The benefits of Ice Apple are immense from aiding digestion to being a rich source of natural hydration, it has captured the summer market across the globe.
What is Ice Apple?
It has a jelly-like translucent structure that looks like ice. Hence, it is named Ice Apple. It has sweet and refreshing juices. This fruit originated in South Asia and is now famous around the world. Many worldwide names, including palm fruit, toddler palm fruit, Nungu, Tatti Munjali, and more. Moreover, an iced apple in Hindi is known as “Tadgola.”
Is Ice Apple Good For Health?
Ice Apple, a fruit rich in essential nutrients like calcium, vitamins, and potassium, offers a plethora of health benefits. From boosting immunity to aiding digestion, this fruit is a natural powerhouse of wellness.
Offers Natural Hydration:
Ice Apple as the name suggests is known for its cooling effect and it keeps your body cool and hydrated. This is the reason why this summer’s Sweetheart is a famous fruit in regions with high temperatures.
Helps Manage Wight:
The benefits of Ice Apple are more than what has been realized yet. It is a rich source of dietary fiber and is low in calories and fat. This is why it helps manage weight.
Antioxidant:
One of the benefits of Ice Apple is that this fruit protects from free radicals and prevents cellular damage. Also, it reduces the chances of heart-related disease.
Boost Immune System:
One of the most acclaimed benefits of Ice Apple is that this fruit reduces and helps to boost the immune system, which fights foreign diseases entering the body. This reduces the inflammation in the body, which is beneficial for treating asthma or bowel disease.
Wound-healing:
The antiseptic properties are one of the main benefits of Ice Apple. It helps reduce the chances of bacterial growth in the wound and makes it heal faster.
Induces Good Sleep:
Tadgola calms the nerves, which helps reduce stress and anxiety and enhances sleeping quality.
Reduces Stomach Infection:
Ice Apple has antiparasitic properties, which reduce stomach-related infections and increase hunger.
Prevents Constipation:
Its detoxification properties aid digestion. This helps reduce the chances of constipation and bloating by removing toxins from the body.
Maintains Sugar Levels:
Another benefit of Ice Apple is that it helps reduce cholesterol levels in the body (if you have high cholesterol) and also improves sugar levels in people who have diabetes.
Good For Pregnant Ladies:
Apart from being a natural coolant, and good for digestion, Ice Apple benefits in pregnancy are immense. It is a fiber and protein-rich, low-calorie fruit that is also rich in vitamins and minerals such as calcium, phytonutrients, essential vitamins (C, A, E, K, B7), and iron. All these properties help in the development of the fetal immune system.
Benefits Of Ice Apple
The palmyra palm tree is handy for the human body, and its fruit has beneficial properties due to the presence of phytonutrients. Some of the primary uses of these Toddy palm fruits are:
1. Useful for Skin
In summer, we all deal with skin-related problems like rashes, pimples, acne, and more. Consuming Nungu reduces these issues, as it is rich in antioxidants and contains vitamin C. One of the benefits of Ice Apple is that it supports the skin in producing collagen, which plays an important role in maintaining the glow of your skin. Vitamin C contributes to enhancing the health of your skin.
2. Useful for diabetes
If you have diabetes, this fruit is for you because it has essential elements and is low in carbohydrates because carbohydrates increase sugar. They also help in improving the immune system. The fruit contains a good amount of potassium; maintaining potassium levels is important because low potassium is linked with high sugar levels. So, it always keeps the sugar level. It contains Vitamin A, C, B, K, and E7. If you include this fruit in your diet, you will be healthier as it is a balanced and nutritious source.
3. Useful for Hairs
This palm fruit is the best source of nutrients necessary for hair growth because it contains calcium, potassium, iron, and more. This maintains hair growth, reduces dryness and hair loss, and enhances scalp health. Calcium and iron are important for hair follicles. The pulp of this fruit can be used as a hair mask, which hydrates the hair from the inside. Moreover, it also calms the scalp and reduces dandruff.
4. Useful in weight loss
This fruit helps in weight loss by generating a feeling of fullness, which stops you from overeating, snacking, and more. Also, it has low calories, which is eatable during weight loss (medium apple contains approximately 95 calories) and is rich in fibers that maintain the digestive system. The main thing that is helpful for weight loss is the water inside the jelly.
Five Ice Apple Recipe Ideas
There are so many recipe ideas for this fruit, as its refreshing flavour is perfect for turning into a healthy treat. Palm fruit has natural sugar and artificial flavours, which add a unique texture to your recipe. Let’s see some delicious recipe ideas that are healthier for the body and richer in taste.
1. Ice Apple Fruit Milkshake
Ingredients:
- Ice Apple Fruits- 6-7
- Milk- 2 cups
- Sugar- 2 tbsp
- Vanilla Ice-cream- 2 tbsp
Instructions:
- Peel the palm fruit and wash it properly.
- Now, take a blender, add the washed Ice Apple and sugar together, and blend it well.
- Add milk to the jar when the paste is ready and blend it all.
- Add vanilla ice cream and blend it for the last time.
- Take your favorite glass and pour the milkshake into that glass
- Garnish it with some Nungu, and your Nungu milkshake is ready.
2. Ice Apple Kheer
Ingredients:
- Ice Apple Fruit- 3
- Milk- 2 glass
- Honey- 5 tbsp
- Rose Milk Powder- 1 tbsp
- Cardamom Powder- 1 pinch
- Almonds- 3
Instructions:
- Boil the milk and refrigerate it for 1.5-2 hours.
- Peel off the skin of the fruit and now crush it into small pieces.
- Mix well with the fruit, honey, rose Powder, and Cardamom powder.
- Garnish with some almonds, and it is ready to eat.
3. Ice Apple Custard
Ingredients:
- Ice Apple- 3 (finely chopped)
- Custard Powder- 4 tbsp
- Milk- 3 cups
- Sugar- 5 tbsp
- Dry Fruits- 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
- Kesar
Instructions:
- In a container, boil the milk.
- Now, take half a cup of milk, mix the custard powder, and keep aside.
- Add sugar to the boiling milk and add sugar to it and keep steering. Add the custard paste into the boiling milk and steer till it gets thick.
- Off the gas and rest it for 10-15 minutes, take it in a bowl, and refrigerate it for about 1 hour.
- Peel the fruit and cut it into small pieces in another bowl.
- Now, take out the custard from the fridge and pour it into a serving bowl.
- Garnish with almonds and kesar.
4. Tadgola Mango Dessert
Ingredients:
- Tadgola- 6 (peeled and chopped)
- Ripe Mango- ¼ Cup (peeled and chopped)
- Milk- 200mL
- Honey- 3 Tbsp
- Golden Raisins- 1 Tbsp
Instructions:
- Take a peeled Tadgola and Mango in a container.
- Now, add chilled milk, honey and raisins.
- Mix it well, refrigerate it for 30 minutes to 1 hour, and it is ready to serve.
5. Nungu Rabri
Ingredients:
- Milk- 500 mL
- Milk Powder- 2 tbsp
- Sugar- 3-4 tbsp
- Green Cardamom Powder- 3-4
- Nungu Fruit- 5-6
- Resins- 8-10
- Pista- 8-10
- Saffron- 8-10
Instructions:
- Take milk in a vessel and boil it with consistent steering till the volume reduces to half.
- Now, add Cardamom Powder to it.
- Mix the milk powder with a few drops of water and make a smooth paste. Add this to the boiling milk.
- Add sugar and keep steering for a few more minutes.
- The rabbi is ready, and the gas is off so that the temperature of the hot rabbri goes down.
- Now, take the Nungu and blend it in a paste form. Mix the paste with rabbri.
- Garnish it with resins, pista, and saffron; it is ready to serve.
On a Final Note
Ice apple is a fruit that is healthy and full of taste. Some of the well-known benefits of Ice Apple are that it provides Vitamins C, K, and E, as well as carbohydrates, calcium, iron, protein, and more. It has fibers that are beneficial in relieving problems related to the digestive system, hair, skin, and more. Moreover, it is helpful in your weight loss journey. Lastly, this fruit is edible for everyone as it does not cause any side effects.
Also Read: Top 10 Healthy Food Recipes For Vegetarians
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does Ice Apple taste like?
The taste of this fruit is mildly sweet, and the edible pulp of this fruit juice is drinkable. It is used to make toffee, juice, sweets, kheer, and more and is beneficial for the body.
Is Ice Apple a rare fruit?
Ice apple is a rare fruit that can only be found in areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in India. Ice Apples in USA can be seen very rarely. In the USA, they grow in the areas of South Florida.
Is it safe to eat Nungu during pregnancy?
Yes, Nungu is edible during pregnancy. It is a low-carb fruit full of calcium, fiber, protein, and Vitamins essential during pregnancy.
Is Ice Apple edible for kidney patients?
Ice apples are low in potassium and sodium, so they are edible for patients with kidney-related problems. Potassium and Sodium are harmful to kidney patients.
