Growing and Cooking Chaya

See a very nutritious tropical vegetable and learn about its uses and one way to prepare it

[@josephallie3001]

Great. Moringa is also a great plant with lots of nutrition.

[@Cookiejug1]

And Moringa grows prolifically!

[@chayasuperfood]

wow amazing growing chaya... Salam chaya Indonesia thank you for sharing Sara...

[@josylbalanay8975]

My favorite Chaya leaves . I always cooked that, Jan, I gained weight, especially my siblings, it's true, it's healthy,

[@arthorim]

There are plenty of recipes for chaya in the Yucatan peninsula. Also some African greens recipes would go nice with chaya.

[@sarasytsma1130]

Feel free to share your favorite recipes! In this region of Uganda, cooking it with peanut sauce is the favorite way to prepare it since that is how many other traditional greens are cooked.

[@SpaceForce-oj1eo]

Thanks for the recipe 🌱

[@445alicia1]

I learned about Chaya on my trip to the Yucatán peninsula, they Cooke it in almost anything eggs, quesadillas, meats but their most famous way to use it, is in juice with pineapple, is delicious.

[@CharGC123]

I also love to cook the leaves whole and use them like grape or cabbage leaves for stuffing. I just overlap 2 leaves so that the "fingers" of one cover the spaces in the other, then place the filling, and roll up. I have the wild version in which the leaves look more like papaya leaves with more distinct fingers, and are also larger.

[@sarasytsma1130]

Yes, that is a great way to use them!

[@SherrisPlants]

Thank you, that was some great information on chaya

[@JoseGonzales-ul9sv]

You can also do the green one to

[@ongv2491]

Thank you for sharing it

[@maryofficialmixchannel9795]

wow its a good video...thumbs up on this video...keep posting....done subscribing your channel :-) Stay Safe...

[@maryofficialmixchannel9795]

Its good :-) 👍👍👍...God Bless.....

[@maryofficialmixchannel9795]

👌...Thank sa tips :-) God Bless....

[@marv6013]

What paste is that ? I didn't catch the name

[@sarasytsma1130]

It is groundnut paste (same as natural, unsweetened peanut butter)

[@jontrimarco6205]

Great video! I've been growing and eating Chaya in Kenya and its way underrated. Do you know where I can get cuttings in Uganda??

[@sarasytsma1130]

Yes, what part of Uganda are you in?

[@jontrimarco6205]

Awesome @@sarasytsma1130 ! I'm based in Gulu for the next few moths, will be driving up from Kampala tomorrow.

[@Cookiejug1]

What is that …nut paste? Is it peanut paste?

[@sarasytsma1130]

Yes, it is peanut butter. In Uganda, peanuts are called groundnuts, so peanut butter is called "g-nut paste" or "groundnut paste"

[@narasimhanaiknn]

How to feed chaya leaves to the pigs, raw or cooked, please let me know..🙏

[@sarasytsma1130]

I personally, do not keep pigs, but I know other people who keep pigs and they feed the leaves and soft stems to their pigs raw.

[@narasimhanaiknn]

@@sarasytsma1130 thanks for the useful information..🙏🙏❤❤

[@chrismunns3480]

If you don't drain it wouldn't you get sick from what came off the chaya? Or does just the heat take it out?

[@sarasytsma1130]

The water is safe after you boil the chaya for 10 minutes. What you shouldn't eat goes out in the steam.

[@nuduo9255]

She looks like the Kennedy, specially the women, every single one of them resembles the other generation after generation.

[@Anythingforfreedom]

What do you use to cut it down? It looks hard to cut.

[@sarasytsma1130]

The stems are pretty soft - it is easy to break with your hands or cut with a knife

[@mgtv5482]

How come the cyanide in chaya does not affect the ducks and other animals. Aren't they adversely affected too?

[@sarasytsma1130]

I have not found anything specific in researching this question, but my guess is because it is only a part of what they are eating. I would not feed animals chaya exclusively. If you were concerned that they were eating too much chaya, you can supplement their feed with something that has more protein and also dry and crush the chaya before feeding it to the animals. Both of those things can help counteract or prevent any possible adverse effects.

[@angiegracie6954]

Am I to top the plant as it grows? Should I cut the buds off?

[@sarasytsma1130]

It grows very quickly, so if it gets too tall for you to reach the leaves you want to pick and eat, yes you can cut the branches down to the level you want. Make sure to do that serious pruning when it is the rainy season, though, so it can grow back.

[@angiegracie6954]

@@sarasytsma1130 Thank you! Liked 👍 subscribed 👍

[@saipriyavarma1172]

What's your nutrition and hydration routine this particular plant...?

[@sarasytsma1130]

When you plant a chaya cutting, you need to make sure it is getting water while it is beginning to develop roots and leaves. However, after my chaya is established, I never water the plants again and they have flourished for years. They don't do very well in very wet, swampy areas.

[@saipriyavarma1172]

@@sarasytsma1130 Awesome! You made my day..thanks:))))) Hope to grow it as a vertical hedge(primarily in place of ficus panda hedge we already have) totally in love the maple style 3 lobed leaves... I had to settle for propogating them off seeds as not one in my circle is rocking this plant to provide cuttings. Hope they are legit.

[@sarasytsma1130]

@@saipriyavarma1172 I hope your chaya grows well and makes a beautiful hedge! Once it has grown, you will have to come back here and share a picture :)

[@sarasytsma1130]

Also, if the seeds don't work out, since I think it is difficult to get chaya to even produce seeds, you could try searching the internet to see where you could get cuttings from somewhere near you.

[@saipriyavarma1172]

@@sarasytsma1130 I shall gladly do that 🎉

[@balakrishna5327]

what are the symptoms to expect in case we ingest the cyanide compound in this leaf say due to insufficient cooking? thanks in advance

[@sarasytsma1130]

Good question. It is very unlikely that you would ingest too much of the hydrocyanic compounds if you are boiling the chaya. Make sure you boil it for at least 15 minutes, uncovered. You would also have to be eating a lot of undercooked chaya daily to have these effects. But symptoms of cyanide poisoning include things like dizziness, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, etc.

[@jcd830]

Would you cook cassava leaves the same way?

[@sarasytsma1130]

I honestly don't have experience cooking cassava leaves, so I am not sure. I am trying to find someone who will teach me how to prepare cassava leaves, but not very many people here know how to do it.

[@jcd830]

@@sarasytsma1130 I'm trying to encourage farmers here in Texas to start growing crops like chaya, pigeon pea and cassava. I made some dolmas last night with chaya mixed with the stuffing. Thanks for your video, it helped :)

[@sarasytsma1130]

@@jcd830 That's great! Texas is an excellent place for growing those crops. I'm glad you are enjoying chaya!

[@Floridagubatgarden]

I got the experience eating cadavers leaves but in soups my mom cooked it with soup called sinigang

[@misskimsorganichealthybeau7452]

Yes

[@babiryewarda20]

Here in Zanzibar we have been told that this plant is cancerous

[@babiryewarda20]

Surprisingly it has been very easy for me to grow at my farm . So why were we told its cancerous. Is it because of that thing u have said before you boil ?

[@sarasytsma1130]

As far as I know, there is no evidence to suggest that cyanide compounds cause cancer. Chaya also does not cause cancer. As long as you boil the leaves, they are very safe to eat and very nutritious. If you search online, there is no connection between chaya and cancer.

[@haridasnair2530]

Thanks

[@hananyansari6194]

Thanks for doing this video. cleared so many apprehensions.. thank you.

[@debraparker1550]

So it's toxic uncooked to humans but not to animals ? 🤔

[@sarasytsma1130]

There are many plants which animals are able to eat and digest without any ill effects, but humans cannot. Our bodies are different!

[@DanBuell]

10-minutes is not enough time to make it safe. Requires a minimum of 20-minutes. Nice cooking instructions!!!

[@doloinc]

Incorrect. 10-20min is just a safety precaution, but all that is really needed is about 5-10min. The vaporization point of hydrocyanic compounds is approximately 75-80F, well below the the boiling temperature of water (212F), which means that it doesn't need a very long cooking time to cook off the compounds or allow them to go into solution. You have more of a risk from drinking the cooking water than undercooking Chaya.

[@sarasytsma1130]

Hi Dan, here is a study which was done to determine the HCN content after different cooking times, with the finding that it is within safe levels after 10 minutes: www.echocommunity.org/resources/6f7cd033-c749-4755-bf8a-339ce98d0b91

[@arthorim]

In México we drink a green smoothie made with raw chaya leaves pineapple and lime. Nobody has died or got ill because of that. P. S. You can do whatever feels safe for you.

[@suniljay126]

Did you notice darker urine eating chaya everyday Pl comment