This morning we cooked, for the first time Chaya (Cnidoscolus chayamansa). I cooked it in scrambled eggs with white onion and tomatillo.
Below is an extract from the the article Potential Nutritional and Health Benefits of Tree Spinach by Joseph ). Kuit and Eliseo S. Torres
“The young shoots and tender leaves of chaya are cooked and eaten like spinach. They comprise part of the staple diet and are the main dietary source of leafy vegetable for the indigenous people of Yucatan peninsula of Mexico and Kekchi people of Alta Verapaz in Guatemala (Harris and Munsell 1950; Booth et al. 1992). There are many underexploited native leafy plants with potential as a traditional food source (NAS 1975). With current renewal of interest in household gardens, attention is being focused on promoting some of these plants as leafy green vegetables among populations in the developing countries (FAO 1987). The edible parts of chaya plant, which taste like spinach when cooked, provide important nutritional sources for protein, vitamins (A and C), minerals (calcium, iron, phosphorus), niacin, riboflavin, and thiamine among populations that cannot afford expensive foods rich in these nutrients (Yang 1979). The plant may also constitute a potentially valuable leafy green vegetable here in the United States and elsewhere.
The potential of C. chayamansa for human food and health has a significant implication for the plant as a horticultural crop. Although demand for chaya, as a medicinal plant, has recently increased among the Hispanic population in the United States, the plant has the potential to make a significant nuritional contribution to the vegetable diet as well, because of its high nutrient content. The development of chaya as a new horticultural crop would transcend the ethnic popularity and create a worldwide market for the plant and its products, whether as a leafy green vegetable and/or as a therapeutic herbal tea.
It is noteworthy that the chaya plant is drought resistant, which is of a particular value in areas with short seasonal rainfall and shortage of green vegetables (Peregrine 1983). Growth of the plant is rapid and edible leaves and shoots could be produced within a short period (8 to 10 weeks). Propagation by cutting is easy and the woody stem sections readily root. Few pests and diseases are known to be of any significance in the cultivation of chaya plants. One disadvantage is the presence of toxic hydrocyanic glucosides in the leaves. However, cooking, which is essential, inactivates the toxic compound. Other Cnidoscolus (chaya) species are being examined in our laboratory at Texas A&M University-Kingsville to genetically select species with high leaf and shoot biomass yield and lower hydrocyanic glycoside content.”
Link to full article: (link: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/v3-516.html):
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