{"id":1432,"date":"2025-01-14T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ringodaigaku.com\/ringo_blog\/english\/?p=1432"},"modified":"2025-07-12T08:10:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T23:10:46","slug":"apples-and-medicinal-cuisine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ringodaigaku.com\/ringo_blog\/english\/2025\/01\/14\/1432.html","title":{"rendered":"Apples and Medicinal Cuisine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The word \u201cmedicinal cuisine\u201d will make many people imagine a medicinal pot dish with Chinese crude drugs or a medicinal curry with a lot of spices. That\u2019s not far off the mark. However, the medicinal cuisine essentially means a meal which is prepared to fit a person\u2019s physical condition. It was developed from the Chinese medicine, based on the theory of Chinese traditional philosophy. Any meal fixed to fit the individual\u2019s health would be called the medicinal cuisine even without using any crude drugs or spices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for an example, most of us would share a childhood experience of being fed some grated apples when we caught a cold in bed. My grandmother used to feed me with a spoon full of grated apples. I remember that I could swallow each sip easily even I had a high fever. Since we don\u2019t usually eat grated apple that requires an extra effort, it was a reward for me to be sick, to be honest.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The grated apple is simple to eat, easy on stomach and nutritious enough for physical recovery. Again, it is one of medicinal cuisine when you think of it as a prepared meal for a person\u2019s physical condition. If you intend to practice medicinal cuisine, you will need the knowledge of Chinese medicine. But there are quite a few conventional remedies found in daily life without having deep knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we look at an \u201capple\u201d from the in-depth perspective of medicinal cuisine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cApples\u201d viewed from a medicinal cuisine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Food habit:<\/td>Neutral (neither thermal nor cold)<\/td><\/tr>
Taste:<\/td>Sweet (replenishing blood and energy,
regulating the digestive system, etc.)
Sour (tightening, suppressing a cough, etc.)<\/td><\/tr>
Efficacy:<\/td>Healthy spleen (healthy digestive system)
Stopping thirst
Generating moisture in the body
Rehydrating the lungs<\/td><\/tr>
Indications:<\/td>Indigestion, diarrhea, dry mouth, diabetes,\u3000and dry cough
(Reference: The Table of Food Habit, The Dictionary of
Chinese Medicinal Cuisine)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
(Reference: The Table of Food Habit, The Dictionary of Chinese Medicinal Cuisine)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The ingredients in medicinal cuisine are classified by the food habit; heat, warmth, neutrality, coolness and coldness, and by the taste; sourness, bitterness, sweetness, spiciness, and saltiness, to see how each of them affects the body after eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apples belong to the neutrality in terms of food habit. It
is an ingredient for all, regardless of people with sensitivity to cold or those who feel the heat. The food habit could change depending on the way of cooking. Heated preparation is recommended for those who are concerned about cold, or eating chilled ones would be proper when you feel a lot of heat in the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The tastes of apples are sorted to sweetness and sourness. In the Medicinal Cuisine, it is considered that if you take both sweetness and sourness at the same time, it produces the body fluids. In this meaning apples are suitable for the prevention of body dryness. The sweetness is believed to relieve fatigue and ease tension, on the other hand the sourness is said to converge to work on tightening flabby parts of the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the variety, apples have a wide range of taste, from sweetness to tartness. You may choose a variety according to your body condition. When you need to power charge, choose a sweet kind, and when you have a loose bowel or are prone to sweating, have a tart kind of apple.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Touko Tanaka
Born in Aomori, resides in Tokyo at present. Being a free- lance food related writer, she works on merchandising, planning and recipe creation. She is a member of editing and writing office of \u201cVegetable Sommelier Journal\u201d published by Japan Vegetable Sommelier Association. Certifications are: Professional Vegetable Sommelier, Chinese Medicine Counselor, etc. Expertise: Easy side dish and daily medicinal cooking. Publications: \u201cSeasonal vegetables \u2013 with the knowledge of medicinal cuisine\u201d, \u201cEvery day Delicious Tomato Recipes\u201d, etc.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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