Borage also known as starflower is a flowering plant that is commercially cultivated for borage seed oil. While traditionally cultivated for culinary and medicinal uses, today it is mainly used as either a fresh vegetable or a dried herb. As a fresh vegetable, it is often used in salads or as a garnish. And, its flower is often used for decorating desserts and cocktails. In Spanish regions of Aragon and Navarre, it is commonly used as vegetables. Also, in most parts of Spain and the Greek island of Crete and the Northern Italian region of Liguria it is used for making sauces and soups. Also, borage is traditionally used as a garnish in the Pimms Cup cocktail, often replaced by a long sliver of cucumber peel or by the mint.It is also one of the key botanical ingredients used in Gilpin’s Westmorland Extra Dry Gin.
How to use Borage
It can be cooked in the same way you cook any other green vegetable. It has a unique flavor, but to make it taste better you can add a bit of garlic, onions, and olive oils with chille pepper flakes. Due to its cooling quality, it is refreshing to eat on a hot summer day. When used as a beverage, borage has a refreshing and cooling effect.
It is a versatile herb as its every part is edible. Its fresh leaves have a mild cucumber taste and can be used in stocks, soups, and stews, or brewed to make a refreshing tea. There is no need to put off the white layer on top on leaves as they easily dissolve in the mouth. Adding them to sandwiches instead of lettuce is a great idea. And when cooked properly, borage leaves may be used as a substitute to spinach.
Borage flowers have a unique honey-filled taste that makes them good as artificial sweeteners. They can be preserved for a long time and added to drinks or simply in a glass of lemonade. The stems of borage are used for adding flavor to alcoholic beverages. Also, they make great any-time snacks when parboiled and fried in batter. When chopped up, they make a great addition to soups and can also be eaten raw; giving a hearty crunch to salads.
Besides this, flowers of borage are used for decorating drinks and salads.
Health benefits of Borage
Borage is a low-calorie herb that contains many vital minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients, minerals, and vitamins. It contains some essential fatty acids y-linolenic acid (GLA), typically in the concentration of 17-20% Linolenic acid that helps in building healthy muscle, joins, skin, and mucosa.
Being rich in Vitamin C, fresh borage helps remove harmful free radicals from the body. Together with other anti-oxidants, it helps in removing harmful free radicals from the body. Together with other anti-oxidants, it has an immune booster, wound healer and anti-viral effect.
Borage herb is also rich in vitamin A which is powerful flavonoid antioxidants that plays a vital role in anti-aging and preventing disease. Vitamin A also helps in proving antioxidant properties and is essential for vision. It is also required for maintaining healthy mucosa and skin. Moreover, it also protects the human body from lung and oral cavity cancers.
Borage also contains a good amount of minerals like iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, copper, zinc, and magnesium which are important components of cell and body fluids. They help in controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Furthermore, borage is one of the best sources of B-complex vitamins, particularly rich in niacin that helps lower LDL cholesterol levels in the body. Also, it has riboflavin, thiamin, pyridoxine, and folates in average levels that are co-factors in the enzymatic metabolism inside the body.
Hope this article provided you enough information about Borage. At Gastronomic Spain ,We offer some of the best Spanish food items and products, that too at reasonable prices.
