Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius) is an aromatic plant loved across tropical Asia, called bai toei (ใบเตย) in Thailand. Its sweet, rounded scent — the heart of which is the compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, the same note found in cooked glutinous rice — is used to perfume sweets, drinks and dishes.

Thai traditional medicine is said to have called it a herb that settles the mind. PROSEA records that a decoction of the leaves has been used as a sedative when one is restless, and that it has been used in baths taken to regain calm.

In the herbal sauna op samun phrai, steaming pandan fills the room with a mellow sweetness quite unlike the spicier herbs. Alternating heat and cooling down is the local way of taking it. At home the leaf is paired with coconut milk in desserts, brewed as tea, and added to a herbal bath.

This is an English summary. The full article was written in Japanese. Original article in Japanese →