Chaya - Update

Sonia, I don't have reliable information on chaya. I've heard a lot of differing opinions. And I see these same varying opinions on the Internet. Some people say that they drop a leaf or two in their smoothies and don't have a problem. Other references warn of toxicity (cyanide compound) with raw chaya. Most references and people I've talked to say that chaya needs to be cooked for safety. Now the cooking times I've heard are all over the ballpark. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. 20 minutes. Most everyone who eats it that I've asked, uses chaya boiled. It's added to soups. But I've talked with one person who routinely uses a few leaves in stir fries. And another who boils the leaves and drinks the broth as a tea.

So things are up in the air. Apparently 3-4 leaves are relatively safe to consume if raw or lightly cooked. But not totally safe. On the other side of the coin, cooking for 20 minutes eliminates the cyanide danger, so consumption is safe. 

One other thing. I was recently told that one should NOT cook chaya in an aluminum pan.