By Eileen Cox
If you are driving going East on Lamaha Street you will see a small Saijan tree laden with flowers. Little do the owners know that they have a small gold mine on their land. The flowers and leaves of the Saijan tree are edible. So are the leaves of the Cassava plant, when cooked. The leaves of the Saijan are tasty when cooked in coconut milk and the flowers can be sprinkled on any meal when cooked for a minute or two.
Years ago, when I advocated the eating of leaves, there were some consumers who laughed and said, “We are not cows.”
It seems that we are prejudiced against the small leaves. We hanker after Calaloo, the bigger the leaves, the better. We eat Cabbage and Eddo leaf but the small leaves are out of our range. Some years ago, I purchased a book entitled Edible Leaves in the Tropics in Grenada. It was printed in 1975 and is most likely out of print now. The authors, Franklin W. Martin and Ruth M. Ruberte, suggest that the place of green vegetables in the diet is largely a matter of culture, training and habit.
The authors report that during the Nigerian civil war “starvation stimulated new experimentation in the bush, the results of which will probably be lost again rapidly.”
Let us read some of what they say about the Saijan tree which s also known as Moringa oleifera Lam, horseradish tree, reseda, Moringaceae).
Introduced to all parts of the tropics from eastern India and widely grown not only for its edible parts but also as an ornamental, the tree has the potential to flower throughout the entire year. The family is small, little known and yet distinctive.
“Almost all parts of the plant are useful as food, but always cooked. The seeds yield a fine oil which is edible. The young plants from seeds are very tender and make an excellent cooked green vegetable. The shoot tips, leaves and flowers make excellent spinach. The young pods have a flavour reminiscent of Asparagus. The thick, soft roots have a strong flavour of horseradish. When peeled, dried, ground and blended with vinegar they substitute for this condiment.”
What do the authors say about Cassava?
“Cassava leaves are not eaten raw, and, indeed, it is risky to do so. The leaves of all species contain harmful glucosides which easily release deadly hydrocyanic acid. Even leaves of sweet varieties that bear roots of low hydrogen cyanide content must be considered dangerous. To dispel the poison the leaves are boiled at least 15 minutes.
The leaves are generally cooked into a stew in Africa and this then is eaten with the cooked starchy roots. However, the leaves can be cooked alone as a side dish or spinach.”
In Haiti where there are food riots, it would be well if attention could be paid to the green vegetables which nay be present in abundance. One of the most pleasant meals that I have had was boiled rice with Calaloo. Let us look ahead and in our ‘Grow More Food Campaign’ let us not forget the green vegetables.
Nor should we forget the beans that are easily grown but are not easily available, including butter beans and saeme. Our entrepreneurs should turn from the easy task of importing and aid in the ‘Grow More Food Campaign’.
A resident at 7 Henry Street, Werk-en-Rust, close to the Revenue Licence Office, is appalled and distressed at the fact that sewage has been flowing from a manhole since December with recent abatement for only two days. If the manhole had been on a roadway swift action would have been given to stop the overflow. There should be compensation.
