Heart of palm

Heart of palm is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees, most notably the coconut (Cocos nucifera), juçara (Euterpe edulis), açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea), palmetto (Sabal spp.), and peach palm. Heart of palm may be eaten on its own, and often it is eaten in a salad. Hearts of palm are traditionally harvested in the cultures of Southeast Asia and in South and Central America.

Names

Major local names for heart of palm include:

palm cabbage or palmetto (Florida and Trinidad)

palmito (South and Central America)

ubod (in the Philippines) and umbut (Borneo, Malay Peninsula)

củ hủ dừa in Vietnam;

Latinates cœur de palmier (in French); corazón de palma or col de palma (in Spanish); coração de palma (Portuguese) and cuore di palma (in Italian).

Nutrition

Hearts of palm are rich in fiber, potassium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, copper, vitamins B2, B6, and C. They are ranked as a "good" source of protein, riboflavin, and potassium, and as a "very good source" of dietary fiber, vitamin C, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, and especially, manganese, along with being a good ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The high sodium content noted on the chart for hearts of palm relates to the canned product; it is not present in the fresh product.

Cultivation

Harvesting and eating heart of palm is traditional in the cultures of Southeast Asia and South and Central America, pre-dating the colonial era. The species used depend on the region.

In Southeast Asia, the dominant source of hearts of palm are coconuts (Cocos nucifera). Other palms species used include rattans (Calamus spp.), fishtail palms (Caryota spp.), areca palm (Areca catechu), Linospadix spp., Arenga spp., sago palms (Metroxylon sagu), and buri palms (Corypha spp.), among others.