ndolé
dish / dish-ndole
ンドレ
Ndolé is a staple-like dish in Cameroon whose main ingredients are bitter leafy vegetables of the genus Vernonia (V. amygdalina and V. calvoana).
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Reading the bitterness
Ndolé is a staple-like dish in Cameroon whose main ingredients are the bitter leafy vegetables V. amygdalina and V. calvoana of the genus Vernonia. In the background discussion of a research paper, it is also presented under the name 「ンドレ」 (ndolé) as a representative Cameroonian dish based on bitter vegetables eaten in some African countries.
The source is a paper investigating secondary metabolites and antimicrobial activity in Vernonia species. Its background discussion links the dish name ndolé with the use of Vernonia vegetables as food. Specific preparation methods, including other ingredients such as peanuts, lie outside the scope of this source, but it does establish the dish's place in Cameroonian food culture as one whose main ingredients are bitter leafy vegetables.
The description of ndolé as a 「主食的料理」 (in translation: "staple-like dish") is limited to a secondary mention in the background of a research paper; it does not come from a primary ethnographic study. The same study also examines how the composition of secondary metabolites differs among morphotypes even within the same Vernonia genus. Care is therefore needed before treating 「ンドレに使われるVernonia」 (in translation: "Vernonia used in ndolé") as a single uniform ingredient.
For vernonioside A1, a steroid glycoside isolated from dried leaves of Vernonia amygdalina, the main ingredient of ndolé, a tentative sensory test using a paper disc (1cm², 0.2mm thick) quantified the minimum amount producing bitterness as 7 µg; its bitterness was approximately equal in strength to quinine sulfate. The structurally related vernonioside B1 showed no bitterness even at 200 µg. The authors discuss the presence or absence of hydroxylation at the C16 position as the factor determining whether bitterness is present.
In Cameroon, a local processing practice of squeeze-washing raw or parboiled Vernonia leafy vegetables to remove bitterness and foam has been reported in the background discussion of another study. The leaves are described as becoming tender and retaining their green color when boiled with natron, an alkaline salt composed mainly of sodium carbonate. This is an account of a processing practice, and no measured values for bitterness itself are reported.
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: Checked the description identifying 2 species of bitter leafy vegetable as the main ingredients. / Checked the staple-like characterization given in the background discussion. / Checked the limitation that this is not a primary source.
Checked for this overview: Paper-disc method for the bitterness threshold of 7µg for vernonioside A1 and the absence of bitterness for B1.
Checked for this overview: The local processing practice of removing bitterness by squeeze-washing and boiling with natron.
Follow the connections
ndolé →contains→ bitter leaf →— sensory attribute→ bitterness
ndolé →contains→ vernonioside A1
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Composition and content (1)
Scope: Layer: Food (isolated compound from plant tissue). The compound was obtained from 800 g of dried leaves through fractionation using Amberlite XAD-2, silica gel, and ODS, followed by HPLC purification, and evaluated by a tentative sensory test using a paper disc (1 cm², thickness 0.2 mm).
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dish-ndole —contains→ compound-vernonioside-a1How processing and cooking change it (2)
Scope: Cameroon.
Note: The source names both V. amygdalina and V. calvoana. The object_entity refers only to the former.
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dish-ndole —contains→ organism-vernonia-amygdalinaScope: Layer: Literature (Introduction in a peer-reviewed journal). Background discussion in a paper on processing and storage experiments using V. amygdalina, V. calvoana (bitter and non-bitter strains), and V. colorata collected at an experimental farm in Ngaoundéré, Cameroon.
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dish-ndole —can_be_debittered_by→ "A local processing practice has been reported in which Vernonia leafy vegetables called Ndole (bitter leaf) in Cameroon are squeeze-washed raw or after parboiling to remove bitterness and foam. The leaves are described as becoming tender and retaining their green color when boiled with natron, an alkaline salt composed mainly of sodium carbonate."Culture (1)
Scope: Cameroon.
Note: Based on background discussion in a research paper. A primary ethnographic account has not been collected.
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dish-ndole —has_cultural_role_of→ "Described as a staple-like dish (staple dish) in Cameroon."