Many years ago, I was invited to a BBQ cook-out by some Argentinian friends of mine. They served what they called a sweet and bitter BBQ. The meat was grilled with a very sweet sauce. But to eat it you take the leaf and wrap your piece of meat with it. It starts off kind of bitter but as this very bitter leaf mixes with the sweetened meat, the mixture starts tasing pretty good.
I became curious about the leaves and asked what type of leaf it was. I could tell that i have just asked a stupid question by the way everyone starred at me. They went on to school me on our own onugbu and it’s health benefits, I never knew. I learnt that bitter leaf is actually classified as a super food because of its many health benefits. I didn’t know any of that.
I learned that you can actually buy the plant from Amazon and that there are even Onugbu tablets and tea sold in Amazon.
I’m not sure who makes these, how safe they are and how much research went into making them. I will not be taking them myself or drinking onugbu juice. However there is no doubt Onugbu has several health benefits and that we can actually get some of those benefits by eating it the same way our people has done for generations, onugbu soup, even as side vegetable dish. And did i mention that the stem makes good chewing stick, good for the teeth and the body.
It appears onugbu is actually very popular not just at home but around the world and has caught the attention of researchers in Nigeria and everywhere.
According to Dr Ubochi, a professor of Nutrition at National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja, “Bitter leaf is a medicinal plants that contains essential vitamins such as vitamins A, C, and E, vitamin B1 and B2. Other important nutrients found in a bitter leaf are nutrients are fiber, proteins, and minerals such as manganese, zinc, iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, selenium and selenium in traceable amount. However, it has high value of phytate.”
12 Super Health Benefits of Bitter Leaf – Finelib.com
Onugbu is also very easy to grow. You can stick the stem in the soil or get the seed and spread them someplace in the backyard and you will have onugbu for life. If the weather gets too cold, the leaves and stem may wither away but the roots will spring up once the weather warms up. Just about everyone these days have a small onugbu and nchanwu garden. You should too,. There’s no excuse not to have onugbu in everyone’s garden.
The challenge with Onugbu has always been getting the bitterness out of the Onugbu. Take it from a boyinta-trained boy. Fortunately we now live in mordern times. IF you haven’t already tried it, there are very good masticating blenders that will easily discipline the onugbu for you. Matriculating blenders are juicers that use slow squeezing motion to separate juice from leaves or fruits. Some are more superior that others. Regular blenders use fast centrifugal force to break down food, we don’t want those. Better matriculating blenders come with three baskets. The basket you use determines how much juice you want extracted. The middle basket will leave some of the good bitter stuff behind but not too much.
Many people like the above brand or identical ones. They are very good for juicing as well. Buy this brand if you can find it otherwise look for other equally good ones. Between a $100 and $150, should get a good one that can do the job. Remember to add water frequently with onugbu to help the flow of the leaves.