Leaf vegetable

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Spinach leaves in a colander Spinach leaves.jpg
Spinach leaves in a colander
A bundle of curly-leaf kale Kale-Bundle.jpg
A bundle of curly-leaf kale

Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad greens.

Contents

Nearly one thousand species of plants with edible leaves are known. Leaf vegetables most often come from short-lived herbaceous plants, such as lettuce and spinach. Woody plants of various species also provide edible leaves.

The leaves of many fodder crops are also edible for humans, but are usually only eaten under famine conditions. Examples include alfalfa, clover, and most grasses, including wheat and barley. Food processing, such as drying and grinding into powder or pulping and pressing for juice, may involve these crop leaves in a diet.

Leaf vegetables contain many typical plant nutrients, but their vitamin K levels are particularly notable since they are photosynthetic tissues. Phylloquinone, the most common form of the vitamin, is directly involved in photosynthesis.

Nutrition

Spinach, as an example of a leaf vegetable, is low in calories and fat per calorie, and high in dietary fiber, vitamin C, pro-vitamin A carotenoids, folate, manganese and vitamin K. [1]

The vitamin K content of leaf vegetables is particularly high since these are photosynthetic tissues, and phylloquinone is involved in photosynthesis. [2] Accordingly, users of vitamin K antagonist medications, such as warfarin, must take special care to limit the consumption of leaf vegetables. [3]

Preparation

Large pot of collard greens being prepared on a US Navy ship US Navy 081127-N-7571S-011 Culinary Specialist Seaman Freddie Green prepares collard greens for the crew's Thanksgiving dinner.jpg
Large pot of collard greens being prepared on a US Navy ship

If leaves are cooked for food, they may be referred to in the United States as boiled greens. Leaf vegetables may be stir-fried, stewed, steamed, or consumed raw. Leaf vegetables stewed with pork is a traditional dish in soul food and Southern U.S. cuisine. They are also commonly eaten in South Asian dishes such as saag. Leafy greens can be used to wrap other ingredients into an edible package like a tortilla. Many green leafy vegetables, such as lettuce or spinach, can also be eaten raw, for example, in sandwiches or salads. A green smoothie enables large quantities of raw leafy greens to be consumed by blending the leaves with fruit and water.

Africa

Liponda greens to be cooked and accompany ugali in east Africa More Liponda.jpg
Liponda greens to be cooked and accompany ugali in east Africa

In certain countries of Africa, various species of nutritious amaranth are widely eaten boiled. [4]

Celosia argentea var. argentea or "Lagos spinach" is one of the main boiled greens in West African cuisine. [5]

Greece

In Greek cuisine, khorta (χόρτα, literally 'greens') are a typical side dish, eaten hot or cold and usually seasoned with olive oil and lemon. [6]

At least 80 different kinds of greens are used, depending on the area and season, including black mustard, dandelion, wild sorrel, chicory, fennel, chard, kale, mallow, black nightshade, lamb's quarters, wild leeks, hoary mustard, charlock, smooth sow thistle and even the fresh leaves of the caper plant.

Italy

Ligurian pansoti filled with preboggion boiled greens and served with nut sauce Pansotti alle noci 01.JPG
Ligurian pansoti filled with preboggion boiled greens and served with nut sauce

Preboggion, a mixture of different wild boiled leaf vegetables, is used in Ligurian cuisine to stuff ravioli and pansoti. [7] One of the main ingredients of preboggion are borage (Borago officinalis) leaves. Preboggion is also sometimes added to minestrone soup and frittata. [8]

Poland

Botwinka (or boćwinka) is a soup that features beet stems and leaves as one of its main ingredients. The word "botwinka" is the diminutive form of "botwina" which refers to leafy vegetables like chard and beet leaves.

United States

In the cuisine of the Southern United States and traditional African-American cuisine, turnip, collard, kale, garden cress, dandelion, mustard, and pokeweed greens are commonly cooked and often served with pieces of ham or bacon. The boiling water, called potlikker, is used as broth. Water in which pokeweed has been prepared contains toxins that have been removed by boiling and should be discarded. [9]

Sauteed escarole is a primary ingredient in the Italian-American dish Utica greens.

List of leaf vegetables

Postharvest diseases

Postharvest diseases cause up to 50% losses of leaf vegetables. These are fungal, bacterial, and much less commonly viral. The most important remedy is temperature-controlled storage, although it is also important to prevent mechanical damage as this provides entryways for pathogens. Uncontaminated water for washing vegetables is of lesser but still significant importance. [10]

Common bacterial pathogens include: Xanthomonas campestris pv. vitians, Pseudomonas viridiflava , P. cichorii , and P. marginalis , P. syringae pv. aptata, X. campestris pv. campestris, X. campestris pv. raphani, P. syringae pv. maculicola, P. syringae pv. alisalensis, Pectobacterium spp. including Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. odoriferum and Pectobacterium aroidearum , Dickeya spp., Pseudomonas marginalis , and Pseudomonas viridiflava . [10]

Common fungal pathogens include: Alternaria brassicicola , A. alternata , A. arborescens , A. tenuissima , A. japonica , Colletotrichum higginsianum , Colletotrichum dematium f. spinaciae, Microdochium panattonianum , Stemphylium botryosum , Cladosporium variabile , Cercospora beticola , C. lactucae-sativae , C. brassicicola , C. acetosella , Botrytis cinerea , Golovinomyces cichoracearum , Podosphaera fusca , Erysiphe cruciferarum , E. polygoni , E. heraclei , Sclerotinia sclerotiorum , and S. minor . [10]

Common oomycete pathogens include: Albugo occidentalis , A. ipomoeae-aquaticae , A. candida , Hyaloperonospora parasitica , Bremia lactucae , Peronospora effusa , and Peronospora farinosa f.sp. betae. [10]

Fungicides such as prochloraz can be used to manage some of these. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salad</span> Food mixture, served chilled or at room temperature

A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a variety of flavors, are used to make a salad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinach</span> Species of flowering plant

Spinach is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either fresh, or after storage using preservation techniques by canning, freezing, or dehydration. It may be eaten cooked or raw, and the taste differs considerably; the high oxalate content may be reduced by steaming.

<i>Beta vulgaris</i> Species of flowering plant

Beta vulgaris (beet) is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Betoideae of the family Amaranthaceae. Economically, it is the most important crop of the large order Caryophyllales. It has several cultivar groups: the sugar beet, of greatest importance to produce table sugar; the root vegetable known as the beetroot or garden beet; the leaf vegetable known as chard or spinach beet or silverbeet; and mangelwurzel, which is a fodder crop. Three subspecies are typically recognised. All cultivars, despite their quite different morphologies, fall into the subspecies Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris. The wild ancestor of the cultivated beets is the sea beet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beetroot</span> Taproot portion of the beet plant

The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet. Beetroot can be roasted or boiled. Beetroot can also be canned, either whole or cut up, and often are pickled, spiced, or served in a sweet-and-sour sauce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chard</span> Green leafy vegetable

Chard or Swiss chard is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; the Cicla Group is the leafy spinach beet. The leaf blade can be green or reddish; the leaf stalks are usually white, yellow or red.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collard (plant)</span> Variety of plant

Collard is a group of loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea, the same species as many common vegetables including cabbage and broccoli. Part of the Acephala (kale) cultivar group, it is also classified as the variety B. oleracea var. viridis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saag</span> Leafy vegetable dish from Indian subcontinent

Saag, also spelled sag or saga, is an Indian subcontinental leafy vegetable dish eaten with bread such as roti or naan, or in some regions with rice. Saag can be made from mustard greens, collard greens, basella or finely chopped broccoli along with added spices and sometimes other ingredients such as chhena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bok choy</span> Subspecies of flowering plant

Bok choy, pak choi or pok choi is a type of Chinese cabbage, used as food. Chinensis varieties do not form heads and have green leaf blades with lighter bulbous bottoms instead, forming a cluster reminiscent of mustard greens. It has a flavor between spinach and water chestnuts but is slightly sweeter, with a mildly peppery undertone. The green leaves have a stronger flavor than the white bulb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assamese cuisine</span> Culinary tradition

Assamese cuisine is the cuisine of the Indian state of Assam. It is a style of cooking that is a confluence of cooking habits of the hills that favour fermentation and drying as forms of preservation and those from the plains that provide extremely wide variety of fresh vegetables and greens, and an abundance of fish and meat. Both are centred on the main ingredient — rice. It is a mixture of different indigenous styles with considerable regional variations and some external influences. The traditional way of cooking and the cuisine of Assam is very similar to South-East Asian countries such as Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and others. The cuisine is characterized by very little use of spices, little cooking over fire, and strong flavours due mainly to the use of endemic exotic fruits and vegetables that are either fresh, dried or fermented. Fish is widely used, and birds like duck, pigeon, squab, etc. are very popular, which are often paired with a main vegetable or ingredient; beef used to be eaten before British colonialism, and some continue to do so. Preparations are rarely elaborate. The practice of bhuna, the gentle frying of spices before the addition of the main ingredients so common in Indian cooking, is absent in the cuisine of Assam. The preferred oil for cooking is the pungent mustard oil.

<i>Brassica juncea</i> Species of flowering plant

Brassica juncea, commonly brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, Korean green mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of mustard plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesclun</span> Mix of young salad greens originating in Provence, France

Mesclun is a mix of assorted small young salad greens that originated in Provence, France. The traditional mix includes chervil, arugula, leafy lettuces and endive, while the term mesclun may also refer to a blend that might include some or all of these four and baby spinach, collard greens, Swiss chard, mustard greens, dandelion greens, frisée, mizuna, mâche, radicchio, sorrel, or other fresh leaf vegetables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Komatsuna</span> Variety of leaf vegetable

Komatsuna or Japanese mustard spinach is a leaf vegetable. It is a variety of Brassica rapa, the plant species that yields the turnip, mizuna, napa cabbage, and rapini. It is grown commercially in Japan and Taiwan. It is a versatile vegetable that is cooked and eaten in many ways. The plant is also used for fodder in some Asian countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatsoi</span> Variety of Brassica rapa

Tatsoi is an Asian variety of Brassica rapa grown for greens. Also called tat choy, it is closely related to the more familiar bok choy. This plant has become popular in North American cuisine as well, and is now grown throughout the world.

<i>Tetragonia tetragonioides</i> Species of plant

Tetragonia tetragonioides, commonly called New Zealand spinach, Warrigal greens and other local names, is a flowering plant in the fig-marigold family (Aizoaceae). It is often cultivated as a leafy vegetable.

<i>Sonchus oleraceus</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae

Sonchus oleraceus is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Cichorieae of the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and Western Asia. It has many common names including common sowthistle, sow thistle, smooth sow thistle, annual sow thistle, hare's colwort, hare's thistle, milky tassel, milk thistle. and soft thistle.

Winter greens are green leaved vegetables, closely related to the cabbage, that are seasonably available in winter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lalab</span> Indonesian raw vegetable salad

Lalab or lalap/lalapan (Indonesian) is a Sundanese raw vegetable salad served with sambal terasi. It is a popular Sundanese vegetable dish that originated in West Java and Banten, Indonesia.

References

  1. "Nutrition facts for raw spinach per 100 g; USDA Nutrient Data SR-21". 2014. Archived from the original on 20 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  2. Kessler, F.; Glauser, G. (2014). "Prenylquinone Profiling in Whole Leaves and Chloroplast Subfractions". Plant Isoprenoids. Methods in Molecular Biology. Vol. 1153. pp. 213–26. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-0606-2_15. ISBN   978-1-4939-0605-5. PMID   24777800.
  3. Chang, C. -H.; Wang, Y. -W.; Yeh Liu, P. -Y.; Kao Yang, Y. -H. (2014). "A practical approach to minimize the interaction of dietary vitamin K with warfarin". Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics. 39 (1): 56–60. doi: 10.1111/jcpt.12104 . PMID   24383939. S2CID   206036115.
  4. National Research Council (U.S.), Board on Science and Technology for International Development, Lost Crops of Africa: Vegetables, pp. 6, 35f. Books Archived 20 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "ECHO". Archived from the original on 10 May 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  6. Lynn Livanos Athan. "Horta Vrasta – Boiled Leafy Greens". About.com Food. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  7. "dall'olio al preboggion". cogornese.it. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  8. "Liguria-style omelette with borage and sausage". Italian recipes – Italian food culture – Academia Barilla. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  9. Thayer, Samuel (2017). Incredible Wild Edibles. Forager's Harvest. pp. 273, 276. ISBN   978-0-9766266-2-6. Pokeweed must be prepared properly or it is dangerous. ... The only parts of poke to be eaten are the young shoots and tender stem tips, along with their immature, meristematic leaves. These must be boiled in an ample pot of water and then drained. Eating poke raw can cause serious poisoning. ... [A] man became ill from drinking water in which mature poke leaves had been boiled (Jaeckle and Freemon 1981).
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Golding, John; Tesoriero, Len; Daniel, Rosalie (2020). "10 - Leafy Vegetables". In Lluís Palou; Joseph L. Smilanick (eds.). Postharvest pathology of fresh horticultural produce. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. xviii+823. ISBN   978-1-315-20918-0. OCLC   1104856309. ISBN   9781351805889 ISBN   9781351805896 ISBN   9781138630833