Pandan Spice Plant - Amaryllifolius pandanus - Indoors/Out-Live Plant 2.5" Pot

Pandanus amaryllifolius is an Asian herb in the Pandanus (screwpine) genus, which is commonly known as pandan leaves and is used widely in Southeast Asian cooking as a flavoring. The characteristic aroma of pandan is caused by the aroma compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which also gives white bread, jasmine rice and basmati rice (as well as bread flowers Vallaris glabra) their typical smell. The plant is rare in the wild, but is widely cultivated. It is an upright, green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long, narrow, blade-like leaves and woody aerial roots. The plant is sterile, flowers only grow very rarely, and is propagated by cuttings. In Bangladesh it is called ketaki, along with the other variety of pandan there (Pandanus fascicularis), and is used to enhance the flavor of pulao, biryani and sweet coconut rice pudding, payesh. It is called pandan wangi in Indonesian, hsun hmway, pandan in Filipino, bai tooey in Thai, rampe in Sinhala, sleuk toi in Khmer, Daun Pandan in Nonya cooking lá dứa in Vietnamese and बासमतिया पौधा [bɑːsmət̪ɪjɑː pɑʊd̪ʱɑː] "fragrant plant" in Magahi and Bhojpuri due to its vanilla like fragrance. The leaves are used either fresh or dried, and are commercially available in frozen form in Asian grocery stores in nations where the plant does not grow. They have a nutty, botanical fragrance which enhances the flavor of Indonesian, Singaporean, Filipino, Malaysian, Thai, Bangladeshi, Vietnamese, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Khmer and Burmese foods, especially rice dishes and cakes. The leaves are sometimes steeped in coconut milk, which is then added to the dish. They may be tied in a bunch and cooked with the food. They may also be woven into a basket which is used as a pot for cooking rice. Pandan chicken, or gai ob bai toey, is a Thai dish with chicken wrapped in pandan leaves and fried. The leaves are also used as a flavoring for desserts such as pandan cake and sweet beverages. Also, Filipinos use pandan as a flavoring in buko pandan salad. Bottled pandan extract is available in shops; it often contains green food coloring. As a house plant in cooler regions it prefers a window location with some sun. They can also be grown outside in the summer and indoors in the winter. Hardy in zones 8-11. In the house keep the plants evenly moist, not wet or dry.

• Zones 8-11, patio or indoors
• Proper name: Amaryllifoliu pandanus
• Prefers sun, keep evenly moist, not wet or dry
• Easy to grow Asian herb