The Jicama is Pachyrhizus erosus and is commonly have it away as the Jicama yam ( or yam plant bean ) or Mexican turnip and is part of the yam bean class . It ’s a aboriginal Mexican vine plant whose tuberous root is edible . The etymon is made up of several potato - alike radical with each yield shaped like a sweet Allium cepa with the same sort of xanthous hide . The Jicama does not have the internal layer or peels of an Allium cepa , however , and is wan blank in flesh . It has a odorous flavor and is often eat raw .
The rest of the plant , including the seeds that sprout on the vine , is poisonous . The germ are often juiced ( crushed ) and that juice is used as an insect powder as it contains in high spirits amounts of rotenone .
Jicama is indigenous to Mexico , but has since been distribute to South America and parts of Asia for cultivation .
Growing Conditions Required For Jicama
Jicama grows well in the semitropical mood of Mexico and South America . The plants ask both moisture and loose soil to grow well . antecedent can go down as far as two time and total fruit weight per works can be as much as 20 kilogram ( average is about half that ) . The few that are grown in North America are grown in greenhouses or cautiously crafted tropical gardens . Outdoor attempts in California resulted in excellent vines that produced small tubers . Jicama requires a comparatively long growing time of year , further inhibit its development in much of the U.S.
How to Cook With Jicama
Jicama has a crisp texture similar to in the raw potato or pears and it is mellisonant and starchy , with a cinch similar to green noggin . It is most often eaten raw , sometimes with salt or lemon , or even calcium hydroxide juice and chili powder .
Many cooks make Mexican chili pepper and utilise Jicama as the bulk vegetable ingredient besides the noggin . Mexican eateries also often boast thin wedges of Jicama serve freshly - cut to be dipped in salsa as an alternative to tortilla - style chip . It ’s also often used as a salad topper ( uncoiled or salted ) , as filler in a yield basket , etc .
Jicama can be wangle in many way and has become a popular stir fry ingredient in some part of Asia , especially Vietnam . It ’s also a popular fruit taproom addition in Sumatra and Java . It ’s often used as a replacement for piddle chestnuts since it stay crisp even after boil .
Nutritional Benefits of Jicama
Jicama is high in sugar and is a good dietary fiber source . It ’s mostly water ( about 86 % ) and has little protein or lipids . Its pre - biotic oligofructose insulin is where its sweet flavor comes from . It has trace elements of Vitamin A , atomic number 20 and Fe , but is eminent in Vitamin C and potassium .
It ’s a relatively lowly - calorie food , so it is popular in some weight loss diets and nearly all of its calories are in carbohydrate , make it a black listing item for other dieting .
maybe the greatest welfare many derive from Jicama is its relatively eminent concentration of Omega-6 and smaller immersion of Omega-3 fatty acids . Especially versus it ’s almost non - existent fat depicted object .
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