How to Eat Moringa Seed Pods
Very often, people ask us, if the long pods that hang from
Moringa trees, are edible.
"Can I eat the seed pods? Are the drumsticks considered edible?"
Here is the answer:
Yes, you can eat the pods. We do! I happen to think that they are only really delicious, when they are very young - about the size of green beans, or what you might call, "string beans".
At that age, they are sweet, crisp, and very tasty! When they get much larger than that, they tend to have a "stringy" or "woody" texture to them - which we do not think tastes very good. However, in many other countries, people do eat the pods when they are larger - and seem to love the taste! You can eat the entire pod, seeds and all - but we think the little ones are the best! Some grow straight, and some "curl up", but they are all - edible.
"Hi! I'm Morey, the Moringa Oleifera
Seed! My tree grows pods, that you can eat!"
The ones below, are too old for us to eat.
Young seed pods that are about the size we like to eat; about pencil-size. They are hanging down from the tree, amid the Moringa blossoms and leaves.
Many people eat
the seed pods, or
drumsticks,
even when they
are several feet long. They usually cut them into small pieces, boil them, add salt or other seaonings,and eat them that way. We also have heard, that they scrape the insides of
the pods, after they have cooked them, and add that to soups and stews.
As I stated earlier,
we prefer them
when they are
young and tender,
but millions of
people around the
world, like them
prepared in the method above, and who is to say, but they are right!
A few ways that Moringa drumsticks, or seed pods can be used:
When they are very young, about 5"-8" long, you can eat the seed pods exactly as you would eat green beans. They are delicious, eaten raw, right from the trees - or they can be cooked and eaten as any vegetable. We have added them to salads, chopped into little pieces, and thoroughly enjoyed the flavor and texture that they add. Try substituting Moringa seed pods in any dish that calls for green beans, but you will find that the baby Moringa seed pods are delicious - all by themselves!
We also eat them when they are a bit thicker - roughly the thickness of your thumb, but they require a longer cooking time, to be easy to eat. The older pods taste like fresh asparagus, and can be substituted for that vegetable, in recipes.
Remember - if you eat all of your Moringa pods, you will not have any seeds of your own to plant, so eat some and let some of them mature. Moringa trees are prolific producers of pods - there will be plenty to eat, and lots more of them to give you seeds.
From one of our readers - another way to eat pods: Kaeng som on Wikipedia
I Love Moringa
the fast-growing, nutritious, delicious gift from God
This page was last updated: August 28, 2022
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