Jute leaves (molokhia)

Corchorus spp.

leaf

Green leaves of jute mallow, the jute plant, which release a stringy mucilage when cooked; chopped into soups or sauces. They provide mucilage, beta-carotene and lutein.

Origin

Egypt and Near East

Season (United States)

all year round

Preparation

The leaves, stripped from the stems, are finely chopped and cooked for five minutes in a broth, which they make silky and stringy (mulukhiyah); dried, they are crumbled into the soup.

Molecules

Mucilages · Beta-carotene (vitamin A) · Lutein and zeaxanthin

Did you know?

In Egypt, Sudan and Palestine, its boiled leaves make mulukhiyah, a green, slippery soup.