Thursday 23 February 2012

Identifying and Using Tropical Vegies No.1 'b'

Some of the info I have copied from a hand-out we received on the day...

Edible Flowers - Nasturtium, Pineapple Sage flowers and leaves, Society Garlic flower, Garlic Chives flower...

Brazillian Spinach - (Sissoo Spinach, Sambu Lettuce) Alternanthera Triandra sp.
Origin: Highlands, wet, cool South America
Plant: Sept - March
Harvest: Sept - June 
Related to Hibiscus. Mucilaginous.


Kan Kong - eat end bits - hollow stems. Good greens for summer. Likes damp spots. Can be eaten raw. Grown from chopped up sections.

Ceylon Spinach - lovely raw. Mucilaginous. Trailer or loose limber. Red stem or green stem varieties. Seed of red stem can be used as food colouring.

Tahitian Spinach (Taro family) Xanthosoma Brasillience - grown as a green. 
Origin: hot, humid tropics
Plant: Sept-Feb
Harvest: Nov-May
The tahitian spinach leaf is better than taro and cocoyam as a 'tropical green' as it has the least amount of irritating crystals and does not need a long cooking time - ten minutes is adequate. Serving the leaves with coconut milk or cream will help the body to use the Vitamin A, which is a fat-soluble vitamin. Harvest the young leaves and cook in stews, casseroles and leaf wraps. This plant does not have an edible corm. 

Lebanese Cress -  likes damp and shade. Ground cover, slightly peppery.

Salad Mallow (Corchorus olitorius) (Mulaheyah, Egyptian Spinach, Jews Mallow)
Put the little seed pods in salads.


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