Africa

Uziza Leaf

Piper guineense (leaf).

Leaf.

Part Used

Fresh, shredded; also sold dried.

Form

Same local names as the seed: uziza (Igbo), iyere (Yoruba).

Nigeria (Igbo, Yoruba, Edo, Efik regions), spreading to Cameroon and Benin.

Peppery and aromatic, pale and fresh-tasting compared with the sharper seed.

Leafy vegetable and aromatic herb added toward the end of cooking soups.

Ofe owerri; Edo black soup (omoebe), alongside scent leaf and bitter leaf; uziza pepper soup.

Scent leaf (Ocimum gratissimum), bitter leaf, crayfish, palm oil.

Add fresh, shredded leaves in the final minutes of cooking to preserve their peppery aroma; dried leaves can go in slightly earlier.

Fresh leaves keep a few days refrigerated; dried leaves keep several months sealed.

No close substitute; a small amount of crushed uziza seed plus a mild leafy green can approximate the effect in a pinch.

Same vine as uziza seed – the leaf and berry are used as distinct culinary ingredients with different flavor profiles and different dishes.

Not a dry blend component; used fresh or dried as a whole leaf.