forfoodresources.Theseedscanalsobepressed
to make a moisturizing, anti-inflammatoryoilthat’s
becominga staple for vitamin-richfacebalms,
shampoos,anddeodorants.
Butmoringaismakingthemostnoiseatthe
table.Itsvegetaltasteis alittlelike spinachmixed
withmatcha;intheU.S.,it’smostlyfoundinpow-
deredformbecausetheleavesaretoodelicate
to transportlongdistances.Chefs canuseit in
dishestoaddprotein.AtLalitoindowntown
Manhattan,the powderissprinkledinto$15
chickpeaguacamole;uptown,attheSenegalese
cafe Teranga,itfeaturesina $ 5 latte.Health-
mindedchainVitalityBowlsaddsmoringatoits
VB blend,a keyingredientintheWarrioraçaibowl,
whichalsoincludesgranola,bananas,andbroccoli.
“I’veseenit explodeoverthelastfouryears,”says Jed
Fahey, assistantprofessorattheSchoolofMedicineatJohns
HopkinsUniversity. Hecameacross moringa in the late
1990sandthoughtthetrop-
ical tree could help
support low-income
communities.
Afast-growingsupplieris KuliKuli
Inc.ofOakland,Calif. FounderLisa
Curtiswasintroducedtomoringaas
aPeaceCorpsvolunteerinNigera
decadeago,whenshewasa vegetar-
ianwithouta lotofproteinoptions.
ThefoodnotonlyenergizedCurtis,
it alsogavehera businessidea:In
2014 shestartedthecompanywith
$53,000viaa crowdfunding cam-
paign. In 2018, Kuli Kuli’s sales
topped$ 5 million. Thecompany,
whichhasplantedthetreesinHaiti,
offersassorted-sizepackagesofpow-
deredmoringa,aswellaspowerbarsandenergyshots.In
February, Kuli Kuli closed$ 5 millioninSeriesBfundingled
byGriffithFoodsandtheKelloggCo.’sventurecapitalfund
Eighteen94CapitalLLC.
NeilZevnik,a privatechefwhoseclientshaveincluded
ReeseWitherspoonandCharlizeTheron,hasbecomea
moringafanpartlybecauseofitshumanimpact:Besides
beinggoodforyou,it’sa sustainablebusinessinsub-Saharan
Africaandelsewhere.“Iespeciallylikethesocialaspectofit,”
he says. “Andthat’sbecomeimportanttothe people I cook
for.”Zevnikaddsit tocoldsoupsandpestos,aswellasfruit
smoothiestocutthe sweetness.Recentlyhe wassurprisedto
findfreshmoringaproduceattheHollywoodFarmersMarket
fromThaoFamilyFarm,afavoritesuppliertobuzzyL.A.
restaurantssuchasNight + MarketandRépublique.
It’safarcryfromthefirsttimeJohnsHopkins’sFahey
encounteredit inGhana.“Itturnedouttobe inratstew,”he
says. “That’s one application I don’t need to see again.”66
SuperfoodsareascommonasAvengersthesedays. Thegood
guys ofthekitchenincludecholesterol-zappingoats,almonds
thattackleheartdisease,andchiaseeds todelivera round-
housetodiabetes.Moringa,however,is a morepowerfulhero
thanmost.Itssmall,tenderleavescontainallnineessential
aminoacids,makingit a completesourceofprotein.It’salso
richiniron,vitaminB6,andpotassium.
OriginallyhailingfromnorthernIndiaandtheHimalayas,
thefast-growing,drought-resistanttreeisnowcultivated
from WestAfrica to Mexicofor communities that struggleSUMMER FOODSPECIAL Bloombergegg June 2 4, 2019Packedwithproteinand
vegetablenutrition,moringa adds
earthyflavortoa anymeal
ByKateKrader
Photograph by DannyKimINSIDERINGREDIENTTROPICAL
SUPERSMOOTHIE
Recipe adaptedfrom
chefNeilZevnik
Inablender, combine
1 ripe mediumbanana,
½cupchopped
pineapple,½cup
choppedmango,⅓cup
light coconutmilk,
¼cupdairyornutmilk,
1 tbspmoringapowder,
¼tspturmeric,and
a handfuloficecubes.
Pureeuntilsmooth
andserveincold
glasses.Makestwo
8-ounce smoothies.