Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 6 Jul 2024

How to eat ice cream every day without feeling guilty

Mango Orange Essence

How to eat ice cream every day without feeling guilty How to eat ice cream every day without feeling guilty

🍧 How to eat ice cream every day without feeling guilty



Mango season is here! If you own a big tree, this means - you probably need to eat a lot of fruit within a short period of time

Here is a tip: make an ice cream!
You can eat this healthy Gelato ice cream every day without feeling guilty.

🍦 All you need for mango Gelato:



🥭 Mango fruit
Ice
🌀 Blender
A shot of your favorite Rum

🍨 You're welcome. Enjoy!

🛒 Plant a Mango tree today to enjoy your Gelato tomorrow

#Recipes #Food_Forest

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 6 Jul 2024

Did you know that Tamarind has not only tasty fruit but also pretty flowers?

Tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica) - flowers

🌻 Did you know that Tamarind has not only tasty fruit but also pretty flowers?

⚠️ Tamarind Tree that we mentioned earlier is in full bloom now. The flowers are so pretty!

📚 Learn more: Tamarind Chutney Recipe

🛒Grow your own Tamarind Tree

#Food_Forest #Fun_Facts

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 24 Jul 2024

How to grow your own Pepper plants

Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot leaves wraps

Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot leaves wraps

Piper nigrum - Black Pepper

Piper nigrum - Black Pepper

Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, False Kava-Kava

Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, False Kava-Kava

Piper betle - Betel leaf

Piper betle - Betel leaf

Piper longum - Indian Long Pepper, Pippali, Bengal Peppe

Piper longum - Indian Long Pepper, Pippali, Bengal Peppe

🔥 How to grow your own Pepper plants. Five most valuable 'Pipers'.

ℹ️ Leafy Pepper plants - Pipers - are a source of black pepper and many other "peppery" flavors. These plants come from the Piperaceae family and are used as a spice for their pungent, peppery flavor. Don't confuse them with with Capsicum peppers, such as bell and chili peppers.
  • 🔻Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot: it is eaten raw in salads or cooked with other greens or dishes, or wrap meats and cook in oven or on stove or grill. It is used medicinally in India and SE Asia. The root is also chewed with Betel Nut as a tonic and medicine. The leaves are used as food (food wraps) in Vietnam.
  • 🔻 Piper nigrum - Black Pepper: While black and white pepper were already known in antiquity, but green pepper (and even more, red pepper) is a recent invention. Pungent and aromatic. The pungency is strongest in white pepper and weakest in green pepper, while black and green pepper are more aromatic than the white one. Moderate growing vine that can be grown on a trellis. Prefers shade to semi-shade.
  • 🔻 Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, False Kava-Kava: close relative of Piper methysticum (Kava-Kava) and probably has some similar tonic effects. It is used for its spicy aromatic scent and flavor, liken to root beer, or to anise-clove. Huge leaves can grow over a foot long. The leaves are used for flavoring, as wrappings for meats and tamales.
  • 🔻 Piper betle - Betel leaf: very popular Indian spice with medicinal properties. Chewed with Betel Nut as a tonic and medicine. Great for wrapping food (similar to grape leaves).
  • 🔻 Piper longum - Indian Long Pepper, Pippali, Bengal Pepper: edible and medicinal plant used as spice and in traditional Chinese medicine. Fruit used as a spice and seasoning. It has sweeter and less pungent taste than Black pepper. Highly valued medicinal plant used to treat respiratory infections, stomachache, bronchitis, cough, and much more.

Learn more:
📚 Vietnamese Pepper - Lalot food wraps BBQ recipe
🎥

🛒 Shop pepper plants: Pipers

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Container_Garden #How_to


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Date: 22 Jul 2024

What are 5 most useful edibles for tropical garden?

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel

Gynura procubens - Longevity Spinach, Cholesterol spinach

Gynura procubens - Longevity Spinach, Cholesterol spinach

Sauropus androgynus - Katuk, Tropical Asparagus

Sauropus androgynus - Katuk, Tropical Asparagus

Cymbopogon citratus - Lemon grass

Cymbopogon citratus - Lemon grass

Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf

Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf

What are 5 most useful edibles for tropical garden?

  • 📍 1. Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel - Flowers are used to make a tea "Agua de Flor de Jamaica". Medical studies show that it lowers blood pressure and has diuretic effects. The pleasant flavor is on the tart side similar to a cranberry juice. We make this cold tea every day - perfect for hot summer. Full sun ☀️
  • 📍 2. Gynura procubens - Longevity Spinach, Cholesterol spinach - one of the Superfoods, and there are many claims that it lowers cholesterol. We use it in our cooking all the time and so far we are all alive! Full sun☀️
  • 📍 3. Sauropus androgynus - Katuk, Tropical Asparagus. Delicious young shoots, one of the most popular leaf vegetables in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, people cook it in stews and soups. It is among only a few flora containing vitamin K. Full sun or semi-shade☀️🌓
  • 📍 4. Cymbopogon citratus - Lemon grass: Versatile performer in the kitchen where it can be used in teas, beverages, herbal medicines, Eastern inspired soups and other dishes. Full sun or semi-shade☀️🌓
  • 📍 5. Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf: Mexican herb with incredibly sweet leaves that can be eaten from the plant like candy or tossed into fruit salads for an unusual addition. It has been used since the time of the Aztecs for coughs and colds. Tastes great, can be used by diabetic patients. We add this herb to Karkade or Mint tea as a sweetener. Shade or semi-shade ☁️ 🌓

Lean more:

📚 Katuk
Longevity spinach post
Longevity Spinach Recipes
Aztec Sweet Herb

🎥 Karkade Tea
Longevity Spinach

🛒 Shop edibles, herbs and spices

#Food_Forest #Remedies

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🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 28 Jun 2024

Fruit of Money and Love

Theobroma cacao - Chocolate Tree, Cacao Tree

Theobroma cacao - Chocolate Tree, Cacao Tree

Theobroma cacao - Chocolate Tree, Cacao Tree

Theobroma cacao - Chocolate Tree, Cacao Tree

Theobroma cacao - Chocolate Tree, Cacao Tree

Theobroma cacao - Chocolate Tree, Cacao Tree

❤️💰 Fruit of Money and Love



Theobroma cacao, commonly known as the Chocolate Tree or Cacao Tree, is very exciting plant and a superfood as we mentioned earlier.
  • 💥 Theobroma means "food of the gods" in Greek. "Theo" means god, and "broma" means food.
  • 💥 The Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs were among the first to cultivate cacao, using it to make a bitter beverage called xocoatl. It was often spiced with chili peppers and used in various rituals and ceremonies.
  • 💥 Currency: in ancient Mesoamerican cultures, cacao beans were so valuable that they were used as a form of currency. For example, 100 beans could buy a slave or a turkey.
  • 💥 The Aztecs believed that cacao had stimulating properties and used it as an aphrodisiac. Emperor Montezuma was said to consume a large amount of cacao before visiting his harem. We can't deny that chocolate's mood-enhancing properties, combined with cultural and psychological factors, contribute to its romantic allure! ❤️
  • 💥 A cacao pod contains 20 to 50 beans, each surrounded by a sweet, mucilaginous pulp. The pods grow directly on the trunk and larger branches of the tree, a feature known as cauliflory.
  • 💥 After harvesting, cacao beans are fermented for several days, a critical step that develops the flavor precursors needed for chocolate production.
  • 💥 The Cacao tree thrives in the humid, tropical regions around the equator. It can be grown as an exciting house plant.
  • 💥 Health benefits: cacao beans are rich in antioxidants, magnesium, iron, and other minerals. They also contain flavonoids, associated with heart health benefits.
  • 💥 There are three main varieties of cacao beans: Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario. Criollo is considered the highest quality but is less common due to its susceptibility to disease. Forastero is the most widely grown, known for its hardiness. Trinitario is a hybrid of the two.
  • 💥 It takes about 400 cacao beans to make one pound of chocolate. The beans undergo roasting, grinding, and mixing with sugar and other ingredients to produce the final chocolate product.


📚Learn more: Plants of Love - Aphrodisiacs of the plant world

🛒 Grow your own Chocolate Tree

#Food_Forest #Fun_Facts

🏵 TopTropicals