Baeling out of the heat

The virtues of this unassuming fruit have been well-documented.

It's round, about the size and shape of a cannon ball, with a shell that's as hard, giving on to an orange-coloured flesh with a sweet, woody aroma. It's the humble bael (wood apple). Children inevitably turn up their noses and even citified adults find it difficult to swallow, but did you know that bael is among the best things you can have to beat the heat in summer?

The goodness of bael is well-documented, going back to the Yajurveda and the Charaka Samhita. And not just the fruit, our ancient indigenous science had uses for its bark, leaves and roots in a variety of ailments.

Modern science too has documented its many virtues. The Indian Council of Medical Research published a study on The Structure of Bael earlier. Last year, it granted a research fellowship to a project seeking to evaluate the chemo-protective and radio-protective properties of Aegle marmelos, the scientific name of bael.

Clinical trials have been conducted and have shown that the bael extract is effective against the Ranikhet disease virus and many kinds of intestinal parasites.

But it is in the annals of grandmas remedies that the bael occupies pride of place. "Diarrhoea, constipation, dysentery, piles, asthma, jaundice, even hypochondria, melancholia and palpitation of the heart "" bael sherbet is considered to be the panacea for all ills," says Dr H K Bakhru, the author of a series of popular diet-and-health books "" Foods That Heal, and the like. And why just grandmas;

Dr Neetu Mishra, nutritionist at the Max Balaji Hospital in east Delhi says she routinely recommends it to patients for dehydration, heat-stroke and indigestion.

"The bael has a lot of moisture and also a good amount of protein, minerals, fibre, and carbohydrate," she says.

But for all its goodness, making bael juice can be messy, for you first have to weed out the seeds that abound in the flesh. But once you've done that, and added some cold water and sugar to the pulp, you'll have a drink that's reward enough for your pains.