How to preserve water leaf in Nigeria?
- First wash
- Then shred or chop with a sharp knife
- Pack in ziploc bags
- Store in the freezer and leave frozen until needed.
- Use frozen. Drop frozen water leaf straight into boiling pot of soup without defrosting.
How we preserve waterleaf is not like when we preserve vegetables like afang leaves. I tried freezing because, of all the leafy vegetables used in Nigeria, waterleaf is the most difficult to preserve.
It has to be used straight from the market or the very next day else the leaves begin to drop and rot. This worked perfectly for me. The afang soup was to be cooked three days after shopping and this water leaf couldn’t have lasted that long.
After shopping, the very next day, I had to wash, chop, pack in a bag and store in the freezer for two days. I expected the leaves to look wilted but they came out looking very fresh and green. Now I can buy water leaf ahead of time for weekend cooking.
| A bunch of waterleaf. I prefer this specie with tiny leaves. The broad-leafed waterleaf has a way of making the soup too watery |
Water leaf is used for cooking, softening other vegetables in Nigerian soups like fried afang, edikang ikong soup, groundnut afang soup and sometimes bitter leaf egusi soups.
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| Water leaf in a bag ready for the freezer |
Wrapping in paper bags before putting in cellophane is what I’ll like to try next.
Newspaper should work well too.
| Dumped in the freezer for two days |
| My frozen water leaf till in the bag. the bag will be torn to bring it out |
| Frozen water leaf is put in a pot and placed on the cooker right away. |
Learn how to cook afang soup without water leaf in case there’s no water leaf where you are.
Do you have other methods of storing your water leaf and other leafy veggies?
Thanks! It grows so much here in Gambia. I give it to my neighbors bit it’s good to know I can freeze it too.