Hoja Santa
[Root Beer Plant, Mexican Pepperleaf, Sacred Pepper, Vera Cruz Pepper
Piper Sanctum (USA); False Kava (Hawaii); Hoja Xanta, Hierba Santa, Anisillo,
Acoyo, Santa Maria (Spanish); Xmakulan, Tlanecpahquílitl (Nahuatl);
Piper auritum]
This plant is native from northern South America to just north of the
Mexican border. It prefers the tropics, where It can grow to 20 feet
high, and is now an aggressive invasive in Hawaii and Florida.
It spreads via rhizomes that send up new shoots. The leaves can get to 12
inches wide, but those in the photo were 9 inches long and 6-3/4 inches
wide. There is some cultivation in Florida and Southern California.
Fresh leaves are used in Mexican cuisine, particularly in Oaxaca, for
flavoring tamales, soups, eggs, and chocolate drinks. It is an essential
ingredient in the Oaxacan "mole verde" sauce. These leaves have a very
distinct "root beer like" taste.
More on Pepper Family.
Buying:
This product is quite hard to find much north of
Oaxaca. The two specimens in the photo were purchased from a large
multi-ethnic market in Los Angeles at the price of 2015 US $1.45 for 2
leaves, together weighing 3/8 ounce, or $3.87 per ounce. My plant is
still too young to harvest, so I recently ordered some freshly picked
leaves on-line, 1.3 ounces (10 leaves staged from small to medium) for
2023 US $25.00 (shipping included), which is about $19 per ounce.
Expensive, but beats the cost of time and gasoline to try to find them
in markets when you just need a few.
Dried Hoja Santa is much easier to find on-line and less expensive per
leaf - but it has lost much of it's desirable flavor. The photo sample, 12
leaves, weighed 0.8 ounces for 2023 US $8.95, or $11.19 per ounce (plus
shipping).
Substitute:
Avocado leaves, but only Mexican (Persea
americana var drimyfolia) which has scented leaves. Nearly all in
California are Persea americana var guatemalensis or hybrids, which
are non-aromatica, thus culinarily useless. Mexican Tarragon, and even
regular Tarragon have been suggested, and also Thai Purple Basil, and
Anise (1/8 teaspoon per leaf), but these are not suitable as wrappers, only
for flavoring.
pi_hsantaz 230515 - www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@clovegarden.com - Photos
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