Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Herb guide to Bitterleaf along with all the Bitterleaf containing recipes presented on this site, with 10 recipes in total.

e This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Bitterleaf as a major herb flavouring.

Bitterleaf, most typically Vernonia amygdalina and Vernonia galamensis (also known as bitter leaf, orugbo, onugbo, euwro, mojunso, sawa, polok and n'dolé) represents a large genus of about 1000 species of forbs and shrubs in the family Asteraceae (aster/daisy family). Of these, several species of shrubs are native to sub-Saharan Africa and the leaves and young stems are used as a leafy green vegetable, potherb and as an herb for flavouring stews and soups. They are common in West African, Central African and some East African countries. The most common are Vernonia amygdalina (West and Central Africa) and Vernonia galamensis (East Africa). Veronia calvoana and Veronia colourata are also consumed.

The image presented here shows the fresh, young leaves of Vernonia amygdalina, top and the leaves of Vernonia amygdalina with flowers, bottom left. The bottom right image is of Vernonia galamensis.

Bitterleaf is rather like European sorrel, it is cooked both as a leafy vegetable and is also used as an herb to flavour dishes (most notably West African soups [stews served with pounded yam, cassava or eddoes]). It is this uses as a flavouring that's the reason for the inclusion of bitterleaf in this list of herbs.

When eaten fresh, the leaf has a bitter taste that's mellowed by a sweetness. On cooking, the bitterness is reduced and the plant mellows to a refreshing sweetness. The leaf can be eaten fresh in soups and salads (rather like spinach) or cooked as a potherb. Outside Africa (particularly if there is a large Nigerian or Tanzanian community) bitterleaf can be bought dried or frozen. Bitterleaf is high in vitamin C and carotenoids, vitamins that were traditionally deficient in the sub-Saharan African diet (before the introduction of chillies and citrus fruit).

Bitterleaf is a particular feature of Nigerian and Cameroonian cuisine and also features (but more rarely) in Tanzanian cookery. Bitterleaf is also a crucial ingredient in West African 'palaver' sauces.

Veronia amygdalina is also a well-known medicinal plant and is commonly used in local medicine for the treatment of diabetes, fever reduction, and recently a non-pharmaceutical solution to persistent fever, headache, and joint pain associated withAIDS (typically, an infusion of the plant leaves and young stems is taken as needed).