Medical Benefits of Pumpkin Leaves and How to Eat Them

First of all, the answer to the question of pumpkin leaves are edible. The answer is yes, indeed, all pumpkin parts are supposed to be eaten including flowers, fruits, seeds, leaves, and even stems. The delicate leaves are cooked like spinach or green verdant veggies and savored as a staple along with the main course meal.

The appearance of Pumpkin leaves: 

Colour and texture-wise, pumpkin leaves are long, smooth, and mild green. Spongy spiny fibres are coated with both the stems and leaves that would have to be separated prior to cooking.  

Taste of Pumpkin leaves: 

The tender leaves bear a blended flavour of green beans, broccoli, and spinach cooked together. The taste is relatively less bitter and more on the sweeter side. On the contrary, mature leaves have a mildly bitter flavour. When cooked, the leafy and bitter flavour of the leaves dies down more and tastes more like turnip greens or spinach. 

Choosing Pumpkin Leaves: 

Regularly go for tender leaves. Do not cut the rising tip back when the leaves are harvested. The leaves become fibrous and bitter with maturity, that’s why avoid harvesting mature or old leaves.

 Cooking Pumpkin Leaves: 

The leaves and stems are appropriately taken out and the external layer is eliminated. When all your pumpkin leaves are prepared, chop them and use them discretionarily in your stews, sautees, or even soups. You can likewise stew them in olive oil with tomatoes and garlic or add them with other hot fixings to the pasta. 

You can devour the leaves raw with some salt flavoring. They can likewise be an incredible expansion to verdant servings of mixed green salads. Few of the dishes include Pumpkin leaf sabzi, leaf fry, and stem along with curry leaves.  

Health Benefits of Pumpkin Leaves: 

- Vitamin A, C, E, B2, and K are present in abundance in pumpkin leaves, and beneficial for hair, teeth, bones, and skin. 

- The leaves are low in cholesterol and sodium and that makes them an excellent vegetable for all age ranges. 

- They are high in calcium, iron, potassium, and manganese, preventing chronic diseases from happening. 

- The leaves have lots of dietary fibers that are useful to the immune and digestive system and contain important minerals.