Vendemmia 2009

I am backtracking a bit today with memories of this years Vendemmia...

I Cachi

Persimmon

Yesterday, I visited my friend Anna, who lives just above my town in Presa, and I came home with a beautiful basket of vibrant cachi. I will now leave a few of them to ripen in my fruit bowl, next to a handful of apples, and in no time we will be enjoying this juicy, sweetly tangy, versatile fruit. (The apple will emit ethylene gas, a naturally occurring hormone, which speeds up the ripening process.)

Just Fruit Recipes had a long list of baking ideas to enjoy...


If you are interested, here are a few Health benefits of the persimmon fruit:

Persimmons contain many health benefiting phyto-nutrients flavonoid poly-phenolic anti-oxidants like catechins and gallocatechins as well as important anti-tumor compound betulinic acid. Catechins are known to have anti-infective, anti-inflammatory and anti-hemorrhagic (prevents bleeding from small blood vessels) properties.

Fresh permissions contain anti-oxidant compounds like vitamin-A, beta carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin. These compounds functions as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease processes.

Zeaxanthin, an important dietary carotenoid, selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes where it is thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions; thus, helps prevent "Age related macular disease"(ARMD) in the elderly.

The fruits are also very good source of vitamin-C, another powerful antioxidant. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.

The fruit is good in many valuable B-complex vitamins such as folic acid, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), thiamin...etc. These vitamins acts as co-factors for numerous metabolic enzymatic functions in the body.

Fresh Persimmon fruits also contain healthy amounts of minerals like potassium, manganese (15% of DRI), copper (12% of DRI) and phosphorus. Manganese is a co-factor for the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is a very powerful free radical scavenger. Copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes, including cytochrome c-oxidase and superoxide dismutase (other minerals function as cofactors for this enzyme are manganese and zinc). Copper is also required for the production of red blood cells.

Sapone

Many people are turning to more natural preparations of soap, maybe due to allergies, for a desire to be more gentle on the environment, or just because they like the idea of natural products. If you are looking to a natural alternative to commercial brand soaps, there are so many to choose from. We use a beautiful product called Aleppo. Made with Laurel Oil (Bay leaf), the Aleppo line has so many different varieties to choose from. (Here you can learn about the Laurel oil (bay leaf) soap in english)

Our friend Debbi informed me that she was going to make her yearly batch of homemade olive oil soap, so I joined in on the making. Soap has been made using olive oil since at least the 1600s. Since those days olive oil soap has often been referred to as castile soap because of the region of Spain where it originated. This is pure olive oil soap, but of course those we find on the supermarket shelves today may contain smaller amounts of the beneficial oil.

What is it about olive oil that makes it perfect for the base of a soap? The olive oil acts in much the same way as tallow, but is much more gentle. The oil is known to be good for your skin with the nutrients it contain providing moisture and elasticity to your skin.

Making olive oil soap requires a bit of preparation and some caution as it requires the use of Sodium hydroxide. There are several recipes available on the Internet that can tell you exactly what you need to do and warn you of any risk or hazard, as well as letting you know what benefits you can expect from using your own homemade olive oil soap in place of commercial brands.

There's no question olive oil is good for your skin. After all, many people use it as a moisturizer straight out of the bottle! They simply rub extra virgin olive oil into their skin, just as you would any other moisturizing oil or lotion. Many claim it can help you keep a youthful appearance, too! I, however, haven’t gone that far. I do however use Argan Oil and do recommend it.

We have learned about a common ingredient in most shampoos, bubble baths, toothpastes, shave foams, and shower gels. This ingredient is called Sodium lauryl sulfate. (There is a long list of other forms of the word) We choose to buy products that do not contain this ingredient because of its possible number of health concerns. Check the ingredient list on your products, and If you are interested, look it up and make your own informed decision. I’m not going to preach, but it is something you should know about.