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Lemongrass is most commonly used in cooking, particularly in spicy dishes. It is most popular in Asian cuisines and is considered to be one of the most important and distinctive flavors in Malaysia, Indonesia & Thai cooking. It’s a must for all travel foodies coming to Southeast Asia countries to try dishes with lemongrass as its provision of a zesty lemon flavor and aroma to large range of dishes. If you happened to live in tropical countries, fresh lemongrass can be purchased in grocery stores or supermarket. Most people would plant them in their backyard and harvest them on needed basis. However, in the colder region such as United States, lemongrass are usually available at the oriental or Indian grocery stores. Even then, the lemongrass there may not be in the freshest state. Growing your own lemongrass in this kind of climate is only possible during the warmer or summer months - May/June thru September/October. If you live in this region and planted lemongrass during the summer, the major challenge is what to do once the colder temperature sets in and you will need to harvest the entire crop. In this video, Aiman will share with you the secrets his mom have been using in order to keep their lemongrass stocks fresh throughout the winter months (the non-growing seasons). The trick is to immediately freeze the lemongrass upon harvesting, otherwise the stalk might turn brown and became too fiberous to be used in cooking. The other method is to blend the lemongrass immediately upon harvesting into thin paste. Lemongrass, also called fever grass, is a perennial plant with thin, long leaves that is indigenous to many Asian countries such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. It is also common in Ceylon, Central America, China, Guatemala, India, Java, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, the West Indian islands and Zambia. As the name implies, lemongrass smells like lemon, but it tastes milder and sweeter. This herb is used in various Asian cuisines as a flavoring agent due to its potent flavor. Nutritionally, lemongrass is a good source of vitamins A and C, folate, folic acid, magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, potassium, phosphorus, calcium and manganese. It also has minute traces of B vitamins. Along with its culinary uses, lemongrass is useful in alternative or complementary remedies for a wide range of ailments. It has many beneficial medicinal properties including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, antipyretic, antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, astringent, carminative, diuretic, febrifuge, galactogogue, insecticidal, sedative, and anti-cancer properties. The leaves, stems and bulb of lemongrass are used in various treatments. This video is one of the many in the series of a comprehensive guide to planting and growing exotic tropical herbs and vegetables gardening for the colder region. Other videos in this series include pria (bitter melon), petola (luffa), kangkung (Chinese water spinach) , daun kesum (Vietnamese coriander), kacang panjang (asparagus long bean) and many others. Be sure to check them out. ⊰⊱ EYEONAIMAN (Eye On Aiman Youtube Channel) ⊰⊱