Grass Jelly
For a long time, grass jelly leaves have been used for traditional medicine. Starting from a heat reliever, treating diarrhea, to itching medicine. Cincau comes from the Hokkien dialect of sinchau or Xiancao, which is pronounced by Chinese people in Southeast Asia.
This word refers to the name of a tree of the Mesona spp plant species, where the leaves are used to make grass jelly. The grass jelly tree is a plant originating from southern China and Indochina, which then spread to Indonesia.
In general, there are two kinds of grass jelly, namely black grass jelly and green grass jelly, the colors produced are thick and some seem translucent. This difference is because there are several different types of grass jelly trees used to make the grass jelly. The following are some types of grass jelly plants that can be made into grass jelly.
Black Grasshopper
Black grass jelly comes from the grass jelly tree with the scientific name Mesona Palutris which is also known as janggelan, there are several types of black grass jelly that grow in Indonesia. This type of grass jelly tree has a slender and small trunk with creeping growth, but there are also stems that grow upright with oval-shaped leaves and pointed and jagged ends.
There are hairs on the edges of the leaves. This plant grows at an altitude of 75 – 2,300 meters above sea level. This grass jelly tree flower has pink or white compound flowers with purple strokes.
The resulting dark green gelatin tends to be close to black. Produced from the stems and leaves of the grass jelly tree. To make the stems and leaves must be dried first as in the processing of tea leaves.
Grass jelly leaves can be processed to make grass jelly after going through the drying process. Black grass jelly is believed to have properties as anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, and anti-diarrhea. Grass jelly leaves are also believed to have high anti-oxidant content.