Aloe vera is a magical plant with many virtues.
Its gel has antioxidant and antibacterial properties.
One of its well-known uses is to relieve minor burns and sunburn.
It also helps reduce dental plaque, treat cold sores, blisters, ulcers and even constipation.
The problem is that potted aloe vera gel is not cheap. And there is always the risk that it is diluted or that it contains additives...
Fortunately, here is a simple, fast and economical technique to extract and harvest aloe vera gel from a fresh plant . Watch:
Before cutting an aloe vera leaf, make sure the plant is mature enough.
Its leaves should be quite large and thick, about 20 cm in length.
The leaves on the outside of the plant are therefore the oldest.
They are more fleshy than those in the center and above all, they are full of gel.
Take a sharp knife, then carefully cut a leaf that is on the periphery of the plant.
Once the leaf is cut, you will see a yellow substance oozing from the leaf.
This substance is not aloe vera gel. but aloin, an irritant and laxative substance.
It should therefore not be in contact with the gel which is thick and transparent to it.
To avoid getting aloin everywhere, place the leaf in a bowl vertically in the sink.
The cut part of the sheet is at the bottom so that the yellow liquid can continue to flow.
Place the bowl under the sink faucet. Wet the sheet thoroughly and rub it with your fingers to clean it.
Feel free to put water in the bowl too. Once the sheet is clean, you can move on to the next step.
The tip of the leaf is thin and pointed. It doesn't contain much gel, so you can cut it.
Depending on the size of the sheet, you can cut it into several slices widthwise.
Here too, wash the parts you have just cut well to remove the aloin.
Now you have to remove the hard, prickly thorns on the sides of the leaf.
To do this, carefully wipe the aloe vera leaf to prevent the knife from slipping on the leaf.
Carefully cut the thorns as close as possible to avoid wasting gel. Be careful not to cut yourself!
This is the most delicate operation to extract the aloe vera gel!
Lay the sheet flat on a cutting board.
Now remove the skin from both sides of the leaf. The peel is the green, thin part of the leaf that covers the gel.
To do this, pass the blade of your knife between the skin and the thick gel.
You can also use a peeler to remove the skin, if you are afraid of cutting yourself with a knife.
Did you remove the skin? Well done ! You now have thick, transparent and somewhat viscous pieces of gel in your hands.
Take care to remove any small green bits of skin that may remain on the gel.
You can now cut these gel blocks into smaller cubes for easier storage.
Once you're done, rinse them several times under running water to make sure there's no trace of aloin left.
If any gel remains on the skin, scrape it off with a spoon so as not to lose any.
Put the aloe vera gel cubes in a clean glass or bowl. Be careful that they do not come into contact with the water that was used to clean the leaves.
To keep your gel as long as possible, I recommend one of these tips.
- Be aware that once cut, the leaf will not grow back. But that's okay because by only cutting off one leaf, you allow the plant to continue to grow with new leaves growing out of the center.
- Aloe vera gel is viscous and sticky. In addition, it gives off a particular smell that does not please everyone!
- If you prefer to buy ready-made aloe vera gel, I recommend this one which is of excellent quality.
