Horse Chestnut is a common street tree in Europe, you can see them everywhere on the roadside, lawn in the park, and in the suburbs, but its seeds cannot be eaten directly! Because it contains a large amount of Aescin, which are toxins that destroy human blood red blood cells. If the human body consumes more than a certain amount, it will stimulate the intestines and damage the central nervous system, resulting in vomiting and diarrhea, convulsions and paralysis, falling into a coma, and even death. But squirrels, horses and deer are immune to the toxin, so they can safely eat its seeds.
Although horse chestnut seed cannot be eaten directly, it is a very popular health product in Europe. It has a history of 100 years in European medical history. In the early days, it was ground and added to tea to enhance metabolism and help cardiovascular function, or used for joint treatment. Rheumatism and arthritis; In recent years, Aescin Powder has been found in European to reduce the phenomenon of varicose veins, so it has gradually become an important ingredient in European sports health care.
Chinese chestnut is one of the earliest famous nuts eaten in China, and its annual output ranks first in the world, so it is known as the “king of dried fruits”. It belongs to nuts that are rich in starch ,vitamins B1 and B2. In addition, it also contains monosaccharides, disaccharides, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, protein, fat and so on nutrients . It can not only be eaten raw or cooked, but also can be processed into canned chestnut, chestnut soup, chocolate, milk re-placer, candied chestnut and other flavored foods, as well as fillings for various pastries.
So, they are so similar, how can we distinguish them and avoid accidental ingestion?
1. Leaves Different
Chinese chestnut is a typical single-leaf with serrated edges; Horse chestnut is palm-shaped and usually has 5 to 7 small leaves.
2. Husks Different
Chinese chestnut husk shell is covered with very dense spikes, which are very thorny. Horse Chestnut husk is covered by a smoother peel with only a few small thorns. As for the husks of the Chinese horse chestnuts, it is easier to distinguish, not even the thorns, although their seeds also have a chestnut face.
3. Seeds Different
The whole horse chestnut is round, and there is one fruit in one shell, and in rare cases there will be two. There are 2 ~ 4 seeds in a Chinese chestnut shell, so most of its fruits are flat at one end and round at one end.
4. Taste Different
If you accidentally taste the fruit of horse chestnut, you will find that the taste is quite different from that of chestnut. Chinese chestnut is sweet and glutinous, while horse chestnut is bitter and cannot be swallowed.
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