What are pandan leaves and how are they used?

the pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius) is a tropical plant in the family Pandanaceae, an evergreen palm that grows in Southeast Asia and can reach a height of up to 80 cm.

Its sword-shaped green leaves have a strong, sweet, vanilla-like flavor. That is why it is known as “the East Asian Vanilla.

Pandan: deep green leaves with properties

Its long, dark green leaves are not only beautiful to look at, but also a green extract can be made from these and is used in Thai, Malay and Indonesian cooking for baking.

In Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan and other East Asian countries, the leaves are used as a spice for both sweet and savory dishes. To do this, the leaves are added to a dish of rice, pasta or curry, for example, and allowed to simmer briefly. They are removed from the plate before eating.

Fish and meat dishes wrapped and cooked in pandan leaves they are a popular traditional delicacy in these Asian countries. This way of using the pandan is the one that has become fashionable in Europe.

Due to its vanilla aroma, pandan also It is used in desserts and pastries. Gives pancakes, cakes, cookies or creams a bright and intense green color. For desserts, the best way to use pandan is in the form of a paste. You can also prepare an infusion with pandan leaves.

The pandan fruit is also eaten: it has a strong vanilla aroma, but it does not turn dishes green and is less well known in Europe.

Pandan, origin, use and sustainability

You can find pandan paste or extract in Asian food stores, where you can also buy frozen leaves. You can also find it in the form of a green powder.

All pandan products come from Southeast Asia. Therefore, they have to travel a long way to Europe, so their environmental and climate impact is very high.

It is very difficult to get organic pandan, therefore buying conventional pandan contributes to the environmental impact of pesticides on the environment.

All these aspects make pandan a problematic food from an ecological point of view. Therefore, it is highly recommended to use it sparingly or resort to local alternatives.

For example, if you only want to color your cake green, you can use spinach as a natural coloring. Don’t worry, since spinach doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own, your pie won’t taste like spinach in the end, just a bright green color.

Pandan as a superfood: is it healthy?

Pandan is not only supposed to improve the aesthetics and aroma of dishes, but also promotes health thanks to its nutritional content.

The paste made with pandan fruits is rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, thiamine and antioxidant flavonoids. It gives you around 320 kilocalories and 2.2 grams of protein per 100 grams.

However, since you only add a very small amount of the paste to the dishes, ultimately it does little to meet your daily nutritional needs.

There is hardly any exact information about the nutritional values ​​of pandan leaves and it doesn’t matter much either, because once they have released their aroma, they are discarded.

pandan infusion

In the Ayurvedic tradition, pandan is also known as a medicinal plant. Among other things, it is said to help with:

HeadachesRheumatismColdsPromotes wound healing

Other properties attributed to the pandan

The pandan has properties antibacterial and anti-inflammatory.Contains saponins that bind to cholesterol, favoring its elimination.owns a lowering effect on blood pressure. For this indication, two cups of the infusion are taken daily. The green color of the leaves reveals its richness in chlorophyll and magnesium, which benefits muscles, bones and nervous system.Helps to have beautiful hair. Pandan’s homemade shampoo helps against dandruff and acts against breakage and hair loss.