Joy and Benefits of Cooking and Eating on Leaves.

 Introduction:

In this article, I discuss only the benefits of cooking and eating on leaves.
I discussed the method of cooking on leaves in another article.
Hence, for details on cooking dessert on leaves, please read my article on hubpages. (https://hubpages.com/food/happiness-and-benefits-of-cooking-in-leaves-from-our-backyard-an-emotional-link).

Banana Plant

Banana leaves:

In tropical and sub-tropical areas, they use banana leaves for cooking, wrapping, and food serving. In Tamil Nadu, for packing food, they use dried leaves. Banana leaves have natural antimicrobial properties that kill harmful bacteria. Banana leaves and palm leaves were the primary writing surfaces in South and Southeast Asia. 

Banana belongs to the Monocotyledons class, the Zingiberales order, and the Musaceae family. The plant has a herbaceous growth habit with leaves overlapping basal sheaths. 

The family includes three genera. The largest and most economically important genus is Musa. It is famous for the banana and plantain. My mother used to make idly and ada in banana leaves. 

Steamed rice wrapped in banana leaves enhances its aroma. It is delicious.

Banana leaves are large, flexible, and waterproof. They impart an aroma to food that is cooked in or served on them; steaming with banana leaves imparts a subtly sweet flavor and aroma to the dish.

Besides adding flavor, the leaves keep juices in and protect food from burning, much as oil does.

• There is a pleasure in eating a meal on a banana leaf.
•  These large waxy leaves have been used throughout Kerala to serve food for thousands of years. 
• Even today, serving food on banana leaves is custom for weddings, and we use only banana leaves for poojas (rituals).

Healthy 

The banana leaf itself isn't edible. However, when you eat food from a clean banana leaf, some of its nutrients get infused into the food. These nutrients include phenols, flavonoids, and proanthocyanidins that exhibit natural antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. 

Improves Taste

• The natural wax coating on banana leaves has a mild flavor. 
• When hot food comes into contact with the phenols, it melts slightly to enrich the taste and flavor. 
• Polyphenol oxidase, a waxy substance present on the surface of leaves, is a natural antioxidant.
•  It melts when we serve hot food, which is good for our health in many ways.

 Polyphenol is an enzyme that can treat Parkinson's disease (1).

Eco-friendly

Banana leaves are biodegradable. All the used banana leaves are collected and transformed into compost. That will turn into manure for further use, pollution-free. 

Benefits and Uses:

• In Kerala's traditional sadya, we usually have at least ten side dishes. When we serve food on banana leaves, it is possible to serve all the dishes on banana leaves because of their large size.
• We cultivate bananas in almost all houses in Kerala. So, we are enjoying the abundant collection of leaves.

• Banana leaves are waterproof, so it will help to keep your tablecloth neat always.

• A shining look on banana leaves is due to the presence of wax on them. When we serve hot food, it melts and releases a pleasant aroma to the food.

• · Used for cooking in various cuisines for wrapping, steaming, and serving food. 
• · No need for oil cooking. 
• · Food cooked on banana leaves absorbs the polyphenols, protection against lifestyle- diseases. 
• · In many Hindu ceremonies, they serve decorative and symbolic purposes (rituals).
•  Like green tea, banana leaves also possess these anti-oxidant properties in them.  
• Banana leaves are a great eco-friendly alternative to steel or plastic plates. They decompose rapidly and help reduce soil pollution. The decomposed banana leaves can be used as manure to grow more plants.

• The water-resistant quality of banana leaves also prevents harmful chemical liquid fertilizers from sticking on their surface. Hence, it becomes less dangerous. Also, you can easily clean them before eating without any health risks.

• We can clean the banana leaf using a wet cloth. For cleaning steel or plastic plates, we use soaps or detergents. But for banana leaves, no need to use a dishwasher. That makes us free of indirect intake of chemicals from soaps or detergents. 

Cinnamon leaves (Vazhana ila in Malayalam):

The leaves of the cinnamon plant (bay leaf) give a delicious aroma to the dishes. 

Bay leaf (Laurus nobilis) is a perennial shrub in the family laurel (Lauraceae). It has been grown throughout the European, tropical, subtropical, and Asian countries for years.

•  It applies to food flavoring, essential oil applications, and traditional medicine. 
• It contains tannins, flavones, flavonoids, alkaloids, eugenol, linalool, methyl chavicol, and anthocyanins. 

The extent of each of these chemical constituents varies with horticultural practices. Bay leaf is an essential component of several industrial applications that range from food to cosmetics to pharmaceutical products. Bay leaf has many biological activities such as wound healing activity, antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity, antiviral activity, immunostimulant activity, anticholinergic activity, antifungal activity, insect repellant activity, anticonvulsant activity, antimutagenic activity, etc.

The origin of bay leaf is probably South Asia, from where it spreads to Asia Minor and the world.· Bay leaf is grown in different ecologic and climatic conditions. Wet, sandy soil with a large quantity of water or some moist atmospheric conditions is optimum and the best conditions for rapid growth (4). In warmer weather, leaves may burn, so partial sun shade, well-drained sandy soil with some moisture, and a pH range of 4.5–8.2 are preferred. Bay bears black fruit and yellowish-white fluffy flowers in warmer areas. Temperatures below 28°F and extensive freezing will kill the bay (5). Bay is widely growing in the following countries: India, Pakistan, other Southeast Asian countries, some Pacific islands, Australia, around the coast of the Mediterranean and Southern Europe, Greece, Portugal, France, Turkey, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Belgium, Central America, Mexico, Southern United States, and the Canary Islands. 

Bay Leaves

Leaves of Macaranga peltata plant. (Vattayila in Malayalam)

It belongs to the family of Euphorbiaceae. It is one of the most widely occurring woody species. Some of the common names are kanda, kenda, and chandada.
It is a resinous tree, up to 10 meters (33 ft) tall.
Tender parts are velvet hairy.
Leaves measure 20 to 50 centimeters (7.9 to 19.7 in) by 12 to 21 centimeters (4.7 to 8.3 in), are alternately arranged, circular, or broadly ovate, and palmately 9-nerved (6-7).
The leaf stalk is attached to the lower surface of the leaf, not to the base.

Vattayila

References: 

1 Parthasarathy V.A, et al., Chemistry of Spices.2008. 

2 Why Won't a Banana Plant's Leaves Open?. SFGate. Retrieved 5 January 2020. 

3 Molina, A.B, et al., Advancing banana and plantain R & D in Asia and the Pacific,p. 84 . Archived from the original on 2017-12-12. 

4 Patrakar R., et al., Phytochemical and pharmacological review on Laurus nobilis. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences. 2012;1:595–602. [Google Scholar] 

5 Kemp W.M., et al., The decline of submerged vascular plants in the upper Chesapeake Bay: summary of results concerning possible causes. Marine Technology Society Journal. 1983;17:78–89. [Google Scholar] 

6 Sreejith K. A. Ecological and Ecophysiological studies on the successional status of tree seedlings in tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of Kerala, PhD Thesis, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, 2005. 

7 K. K. I. U. Aruna Kumara, et al. Forestry and Environment Symposium 2000, Sri Lanka: Studies on Dormancy and Germination Dynamics of Macranga Peetata [sic] (Kanda). 8 malayalam.krishijagaran.com 

9 Margaret Littman. Authentic Filipino Food Comes to Nashville for One-Night SALO Project Pop-Up. Nola Defender. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015 

10 wikipedia.

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