Lagenaria how to make dishes. Lagenaria pumpkin: cultivation and use. How to dry lagenaria

Lagenaria dishes

Lagenaria longfruited (Lucertola) is the most common species. People call it Vietnamese zucchini, Indian cucumber, giant cucumber, sauce zucchini.
Some varieties (bottle form) have a bitter taste, so they are not used for food. But the ripened fruits are used for various decorative crafts - dishes, ladles, bowls, spoons, vases, they are varnished, painted, painted. Ripe fruits, after removing their contents and drying, are used as vessels for storing liquids and bulk products. Such dishes are extremely durable and completely waterproof. Milk in such a container does not turn sour for a long time. Water in such vessels retains its temperature for up to 2-3 hours.

To make dishes, the end of a dried fruit is cut off and boiling water is poured into it. It softens the pulp and it falls out easily. Next, sand is poured inside, water is poured in and rinsed until the inner walls are clean. After this, the vessel is dried and used for its intended purpose.

In southern countries they do things differently. Pumpkins intended for processing are stored for several months. Usually after six months they completely lose moisture, the shell becomes hard and waterproof, the flesh dries completely and the fruits become light. When you shake them, you can hear the seeds rattling inside - this is a signal that they are ready.

Now you can start cleaning. First of all, remove the dried outer skin. To do this, it is better to use a thin metal wool for washing dishes or zero-grade sandpaper. You should not use a coarser one, as it can scratch the smooth surface of the crust. After polishing the skin, the pumpkin is rinsed and allowed to dry.
In the future, the finished pumpkin can be processed like wood. That is, sawing, cutting with a chisel, drilling with a drill, cleaning with a file, burning, cutting, and then staining, painting, covering with drying oil, varnish.

Vases and bowls are made from bottle lagenaria. Using paints, varnish, shells and other available materials, you can lay out any design. These vases look very beautiful and fit well into the interior of both a city apartment and a country house. Such crafts are also suitable as New Year's gifts for friends. Small fruits, pre-decorated, can be used to decorate the New Year tree. You can also shape the fruits as you wish by placing the ovaries in wooden molds, which will be filled with growing fruits.

From a Bushel pumpkin, in just an hour you can make a simple but quite elegant vase with a lid (maybe a tureen). Cut out the top with a jigsaw - the lid is ready, coat the outside with linseed oil - the vase is ready. Pumpkin can be processed like wood: sawed with a saw, cut with a chisel, drilled with a drill, processed with a file, burned, sawed out with a jigsaw, carved (both manually and with a power tool), and then stained, painted, covered with drying oil, varnish, and so on.

Bottles. The variety was bred in Germany. The fruits have an amazing shape - two fused balls. They look very nice on the tree. Young fruits of this variety are especially tasty fried and pickled. They have no bitterness at all. The average fruit weight is 3-5 kg, and up to 40 kg of fruits are collected from one bush.
Cobra. It has round fruits with an elongated neck and a snake-shaped head. They are dark green in color with light green specks. This variety is perhaps the most easily digestible.
Calabash. The fruits of this variety are also similar to cobra, only they are light green in color.
Lucertola. This variety of lagenaria is perhaps the most convenient for use in cooking; it has the property of continuing the growth of the fruit after cutting off part of it. The enormous growth energy of the plant allows lagenaria to heal the wound on the fruit and continue its growth. This property is a miracle and that is why lucertola is so popular among gardeners. But this variety loves sunny days and warmth - if the air temperature in the area is 15-18 degrees, then the lagenaria will not have growth energy. Lucertola fruits grow up to 2 meters in length.
Goose in apples. The variety pleases with goose-shaped fruits - thick bottom, thin and curved
neck.
Log-shaped. It resembles a log and weighs from 10 to 15 kg.
Mace. Bottle. Flask. These varieties are used for making tableware. The names of the varieties speak for themselves. Lagenaria bottle really looks like a bottle. The vessel from it holds 1-3 liters. The flask had a long narrow neck.
The benefits of lagenaria are enormous. It is primarily a food product, a healer, a decoration and an item for the kitchen or decoration. Plant lagenaria in your area too.

Indian squash, Chinese cucumber, gourd, bottle gourd. This is all she, the famous and still little-known Lagenaria, a guest from the humid tropics, who recently settled in our beds. Its fruits are similar in color to zucchini, taste like cucumbers, only with sourness, and have a wide variety of shapes.

Chinese cucumber, Indian zucchini, Bottle gourd, Dish gourd, Dry gourd, Gourd - this is all of it, still little known, but already settled in our beds - lagenaria. Its fruits, of a bizarre exotic shape, have a very diverse use.

On my site I grow plants mainly for decorative purposes. But, you see, it’s great when you can combine business with pleasure. Representatives from the pumpkin family allow us to do this. For example, multi-colored zucchini, orange squash that looks like the sun, unusual pumpkins - they not only decorate the garden and vegetable garden, diversify our menu, but even in cold winter, reminding us of the warm summer, they save us gardeners from depression.

This spring I found Lagenaria (Bottle Gourd) seeds at the garden center. Since there was still a lot of time before planting, I began to study information about this exotic plant.

Every spring I look for seeds of new varieties in stores so that I can experiment and, if I’m lucky, get wonderful fruits. Last year I managed to grow several varieties of hard-barked decorative small pumpkins.

Lagenaria has been known since ancient times. This pumpkin was found during excavations of Egyptian tombs. In ancient Chinese manuscripts she was referred to as the “queen of vegetables.” In the imperial garden, lagenaria was grown as an ornamental plant, from the fruits of which craftsmen made vases and dishes of extraordinary beauty. Bottle gourd grows wild in India and Africa.

Depending on the variety, lagenaria has pear-shaped, round, club-shaped and fruits up to 2 m long. Moreover, they grow continuously, even if you cut off a large piece from an unusual zucchini, the cut site quickly tightens, and lagenaria continues to grow. Young, long-fruited bottle gourds are suitable for eating. They are used to make pancakes, salads, stuffed like regular zucchini, make caviar, pickle and salt. Nutritionists believe that eating lagenaria improves metabolism, strengthens immunity, removes salts and radionuclides, and lowers blood pressure.

Lagenaria flowers are amazingly beautiful: very large, glass-shaped, in the morning they are light cream in color, and in the evening they are pure white.

Growing lagenaria. Experts recommend growing lagenaria in seedlings, a month before planting in open ground. Lagenaria seeds have a hard shell, so some gardeners soak them in hot water (45 degrees) before sowing and leave them for 2 days. Then they are germinated in a damp dense tissue at room temperature. After the lagenaria seeds sprout, they are placed in a container with the sprout down. Planted in open ground when the threat of frost has passed. After all, lagenaria is a southern, heat-loving plant. But, despite this, it easily tolerates the autumn cold snap and bears fruit abundantly until frost.

Lagenaria is not picky about soil; any loose, fertile garden soil with the addition of humus is suitable for growing lagenaria.

When landing, I did everything strictly following the recommendations. Lagenaria seeds sprouted quite quickly and began to grow very actively. This is where the problems started. The lashes became longer and longer every day and began to cause me a lot of trouble, and there was less and less space left on the windowsill. After my husband transported the seedlings to the dacha, I completely despaired. The lashes broke, and the picture became completely depressing. I planted “my grief” on a compost heap near the fence. And just in case, I decided to play it safe - I sowed two more dry seeds in the damp soil and covered everything with covering material. After a couple of weeks, the seedlings completely withered, but to great joy, two sprouts appeared from the ground! The weather was warm and favorable, and my lagenaria was gaining strength every day. She moved from the compost heap to the fence. Its shoots are quite powerful and reach a length of 3 to 15 m.

The daily growth of leaves and shoots of lagenaria is up to 50 cm, it blooms continuously. One plant can have both flowers and fruits. Therefore, lagenaria has always looked decorative and attractive.

Some varieties (bottle form) have a bitter taste, so they are not used for food. All kinds of dishes and souvenirs are made from them. Fully ripened and dried lagenaria fruits can be processed like wood: sawed, sanded, drilled, burned, jigsawed, cut, and then primed, painted, varnished and done with everything that your rich imagination can tell you. This lagenaria craft was given to my neighbor.

Growing lagenaria is not difficult. Caring for it is similar to caring for a pumpkin. Throughout the summer, I regularly loosened the soil and watered it if necessary. It was very interesting to watch the growth of lagenaria fruits. They grew and gained strength, literally, “by leaps and bounds.” By the way, they can be given any shape by placing the ovaries in wooden forms, which will be filled with growing fruits.

In the fall, before frost, I cut off the fruits of lagenaria with the stalk and moved them into the house and then left them on a warm windowsill to reach condition. I dream of making some crafts out of them. But that's a completely different story...

Lyubov Smirnova, amateur gardener

“Garden Affairs” No. 3 (47), 2011

A plant such as bottle gourd (lagenaria) has been known since ancient times. Dishes and various decorative items were made from this fruit. In addition, it is valued for its beneficial properties.

Description

Bottle gourd was born in Africa and modern America, and also became widespread in Central Europe. Archaeologists have discovered dishes from Langenaria, which are more than 12 thousand years old.

The stem of this crop resembles a vine and can reach a length of up to 15 meters. In addition, it is slightly faceted and has slight pubescence. The leaves of the plant are pentagonal and corrugated. An interesting feature of this variety is that the flowers can only be seen at night; during the day they are hidden in the axils of the leaves.

The fruits can be round, oval or pear-shaped. They grow up to 2 meters in length. The minimum diameter is 10 centimeters. Also, one langenaria can weigh from 500 grams to 1.5 kilograms. Due to such a large size, 10-15 fruits grow on one bush.

Due to the individual characteristics of this variety, it has received many names, for example, bottle gourd, pitcher gourd, gourd, Vietnamese squash or Indian cucumber. Let's figure out the cultivation.

Calabash. Growing

This variety is similar in properties to zucchini, but the technology for reproducing these two vegetables differs significantly from each other. A long growing season of 120-150 days is an individual feature of a plant such as bottle gourd. Growing at home should begin with preparing seeds for seedlings. If you immediately plant a plant in open ground, it may not have time to ripen in the short summer period.

Preparing seeds for seedlings

Bottle pumpkin, the seeds of which are very hard, large and flat, may not sprout at all. To avoid this outcome, the seed must be prepared, namely:

Reproduction of seedlings

• As soon as it is noticeable that the seeds have sprouted, they must be moved into pots, the volume of which should not be less than one liter.
• The soil should be fertile and moist.
• During the replanting process, it is necessary to deepen the seeds by 3 cm, sprinkle with soil and lightly press down. To speed up the germination process, you can build a greenhouse that will trap warm air, thereby helping the pumpkin get out faster.
• In order for seedlings to appear within 2 weeks, you need to maintain a comfortable temperature of 23-25 ​​degrees.
• Seedlings need to be watered in a timely manner, avoiding drought or, conversely, excessive soil moisture.

Transplanting a plant into open ground

Bottle gourd, the cultivation of which began at home, sooner or later must move to open ground. It is best to wait until the threat of spring frosts has passed.

Choosing a landing site:

• Bottle gourd is very heat-loving, so it is quite difficult to grow in areas where there can be significant temperature changes. Such a plant is unlikely to withstand even the mildest frosts.
• It is also best to avoid areas with high groundwater levels and acidic soils.
• Considering that the plant is of the liana type, it needs support, which can be a fence, a pre-designed fence or simple trellises.

It is best to dig shallow holes at a distance of 1 meter from each other; you need to place 1 tablespoon of any fertilizer containing potassium or 1 cup of ash in them. Also, half a bucket of humus or compost will be the key to successful growth.

The seedling pot is placed in a hole at the same level with the ground and buried in a small layer of fertile soil. At the end of the procedure, the pumpkin should be watered with warm water.

Care

1. A heat-loving plant is what characterizes the bottle gourd, the care of which should begin with the construction of a shelter. It can be made from improvised means and not removed until favorable temperatures arrive, both during the day and at night.
2. When watering the plant, you should also pay special attention to this feature. And be sure to use only warm water. This procedure must be carried out as the soil dries.
3. In order for fruit formation to take place most effectively, as soon as the plant stem reaches a size of 2 meters, it must be pinched.

Feeding

Bottle gourd (lagenaria) loves both organic and mineral fertilizers. In order for the plant to develop well and bear high-quality fruits, it needs to be fertilized every 7-10 days, alternating these two types of fertilizers.

During mineral feeding, it is best to use the following composition:

• 3 tablespoons of nitrogen fertilizer;
• 2 tablespoons of potash fertilizer;
• 10 liters of water.

One liter of prepared solution will be used per plant.

When preparing organic fertilizer, they most often use:

• 1 kg of manure or 0.5 kilograms of bird droppings;
• 10 liters of water.

The resulting fertilizer is poured under one bottle gourd.

Pollination

To get the unusual fruits of langenaria, it must be pollinated by hand. This need arises due to the fact that the plant blooms in the dark, when almost all pollinating insects are asleep.

When performing such work, you need to be extremely careful and careful. One careless move can easily deprive the entire planned harvest. The main difficulty is the ability to distinguish a male flower from a female one. The presence of small fruits under the flowers indicates the feminine principle. To ensure that the process is carried out correctly and the plant has enough of the substances it needs, several males are used to produce one fruit.

How to dry bottle gourd

This process has its own characteristics. Bottle gourd is very light, and when dried it is almost weightless; moreover, it does not allow moisture to pass through it. It was for these qualities that it was valued since ancient times, making dishes from such fruits. The initial step will be to prepare the material; for this you need to dry the pumpkin.

1. This whole process is very long and painstaking, it begins with the fact that the fruit needs to be trimmed, leaving only a small tail, through which moisture will evaporate, and thoroughly washed with soapy water, then it needs to be wiped dry with a towel.
2. It is best to dry bottle gourd outside so that there is uniform air circulation, but if this is not possible, then you can use a well-ventilated room. Avoid exposure to open sunlight. Under no circumstances should you use an oven or microwave for such purposes. The process should occur naturally. This is necessary to maintain the shape and all the quality indicators of the pumpkin.
3. During drying, the bottle gourd should be suspended or lie on a wire rack. It is also necessary to avoid contact of several fruits.
4. It should remain in a bright place for about a week until the top layer hardens and changes color.
5. Then it needs to be moved to a dark room, where the entire main process will take place, the duration of which can be up to 6 months.
6. Every week the pumpkin should be checked for various defects, such as wrinkling or rot. Such specimens are immediately removed so that the harmful effects do not spread to healthy fruits. They also need to be turned over gradually so that they dry evenly.
7. Mold is not a serious problem; if you notice it in time, you can wipe the pumpkin with a dry cloth.
8. The readiness of the fruit can be judged by the sound of the seeds, which begin to rattle.
9. As soon as this indicator is noticeable, it is necessary to cut off the tail, remove the seeds and leave the bottle gourd to dry on the inside.
10. After a few days, the base for various dishes or crafts will be ready. Such a plant can be painted, decorated, polished.

Using lagenaria

There are many ways to use the fruits and stems of such a plant:

• Bottle gourds are used to make various crafts, musical instruments, smoking pipes, and even toys.
• The stems are used to weave hats or baskets; they are very durable and beautiful.
• Oil can be obtained from the seeds for a long time after harvesting.
• We must not forget about the beneficial properties of pumpkin as a food product. The pulp of the fruit is used for diseases of the heart, vascular system, kidneys, bladder, liver and stomach. Also, regular consumption of lagenaria can help normalize metabolism and, accordingly, lose extra pounds. It is important to remember that only young fruits whose size does not exceed 50 centimeters can be eaten.

The ability to use the fruits as a material for making various crafts is what makes bottle gourd different. Caring for and growing a plant is not particularly difficult, and even a beginner can cope with this task, the main thing is to choose the right place for the vines to grow.

Cherie Long

Cultivation of gourds (pot or bottle gourd) has been practiced for a long time: young pumpkins are eaten, and mature ones are dried, processed and made into light and durable vessels for liquids, other kitchen utensils, bird houses and feeders, Christmas tree decorations - and this is far from a complete list of necessary and useful things that you can make with your own hands from pumpkins grown in your garden.

There are several varieties of hard-bark pumpkins, and many gardeners are probably familiar with the bright, small fruits of decorative pumpkins, but we want to introduce you to the gourd or lagenaria, the fruits of which, when dried, have an unusually durable brown rind.

How to grow gourd

The common gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is a vigorous annual plant of the gourd family, a vine with a climbing or creeping stem up to 15 meters long, so if you have little space on your site, we advise you to direct the vines along the path or driveway, or even better, to let them fly on a fence, trellis or tree trunk. This is especially important for the correct formation of the fruits of the Dipper variety, which means “dipper”. In order for the “handle” to grow long and even, the fruits must hang freely. The fruits of the gourd ripen for quite a long time, so it is preferable to grow it in the southern regions, where the summers are long and hot. Simply plant the seeds 1 inch deep in the soil in the spring, just after the last frost. However, if certain rules are followed, gourd can be successfully grown in the north. So, we offer ten tips for growing gourds in northern latitudes:
1) Sprout seeds indoors a month to a month and a half before the end of frost, in 10-15 cm diameter pots. Kern Ackerman, an expert on hard-bark pumpkins from Ohio, recommends starting to germinate seeds even earlier, but keep in mind that plants grow quickly and their long whips can cause you a lot of trouble.

2) To start, choose a variety with small or medium fruits, such as Dipper or Martin House. Varieties with larger teapot-shaped fruits take a very long time to ripen, so growing them in northern climates is quite difficult, warns Kern, who nevertheless managed to grow a pumpkin measuring 50 cm in diameter.

3) Fertilize the soil with compost or complex fertilizer “Just don’t overdo it with nitrogen, otherwise everything will go to waste,” advises Kern.

4) Never overcool plants when planting in the ground! Wait until the frosts end and only then take the seedlings outside, but do not plant them right away, but gradually, over the course of a week, accustom the plants to new conditions: on the first day, leave them outside for fifteen minutes, on the second - for twenty minutes, and so on. Kern puts his seedlings in the back of his truck, walks them, and backs the truck into the garage at night.

5) Cover the seedlings with film or place them in a microgreenhouse. “The gourd does not like the cold spring wind, so cover the plants and they will quickly grow,” says Kern.

6) When the main lash reaches 3 m in length, it should be pinched. This will lead to the formation of side shoots with female flowers, from which fruits are set.

7) To get a good result, we recommend pollinating the flowers by hand. The flowers of hard-barked pumpkins open at night, so in the evening pick two or three male flowers (they stand above the leaves, they have a thin stalk and, unlike female ones, there is no ovary under the flower). Then apply pollen from the anther of the male flower to the stigma in the center of the female flower (generally, female flowers are located at the bottom of the plant, they have a short stalk, and under the flower there is a round seal - the ovary). Hand pollination will provide you with more large fruits, says Kern. The more pollen that gets into the female flower, the larger the fruit will be.

8) Water the plants thoroughly until the end of August, and then stop watering. Dry soil promotes fruit ripening, says Kern.

9) Leave the fruits on the vines until the lashes dry completely. To grow a large hard-bark pumpkin in the north, where there are hot days, you have to leave the fruits on the vines even after the first frost. Don't worry if the leaves are caught by frost - the vines will not be damaged, and fruit development will continue.

10) Dry the pumpkins properly in the fresh air on pallets or boards. Don't worry if you notice mold on the outside of the pumpkin's rind. This is completely natural, and the mold creates a peculiar spotted pattern on the crust. Be patient: large pumpkins take months to dry. Check the condition of the fruits during the drying process: wrinkled and soft ones are not suitable for work.

Attention! Frost will not damage the fruits themselves, but frost is destructive for the seeds. So if you want to save the seeds, dry your pumpkins indoors!

How to clean and process fruits

When the pumpkins are completely dry, they will become very light and, if you shake them, you can hear the seeds rattling inside. Now it's time to start cleaning. Let's start by removing the dried outer skin. Soak the fruits in water for an hour, advise the authors of the Encyclopedia of Pumpkin Crafts (Lark Books, 1996), and then put the pumpkins in a plastic bag or wrap them in an old damp towel and leave them in the sun for several hours. After this, remove the softened skin with a copper washcloth. You cannot use sandpaper - it will scratch the smooth surface of the peel. After removing the skin, rinse the pumpkin and let it dry.

Now you need to decide what exactly you will make from the pumpkin. I will share my experience. From a Bushel pumpkin, in just an hour I created a simple but rather elegant vase with a lid (a tureen, if you will). I cut out the top with a jigsaw - the lid is ready, coated the outside with linseed oil - that's all! Pumpkin can be processed like wood: sawed with a saw, cut with a chisel, drilled with a drill, processed with a file, burned, sawed out with a jigsaw, carved (both manually and with a power tool), and then stained, painted, covered with drying oil, varnish, and so on.

Attention! When you open the pumpkin (to remove the seeds and dried pulp), be sure to pour water into it and then pour it out - so that the caustic dust does not get into your nose!

Gourd (Lagenaria vulgare, calabash, calabash, calabash, bottle gourd, dish gourd)– a cultivated plant, an annual creeping vine, a species of the genus Lagenaria of the Cucurbitaceae family.

The gourd pumpkin is considered the only plant known in both the Old and New Worlds for a long time. The ancient Egyptians knew this culture back 3.5 millennia BC. Archaeologists have proven that the gourd was used by the Indians of Peru 4-5 thousand years BC, and the Mexican Indians - as early as 7 thousand years BC. The gourd was traditionally cultivated in Ancient China.

The gourd is cultivated for its fruits, the uses of which are very diverse. Young gourd fruits, which have many healing properties and good taste, are eaten. As the pumpkin fruit ripens, the pulp gradually dries out, and the shell hardens, becoming durable and waterproof. Such woody fruits are the raw material for making vessels for liquids and utensils (hence the names table gourd or bottle gourd). For several thousand years, gourd has been used for these purposes, and in Africa, China, India and South America it is still used to this day. Calabash, decorated with carved or burnt patterns, is used for brewing and drinking mate drink (a hot infusion of leaves and young shoots of Paraguayan holly). Calabash mate is drunk using a bombilla (with filter), reed or bamboo canute. Calabash and bombilla are excellent South American authentic souvenirs.

Also, musical instruments, vases, smoking pipes, souvenirs, and crafts are made from lagenaria fruits. Long, flexible shoots of lagenaria are used for making wickerwork (baskets, hats, etc.). In addition, gourd is grown as an ornamental loach with interesting fruits and dense greenery.

It is generally accepted that the homeland of Lagenaria vulgaris is tropical Africa. This heat-loving vine is cultivated in tropical and subtropical climate zones in South America, Africa, China and some other warm countries. In the southern regions of Russia, amateur gardeners are trying to grow gourds.

Lagenaria is an annual creeping vine with a faceted, pubescent, tendril-bearing stem up to 15 meters long; corrugated pentagonal leaves; small white single flowers located in the axils of the leaves. An interesting feature of the gourd is that its flowers open at night.

The fruits of the gourd are large, elongated or more rounded, pear-shaped, and resembling a figure eight. The shape, as well as the length of the fruit (from 10 cm or more) depend on the variety. Each plant produces 10-15 pumpkins, weighing from half to one and a half kg. For optimal development, the plant requires strong support.

The chemical composition of gourd fruits is rich in vitamins and minerals. Lagenaria contains a large amount of vitamin C, as well as B vitamins, potassium, calcium, sodium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, copper, magnesium, zinc. Other beneficial substances include omega-6 fatty acids; amino acids, including essential ones; Sahara; fiber.

Nutritional value of raw gourd fruit per 100 grams: 0.6 grams of protein; 3.4 grams of carbohydrates; 95.5 grams of water. Calorie content of bottle gourd is 14 kcal.

Young gourd fruits have found application in cooking. The taste of a fresh, very young fruit is reminiscent of a bitter-spicy tinge. As it ripens, the flavor becomes more like pumpkin. The pulp of tableware pumpkin can be fried, baked, added to porridge, made into stews, vegetable casseroles, and caviar. You can also pickle the calabash pulp for the winter.

Oil used for food purposes is extracted from the seeds of common lagenaria.

Gorlanka is a low-calorie dietary product. Including this vegetable in the diet helps to get rid of excess weight by removing toxins, normalizing digestion, and improving metabolic processes.

But the medicinal properties of Lagenaria vulgaris do not end there. Regular consumption of gourd dishes helps with diseases of the cardiovascular system, stomach, liver, kidney and bladder diseases. Thanks to the beneficial substances contained in the gourd fruit, it has the ability to strengthen the immune system, is a natural antioxidant, and slows down the growth of cancer cells. Gourd seeds are an anthelmintic.

Externally (in the form of lotions, infusions and ointments from fruits and leaves) it is used to heal wounds and restore skin. The leaves, ground into a paste, can be applied to the affected areas of the skin. In cosmetology, gourd is used to prepare masks.