Leaf Concentrate is an extremely nutritious food used to alleviate malnutrition. The process of making LC separates the protein, vitamins, and minerals from the fibrous portion of fresh green leaves. LC can be made from by-product leaves of commercial vegetables (beets, broccoli, etc.) or even from productive forages or cover crops not normally used as human food. Incorporated into local recipes, it boosts the nutritional content of a variety of foods.
LC is very rich in vitamin A, iron, calcium, high-quality protein, and other key dietary elements. Green leaves are very efficient producers of these nutrients, and leaf products can be the lowest cost source of iron and vitamin A, critical nutrients often missing in poor diets. LC technology is most appropriate for nutrition programs with groups of children, pregnant or nursing women, or elderly people who suffer from dietary deficiencies. For a community project designed to supplement children’s diets, mechanized equipment costs about US$1500.
The basic process for making LC is to harvest and wash fresh leaves, grind them to a pulp, press juice from the pulp, bring the juice to a boil, separate out the curds which form in the heated juice, and press the liquid out of the curd. The solid portion of the mild flavored curd is the leaf concentrate which can be added to traditional recipes fresh or preserved in various forms. David Kennedy of Leaf For Life (see below) visited ECHO and prepared some pasta using LC made from broccoli leaves (in a household blender) and flour; even the staff who ate only a small portion of this (green) pasta for lunch did not feel hungry for the rest of the afternoon due to the high protein content of the leaf concentrate.
One difficulty in introducing LC-enriched foods is that the concentrate imparts an intense green color to the foods. Considerable work on recipe development has been helpful. One recipe which can substantially increase the leaf nutrient intake by children takes advantage of the bright color: green LC lemonade. To make the syrup, dissolve two kilograms of sugar and 40 g of salt in 1 liter of lemon juice. Mix this into 1 kg of moist LC. The mixture is ground or blended in a high speed mixer until smooth, then bottled. The concentrate is stable for months. Prepare the lemonade by mixing 30 ml of syrup in 200 ml of water. Combining the LC with a good source of vitamin C improves the body’s absorption of the leaves’ iron as well. A pitcher of LC lemonade made from moringa leaves was served at a recent dinner at ECHO. Most people seemed surprised at how tasty it was, though a few added extra sugar to reduce a “green grassy taste.”
The organization Leaf For Life (called Find Your Feet in the UK) has been investigating and promoting LC for improved nutrition in tropical villages for thirty years. They also work with simpler techniques to better utilize leaf crops for food enrichment, such as drying leaves in ways that maintain more of their nutrients. They have a comprehensive, experience based “Field manual for small scale leaf concentrate programs” (192 pp.) which details processing of LC, basic nutrition, information for evaluating and growing various leaf crop species, economic considerations in organizing a LC program, and recipes from around the world. Information online at http://www.leafforlife.org/
Comments:
Cite as:
ECHO Staff 1995. Leaf Concentrate (LC). ECHO Development Notes no. 50