Heart of palm - wikipedia Heart of palm Fresh heart of palm Heart of palm is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees ( notably the coconut ( Cocos nucifera ), palmito juçara ( Euterpe edulis ), Açaí palm ( Euterpe oleracea ), sabal ( Sabal spp. ), pupunha and pejibaye ( Bactris gasipaes ) palms ). Harvesting of many non-cultivated or wild single - stemmed palms results in palm tree death ( e.g. Geonoma edulis ). However, other palm species are clonal or multi-stemmed plants ( e.g. Prestoea acuminata, Euterpe oleracea ) and moderate harvesting will not kill the entire clonal palm. Heart of palm may be eaten on its own, and often it is eaten in a salad. An alternative to wild heart of palm are palm varieties which have undergone a process of adaptation to become a domesticated farm species. The main variety that has been domesticated is the botanical species Bactris gasipaes, known in Ecuador as chontaduro, in Brazil and Costa Rica as palmito, and in English as the peach palm. This variety is the most widely used for canning. Peach palms are self - suckering and produce multiple stems, up to 40 on one plant, so harvesting several stems from a plant is not so expensive because the plant can live on. Another advantage it has over other palms is that it has been selectively bred to eliminate the vicious thorns of its wild cousins. Since harvesting is still a labor - intensive task, palm hearts are regarded as a delicacy. As of 2008, Costa Rica is the primary source of fresh palm hearts in the US. The Edible Palm Company located in Orlando, Florida has been the largest importer of sustainably farmed Fresh Hearts of Palm from Costa Rica to the United States since 2002. Peach palm is also cultivated in Hawaii, and now has limited distribution on the mainland, primarily to the restaurant trade. Florida 's wild Sabal palmetto or cabbage palm was once a source of hearts of palm but is now protected by conservation law. Contents 1 Harvesting 2 Nutrition 3 See also 4 References Harvesting Heart of palm being prepared in Brazil for sale When harvesting the cultivated young palm, the tree is cut down and the bark is removed leaving layers of white fibers around the center core. During processing the fibers are removed leaving the center core or heart of palm. The center core is attached to a slightly more fibrous cylindrical base with a larger diameter. The entire cylindrical center core and the attached base are edible. The center core is considered more of a delicacy because of its lower fiber content. Nutrition Heart of Palm Nutritional value per 100 g ( 3.5 oz ) Energy 79.5 kJ ( 19.0 kcal ) Carbohydrates 3.1 g Sugars 0.0 g Dietary fiber 1.6 g Fat 0.39 g Protein 1.55 g Vitamins ( % DV ) Qty Vitamin A equiv. ( 3 % ) 23.4 μg Vitamin C ( 2 % ) 1.9 mg Minerals Calcium ( 5 % ) 47 mg Iron ( 16 % ) 2.09 mg Sodium ( 23 % ) 349 mg Link to USDA Database entry Units μg = micrograms mg = milligrams IU = International units Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Source : USDA Nutrient Database Hearts of palm are rich in fibers, potassium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, copper, vitamins B2, B6, and C. ( 1 ) See also Deckenia nobilis References Wikimedia Commons has media related to heart of palm. Jump up ^ Sylvester, O. ; Avalos, G. ( 2009 ). Illegal palm heart ( Geonoma edulis ) harvest in Costa Rican national parks : patterns of consumption and extraction. Economic Botany. 63 ( 2 ) : 179 - 189. ^ Jump up to : Zeldes, Leah A. ( 2010 - 11 - 17 ). `` Eat this ! Heart of palm, an exotic taste of the tropics ''. Dining Chicago. Chicago 's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc. Retrieved 2011 - 05 - 18. ^ Jump up to : Rose Kahele ( August -- September 2007 ). `` Big Island Hearts ''. Hana Hou ! Vol. 10, No. 4. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heart_of_palm&oldid=835623424 '' Categories : Edible palms Stem vegetables Latin American cuisine Hidden categories : Commons category with local link different than on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français Gaelg Galego Italiano עברית Basa Jawa Latina Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Svenska Tagalog 11 more Edit links This page was last edited on 9 April 2018, at 20 : 15. About Wikipedia

Question: where do the hearts of palm come from
Answer: the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees; the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees (notably the coconut (Cocos nucifera), palmito juçara (Euterpe edulis), Açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea), sabal (Sabal spp.), pupunha and pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes) palms); from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees (notably the coconut (Cocos nucifera), palmito juçara (Euterpe edulis), Açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea), sabal (Sabal spp.), pupunha and pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes) palms)