Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Leaf vegetables contain many typical plant nutrients, but since they
are photosynthetic tissues, their vitamin K levels are particularly
notable. Phylloquinone, the most common form of the vitamin, is
directly involved in photosynthesis. A bundle of curly-leaf kale
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
If leaves are cooked for food, they may be referred to 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 a variety of South Asian dishes such as saag.
Leafy greens can be used to wrap other ingredients into an edible
package in a manner similar to a tortilla. Many green leafy
vegetables, such as lettuce or spinach, can also be eaten raw, for
Large pot of collard greens being
prepared on a US Navy ship
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
Greece
Liponda greens to be cooked and
accompany ugali in east Africa
In Greek cuisine, khorta (χόρτα, literally 'greens') are a common
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
Poland
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 removed by the boiling, and should be discarded.[9]
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 also important is
prevention of mechanical damage to produce as this provides entryways for pathogens. Uncontaminated
water for washing of the 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]
Gallery
See also
Healthy diet
List of leaf vegetables
Leaf protein concentrate
Mesclun
Slek
Herbs
Spring greens
References
1. "Nutrition facts for raw spinach per 100 g; USDA Nutrient Data SR-21" (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20140920191548/http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-produc
ts/2626/2). 2014. Archived from the original (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and
-vegetable-products/2626/2) 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 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-1-4939-0606-2_15).
ISBN 978-1-4939-0605-5. PMID 24777800 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/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" (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fjcpt.1
2104). Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics. 39 (1): 56–60.
doi:10.1111/jcpt.12104 (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fjcpt.12104). PMID 24383939 (https://pub
med.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24383939). S2CID 206036115 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/Corpu
sID:206036115).
4. National Research Council (U.S.), Board on Science and Technology for International
Development, Lost Crops of Africa: Vegetables, pp. 6, 35f. Books (https://books.google.com/
books?id=mllZm3CChGIC&pg=PA35%7CGoogle) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20
150320211644/http://books.google.com/books?id=mllZm3CChGIC&pg=PA35%7CGoogle)
20 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
5. "ECHO" (http://www.echonet.org/). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100510115947/
http://www.echonet.org/) from the original on 10 May 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
6. Lynn Livanos Athan. "Horta Vrasta – Boiled Leafy Greens" (http://greekfood.about.com/od/so
upsstews/r/horta.htm). About.com Food. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20090220013
035/http://greekfood.about.com/od/soupsstews/r/horta.htm) from the original on 20 February
2009. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
7. "dall'olio al preboggion" (http://www.cogornese.it/easycms/html/dallolioalprebuggion.html).
cogornese.it. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120306170942/http://www.cogornese.
it/easycms/html/dallolioalprebuggion.html) from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved
6 June 2012.
8. "Liguria-style omelette with borage and sausage" (http://www.academiabarilla.com/italian-re
cipes/ricette-liguria/liguria-style-omelette-with-borage-sausage.aspx). Italian recipes – Italian
food culture – Academia Barilla. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20140819105432/htt
p://www.academiabarilla.com/italian-recipes/ricette-liguria/liguria-style-omelette-with-borage
-sausage.aspx) 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. 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 (htt
ps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1104856309). ISBN 9781351805889 ISBN 9781351805896
ISBN 9781138630833