Description
Fenugreek has been used since ancient times by man as a spice and as a medicinal plant. It is also known in Portuguese by the name, of Arabic origin, of saddlebag.
It is an essential constituent in the preparation of Indian curry.
The main producing countries are india, iran, nepal, bangladesh, pakistan, argentina, egypt, france, spain, turkey, morocco and china. The largest producer of fenugreek in the world is india.
Fenugreek has three uses for cooking: as an herb (dried or fresh leaves), as a spice (seeds), and as a vegetable (fresh leaves and buds). “Sotolon” ??is the chemical substance responsible for the characteristic sweet smell of fenugreek. It is used to flavor and add flavor to artificial maple syrups.
Seeds are widely used as an agent to increase milk production in lactating women.
A multitude of attributes related to its medicinal properties are reported based on several clinical studies around the world. It is part of the Ayurvedic and Chinese pharmacopoeias.
Germinated fenugreek seeds are a valuable addition to the diabetic diet, usually eaten in sandwiches or soups.
Fenugreek has many uses and is too numerous to list them all.
The species does not like to be transplanted, if it has no experience in transplanting plants, it is best to sow definitively, 0.5 cm deep, 20 cm away (soil that promotes good drainage and sunny location). Soil should be maintained moist until green shoots can emerge from the ground; then water only when the soil is dry.
The quality of the leaves will decrease once the flower buds appear, the harvest should be done before this time (on average 6 to 8 weeks).