Leek: Difference between revisions

| name = Leek

| genus = ''[[Allium]]''

| species = ''[[Allium ampeloprasum]]'' L.

| group = Leek Group (other names are used, e.g., Porrum Group)

| cultivar = Many, see text

| water = 83 g

| kJ = 255

| protein = 1.5 g

| fat = 0.3 g

| sugars = 3.9 g

| calcium_mg = 59

| iron_mg = 2.1

| magnesium_mg = 28

| phosphorus_mg = 35

| potassium_mg = 180

| manganese_mg = 0.481

| vitC_mg = 12

| thiamin_mg = 0.06

| riboflavin_mg = 0.03

| niacin_mg = 0.4

| pantothenic_mg = 0.14

| vitB6_mg = 0.233

| folate_ug = 64

| betacarotene_ug = 1000

| lutein_ug = 1900

| vitE_mg = 0.92

| vitK_ug = 47

| source_usda = 1

| note = [https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169246/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]

TheA '''leek''' is a [[vegetable]], a [[cultivar]] of ''[[Allium ampeloprasum]]'', the broadleaf wild leek ([[synonym (taxonomy)|syn.]] ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a [[plant stem|stem]] or stalk. The [[genus]] ''[[Allium]]'' also contains the [[onion]], [[garlic]], [[shallot]], [[scallion]], [[chivechives]],<ref name=Block2010>{{cite book|author=Block, E.|title=Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6AB89RHV9ucC|publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry|year=2010|isbn=978-0-85404-190-9}}</ref> and [[Allium chinense|Chinese onion]]. Three closely related vegetables, [[elephant garlic]], [[kurrat]] and Persian leek or ''tareh'', are also cultivars of ''A.&nbsp;ampeloprasum'', although different in their uses as food.<ref name="AN">{{cite web |url=http://www.allallergy.net/fapaidfind.cfm?cdeoc=684 |title=AllergyNet&nbsp;— Allergy Advisor Find |publisher=Allallergy.net |access-date=April 14, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615004222/http://allallergy.net/fapaidfind.cfm?cdeoc=684 |archive-date=June 15, 2010 }}</ref>

Historically, many [[scientific name]]s were used for leeks, but they are now all treated as cultivars of ''A. ampeloprasum''.<ref name="WCSP_294972">{{Citation |contribution=Allium ampeloprasum |title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |url= http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=294972 |access-date=2013-02-01}}</ref> The name ''leek'' developed from the [[Old English]] word {{Lang|ang|lēac}}, from which the modern English name for [[garlic]] also derives.<ref name="Foley2006">{{cite book |author=Caroline Foley|title=The A-Z of Allotment Vegetables |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvn_5cnprUUC&pg=PA75 |year=2006|publisher=New Holland Publishers |isbn=978-1-84537-283-5 |pages=75}}</ref> {{Lang|ang|Lēac}} means 'onion' in Old English and is a cognate with languages based on Old Norse; Danish ''{{Lang|da|løg}}'', Icelandic ''{{Lang|is|laukur}}'', Norwegian ''{{Lang|sv|løk}}'' and Swedish ''{{Lang|sv|lök}}''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leek definition and meaning |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/leek |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=[[Collins English Dictionary]]}}</ref> German useuses ''{{Lang|de|Lauch}}'' for leek and; in Dutch, ''{{Lang|nl|look}}'' is used for the whole onion genus, (''[[Allium]])''.

==FormCultivation==

Leeks have a mild, onion-like taste. In its raw state, the vegetable is crunchy and firm. The edible portions of the leek are the white base of the leaves (above the roots and stem base), the light green parts, and to a lesser extent, the dark green parts of the leaves. The dark green portion is usually discarded because it has a tough texture, but it can be sautéed, or more commonly added to stock for flavor.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Librarie Larousse|year=1984|title=Larousse Gastronomique: The World's Greatest Cooking Encyclopedia|publisher=The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited}}</ref> A few leaves are sometimes tied with twine and other herbs to form a ''[[bouquet garni]]''.

Leeks are typically chopped into slices 5–10&nbsp;mm thick. The slices have a tendencytend to fall apart, due to the layered structure of the leek. The different ways of preparing the vegetable are:

Because of their symbolism in [[Wales]] (see below), they have come to be used extensively in that country's cuisine. Elsewhere in Britain, leeks have come back intoin favor only in the last 50 years or so,{{reltime|date=August 2023}} having been overlooked for several centuries.<ref>[[Jane Grigson]], ''Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book'', (Penguin Books, 1978, {{ISBN|0-14-046859-5}}) p 291</ref>

Raw leek (bulb and lower leaves) is 83% water, 14% [[carbohydrate]]s, 1% [[protein (nutrient)|protein]], and contains negligible [[fat]] (table). A {{convert|100|g|oz|frac=2|adj=on}} reference amount supplies {{convert|255|kJ|kcal}} of [[food energy]], and is a rich source (20% or more of the [[Daily Value]], DV) of [[vitamin K]] (45% DV) and [[manganese]] (23% DV). It is a moderate source (10-1910–19% DV) of [[vitamin B6]], [[folate]], [[vitamin C]], and [[iron]] (table).

The [[Hebrew Bible]] talks of {{Lang|he|חציר}}, identified by commentators as leek, and says it is abundant in Egypt.<ref>Glantz, ''Animal and plant life in the Torah, חי וצומח בתורה'', p. 204</ref>{{full|date=April 2023}} Dried specimens from archaeological sites in [[ancient Egypt]], as well as wall carvings and drawings, indicate that the leek was a part of the Egyptian diet from at least the second millennium [[BCE]]. Texts also show that it was grown in [[Mesopotamia]] from the beginning of the second -millennium BCE.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zohary|first1=Daniel|last2=Hopf|first2=Maria|last3=Weiss|first3=Ehud|title=Domestication of plants in the Old World : the origin and spread of domesticated plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780199549061|page=195|edition=4th}}</ref>

Leeks were eaten in [[ancient Rome]] and regarded as superior to [[garlic]] and [[onions]].<ref name="sanderson">{{cite book |editor1-last=Prance |editor1-first=Ghillean |editor2-last=Nesbitt |editor2-first=Mark |last1=Sanderson |first1=Helen |last2=Renfrew |first2=Jane M. |date=2005 |title=The Cultural History of Plants |publisher=Routledge |page=121 |isbn=0415927463}}</ref> The 1st century CE cookbook ''[[Apicius]]'' contains four recipes involving leeks.<ref name="sanderson"/> Raw leeksleek werewas the favorite vegetable of the Emperor [[Nero]], who consumed it in soup or in oil, believing it beneficial to the quality of his voice.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pliny, ''HistoriaThe Naturalis'',Elder |title=Natural History |location=Book XIX, N° 33 |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Rackham,_Jones,_%26_Eichholz)/Book_19 |access-date=19 September 2023 |quote=It may also be suitable to mention the leek in this family of plants, especially as importance has recently been given to the chive by the emperor Nero, who on certain fixed days of every month always ate chives preserved in oil, and nothing else, not even bread, for the sake of his voice. |author1-link=Pliny The Elder }}</ref> This earned him the nickname "Porrophagus", or "Leek Eater".<ref name="sanderson"/>

The leek is one of the [[National symbols of Wales|national emblems of Wales]], and it or the [[daffodil]] (in Welsh, the daffodil is known as "Peter's leek", ''Cenhinen Bedr'') is worn on [[St. David's Day]]. According to one [[Welsh mythology|legendWelsh myth]], [[Cadwaladr|King Cadwaladr]] of [[Kingdom of Gwynedd|Gwynedd]] ordered his soldiers to identify themselves by wearing the vegetable on their helmets in an ancient battle against the [[Saxons]] that took place in a leek field.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fRZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA181 |title=The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction |volume=5 |year=1825 |place=London |publisher=J Limbard}}</ref> The Elizabethan poet [[Michael Drayton]] stated, in contrast, that the tradition was a tribute to Saint David, who ate only leeks when he was fasting.<ref>Cumo, Christopher, ''Encyclopedia of Cultivated Plants: From Acacia to Zinnia'', ABC-CLIO, 2013, p.561.</ref>{{full|date=April 2023}}

The leek has been known to be a symbol of Wales for a long time; [[Shakespeare]], for example, refers to the custom of wearing a leek as an “ancient"ancient tradition”tradition" in ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]''. In the play, [[Henry V of England|Henry]] tells the Welsh officer [[Fluellen]] that he, too, is wearing a leek "for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman." The 1985 and 1990 [[British one pound coin]]s bear the design of a leek in a coronet, representing Wales. One version of the 2013 British one pound coin shows a leek with a daffodil.

Alongside the other national floral emblems of countries currently and formerly in the Commonwealth or part of the United Kingdom (including the English [[Tudor Rose]], Scottish [[thistle]], Irish [[shamrock]], Canadian [[maple leaf]], and [[Indian lotus]]), the Welsh leek appeared on the [[coronation gown of Elizabeth II]]. ItNorman wasHartnell designed by Norman Hartnellit; when Hartnell asked if he could exchange the leek for the more aesthetically pleasing Welsh daffodil, he was told no.<ref name=Coronation>{{cite news|url=http://www.stgeorgesnews.org/1998/05f06.htm|title=SILVER AND GOLD|publisher=Waterlooville Parish Church|author=Rosemary Goulding|date=June 1998|access-date=8 February 2013}}</ref>

In Romania, the leek is also widely considered a symbol of [[Oltenia]], a historical region in the country's southwestern part of the country.<ref name="Mirodan1987">{{cite book|author=Vladimir Mirodan|title=The Balkan Cookbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7w0QngEACAAJ|year=1987|publisher=Pelican Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-88289-738-7|page=63}}</ref>

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*[[Laukaz]], a [[rune]] that has been speculated to mean “leek”"leek"