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Are winter squash leaves edible?
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Posted by takadi 7 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 28, 09 at 14:06
| for example, butternut squash? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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| Never done it but according to All About Squash "Every part of the squash plant can be eaten, including the leaves and tender shoots, which can be cooked in omelets or made into soup." Dave |
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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| I have also heard that they are edible but have never tried it. It seems like a REALLY bad idea to me. Squash leaves are very irritating to the skin and anyone who has gone pumpkin picking or harvested zucchini can tell you that those leaves can really scratch you up. Putting that in my mouth would just be asking for trouble in my opinion. |
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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| Technically, you can eat anything that is not toxic, and even some toxic plants with special preparation. Palatability is a different story. But you can certainly eat all parts of any cucubit if they are tasty to you. Same is true of lawn grass. |
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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| I just laughed out loud at the lawn grass, farmerdilla. So glad I wasn't drinking anything! |
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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| Can't see eating the leaves, since they would be too tough; but I've eaten the vine tips at the end of the season. When the frost threatens, I pick the shoots & any small immature squash, and get several meals from them. The wife is from the Pacific islands, and squash vine tips are a vegetable there, so she has a few recipes. Bitter melon vine tips are a vegetable there too... which calls to mind the "lawn grass" comment. |
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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| I saw a cooking demonstration a couple of years by a woman of Hmong ancestry who cooked pumpkin vine tips and made a sort of soup with it. I didn't get to taste it but the woman's husband said they were very tender and tasty. I wouldn't mind trying it. |
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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| I was wondering this too, but I was curious if they'd be good as sprouts (or shoots). I had sunflower shoots on a salad at a restaurant last month and I've been sprouting seeds which has made me quite curious what kinds of seeds I should try saving for these ventures. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Tales of a Transplanted Gardener
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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| I've eaten "squash" leaves several times as a stir fry in the past, in fact it's one of my favorite greens to eat. Very tender, tasty, and the "prickly" stuff actually provides an interesting sensation and makes it more substantial. Probably was a summer squash or bitter melon leaf or vine tip. It just seems like a waste for all those leaves to go away at the end of the season, they're so big and beautiful! |
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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I have just seen they sell squash leaves in Asian market, veggie section. As mentioned, you can eat any green that is not poisonous or toxic. The taste is another issue.
Obviously, you do don't have to eat tough leaves but the tender ones from the tip of vine. Also, you don't have to eat them raw, but can steam or stir fry, add salt/pepper. To me summer squash (zuchinnie) have no taste. But when you fry them they will taste ok. So the leaves could not be any worse. |
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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| The tender young shoots and leaves are tasty in stir-fries. For the less bold, here is a recipe for a different sort of squash leaf. |
RE: Are winter squash leaves edible?
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Just checked out the recipe above. I think in fact it refers to butternut squash thinly sliced and cut into leaf shapes!
Had to read it a few times though before the 'penny dropped'. |
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