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Waterleaf

Waterleaf is a soft, succulent leafy vegetable used fresh or cooked in soups, stews, and vegetable dishes.

Waterleaf — illustrative ingredient image

About Waterleaf

Waterleaf is a soft, succulent leafy vegetable with smooth green leaves and tender, water-filled stems. It is commonly sold as fresh leaves with young stems, though trimming practices vary, and is used raw when young or cooked in soups, stews, sauces, and other vegetable dishes.

Its flavour is generally mild and slightly vegetal. The leaves and stems are more yielding and moist than many firm cooking greens. Cooking quickly softens the vegetable and can release moisture into the dish; longer cooking produces a more integrated, slippery texture.

It is sold fresh as leaves with young stems and may be chopped, bundled, or incorporated as whole leaves. Raw young leaves retain more of their fresh form, while chopping and cooking reduce leaf size, soften the stems, and distribute moisture through soups, stews, sauces, or other dishes.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where waterleaf appears

3 linked foods

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Main dishes

Soups

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for waterleaf

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Waterleaf

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Waterleaf nutrition & diet

Waterleaf nutritional value

Waterleaf, leaves, fresh, raw — WAFCT 04_078

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the named food form.

Calories
40kcal
Protein
2.3g
Carbs
4.3g
Fat
0.7g

Per 100 g edible portion. Source: Vincent et al., FAO/INFOODS Food Composition Table for Western Africa (2019). Carbohydrate is available carbohydrate calculated by difference; square-bracketed fat in the source uses continuous-extraction analysis. Values describe this reference form, not every recipe, cultivar or preparation.

Portions & preparation

Confirm the botanical identity of waterleaf before selecting a reference, because the common name may not identify one consistent plant. Match edible leaves and stems in fresh or cooked form, and distinguish the plain vegetable from soups, stews, sauces, or mixtures containing oil, broth, meat, seafood, or starch.

Compare the right form: Reference must match the confirmed waterleaf species and edible leaves or stems, fresh or cooked; establish identity before comparing forms.

Diet considerations

Waterleaf is plant-derived after its identity is established. Compatibility changes when prepared with meat, fish, shellfish, dairy, eggs, animal fat, cereal thickeners, or coatings. A plain leafy vegetable is not equivalent to a completed soup or stew. Carbohydrate pattern depends on added starches and the portion of the finished preparation.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: FAO/INFOODS Food Composition Table for Western Africa (2019) — 04_078 ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .