Hop

Young leaves and shoots of this plant can be cooked and have a unique, delicious flavor. The young leaves are also suitable for salads and are best used before the end of May. They contain rutin, a substance that is beneficial for health. The rhizomes of the plant are sometimes eaten, and tea can be made from the leaves and cones. This tea has a mild calming effect. The dried flowering tops of the female plant are used as a flavoring and preservative in beer and also have medicinal properties. They contain bitter-tasting yellow glands that prevent harmful bacteria from growing in beer or wort. The seeds of this plant contain gamma-linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid that is rare in plant sources and has important functions in the human body. The essential oil from the flowers is used as a flavoring in grain beverages, mineral water, and other foods such as non-alcoholic drinks, dairy desserts, candies, baked goods, and pudding. The maximum allowable amount of this oil in food products is set at 0.072%.