Hoja Santa

With a name like Holy Leaf, one would naturally expect this plant to bring a few special qualities to the table.  In Costa Rica, it is more often known as anisillo, and its large velvety leaves are commonly applied directly to the forehead to treat headaches.  Further north in Mexico, these leaves are instead applied directly to soups and eggs.  They also serve as wrappers for tamales, and are an essential ingredient in traditional Mole Verde.  Even further north in Texas, cheese maker Paula Lambert creates Hoja Santa cheese, a goat cheese wrapped in the plant’s heart-shaped leaves, which she says flavors the cheese with a hint of mint and sassafras.  Anyone who went to summer camp in the Eastern US knows all about sassafras, the tree with 3 distinctly shaped leaves and roots that could be boiled to create a weak and often gritty tea that tasted vaguely like flat root beer…not exactly a religious experience.  The essential oil safrole gives both of these plants this distinctive flavor profile, which has also been compared to anise, licorice and tarragon.  All of these tasty qualities should potentially be enjoyed in moderation, as safrole is known to be carcinogenic in animals.  No sense in knocking on the Pearly Gates any sooner than necessary.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 14th, 2014 at 8:00 am. It is filed under Costa Rica, Nature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.