products. Patchouli’s young leaves can be fried, cold or soup, young leaves can be blanched with boiling water directly with seasoning cold, fresh and tasty flavor, but also fresh young leaf buds, mixed into peanut rice or soybeans to do seasoning.

In addition, June to August picking the inflorescences of the newly blossomed, wash can be directly dipped in sauce to enjoy, can also be rolled in pancakes or pancakes, taste better, aftertaste, or put it into the sauce jar to take its aroma, not only taste buds have been satisfied, there are beauty effects. In a word, patchouli can be eaten in various ways, such as fried, stir-fried, stewed, scrambled eggs, stir-fried sauce, soup, noodles, and as a side dish of hot pot, it has a special flavor.

2.2 Patchouli can be made into patchouli sauce.
Xinjiang Uyghur Mukhtar Yimir Aishanin and others studied and analyzed the chemical composition of the traditional Uyghur patchouli jam, and found that the jam contains the highest content of potassium, and the content of magnesium, iron, and zinc in the essential trace elements is high, while the content of copper and manganese is low.

In addition, Hu Haobin et al. confirmed that patchouli is rich in flavonoids as well as vitamins, which are natural antioxidants, so patchouli jam is regarded as food with higher health care value, patchouli jam is made from the fragile stems and leaves of patchouli with dew collected when patchouli blossoms at the end of August, and then crushed, and then patchouli, high-quality sugar, and honey are evenly mixed in a quality ratio of 1: 3:1 and placed in a large tile jar with white gauze. large tile jar, white gauze or glass cover the mouth of the jar, placed in the sunlight, every 2d ~ 3d fully stirred once, patchouli and sugar, honey dissolved in each other to form a sticky sauce (it takes about 3 months ~ 4 months, the sauce is matured and canned).

2.3 patchouli can be cooked porridge
Take 15g of patchouli (30g of fresh), decoct the patchouli juice and set aside. Use stalked rice about 50g porridge, when cooked, then add patchouli juice, slightly boiled and eaten. This porridge can prevent summer heat, appetizer enhancement of appetite, suitable for the elderly summer consumption.

2.4 Patchouli can be made into snacks
Nantong, Jiangsu Province, the confectioner’s ingenuity, patchouli leaves for the skin, osmanthus bean paste for the filling, soft fried into the hibiscus patchouli dumplings, the mouth cool and fragrant. This snack has been included in the “Chinese snacks”, “Encyclopedia of China” has become a national reputation.

2.5 Development of compound seasoning for fish stew
Sichuan cuisine in the bean fresh fish, stained beans, patchouli burned eggplant, patchouli burned bitter bamboo shoots, small pepper patchouli Liaoshen, patchouli crucian carp and other patchouli flavor as a feature of the dishes, loved by the Sichuan people, patchouli is the south of the Sichuan, western Sichuan region, cooking fish commonly used in a kind of spices, popular cold pot of fish, green peppercorns and patchouli is the formation of the flavor characteristics of the two main seasonings.

It can be seen, patchouli as a vegetable and a valuable plant as a seasoning, bring people not only delicious and nutritional health effects. There is a famous dish “Qingling Live Fish” in the northern Ji cuisine, and patchouli is the main seasoning that contributes to its deliciousness. Patchouli whole herb aroma special rich, with the function of fishy and fragrant, more used as a side dish and stew seasoning, is one of the famous northeastern seasoning.

2.6 Patchouli can be used as tea.
Patchouli and some of the combination of ingredients, such as mint, licorice, perilla, dahurica, maitake, chrysanthemum, etc., were composed of a variety of fitness, health, treatment of the efficacy of the medicinal tea, boiled with water, or directly brewed to drink.

For the research of patchouli drink, Gu Jinsheng developed a natural patchouli leaves as raw materials, plus atractylodes macrocephala, half-summer and other traditional Chinese medicines, add honey, rock sugar and other sweetened liquid and pure water sterilization made of natural patchouli drink, the drink has a heat quenching thirst, moistening the throat, summer heat and detoxification, etc., and the production process is simple, low-cost, to meet the human pursuit of natural, green, healthy, safe and non-toxic side-effects of the drink Demand.