More On the Edibility of Sweet Potato Leaves

Judy Glattstein jgglatt@gmail.com
Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:54:23 PDT
Thanks for all the replies. What I've found on the Internet seems to 
indicate that the leaves of grocery store sweet potatoes are edible, as 
excerpted below -

Judy, who recently served Hemerocallis fulva shoots (leaves not yet 
unfolded) and garden-gathered fiddleheads


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Few people in North America think of sweet potato leaves as a food crop.

My friend and colleague, Dr. Changzheng Wang, grew up in a peasant farm 
family in rural China, where sweet potato leaves were a regular part of 
the menu.

On the third Thursday of every month Kentucky State University hosts a 
full day of hands-on workshops on sustainable agriculture. Dr. Wang took 
advantage of today's 'Third Thursday Thing 
<http://organic.kysu.edu/ThirdThursday.html>' to demonstrate the harvest 
and preparation of sweet potato greens. He collected the tender young 
leaves from the rapidly-growing sweet potato vines in our Energy Farm 
study, and stir fried them with a little soy sauce and ground beef. 
Delicious!
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from FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) of the United Nations
Leaflet No. 13 - 1990 - Sweet Potato

*The leaves*

The young leaves and tips are prepared by boiling for a short time in a 
small amount of water. Serving or cooking sweet potato leaves with a 
lime fat, such as coconut cream, helps the body use the Vitamin A that 
is in the leaves. They may also be fried in a covered pot in a lime 
cooking oil. Onion and garlic may be added for flavour. They are a good 
addition to soups and are an excellent food for babies, pregnant women, 
and breast-feeding mothers.

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Fit & Healthy, posted November 6, 2006

According to a new research from the /University of Arkansas/ 
<http://www.uark.edu/home/>, sweet potato leaves are chock-full of 
disease-fighting antioxidants. In total, they contain 15 different 
compounds that could help prevent heart disease, diabetes, infection and 
some types of cancer.

Out of curiosity, I asked for sweet potato leaves at my local grocery 
store. I was ready for some blank stares, but to my surprise, I was not 
a first person to inquire about them.

Who could have thought that the word about potential health benefits of 
sweet potato leaves could spread so quickly? Or maybe I am behind the 
times...

Anyway, sweet potato leaves are just as versatile and easy to prepare as 
sweet potatoes. You can steam them as you would spinach or other leafy 
greens.

/Men's Health/ recommends to sauté them with onions, garlic, and ginger. 
Then add your favorite veggies, along with beef, chicken, or shrimp.

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And a .pdf of edible leaves of vegetables grown for tubers or fruit   
http://agroforestry.net/pubs/…


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