Cooking with Tubers

1 cup = 45 calores

Jicama is a relative of the potato family. It is a popular dietary staple in Latin America. There are many other names for Jicama including; Mexican potato, Mexican yam bean, ahipa, saa got, Chinese turnip, lo bok, and Chinese potato.

How to eat

Jicama skin is usually peeled and the vegetable eaten raw. Raw jicama tastes similar to a pear or apple and does not discolor when exposed to the open air for awhile. Try eating jicama raw by including it into slaws or salads.

When jicama is used in cooking it tends to take on the flavors of the ingredients that it is being combined with. Try jicama as a nice complement to various stir-fry dishes - it blends well with many vegetables and seasonings. 

How to buy

Jicama is available year-round. When purchasing jicama, select tubers that are firm and have dry roots. Make sure that the jicama has an unblemished skin that is not bruised. Once purchased, store jicama for up to two weeks in a plastic bag in your refrigerator.

Sunchokes range in color from dark brown to light brown.

How to eat

When eaten raw, the white flesh of a sunchoke is nutty, sweet and crunchy like a chestnut. Baked in its skin, a sunchoke becomes more like a potato with the mild taste of artichoke hearts.

Try adding sliced sunchokes to marinated vegetable mixtures, or include on an appetizer vegetable platter with dips.

How to buy

The sunchoke/Jerusalem artichoke is mostly grown in gardens in Texas and is harvested in the fall. Widely available in supermarkets, its peak period is September through January, but often continues through the early spring.

Select firm sunchokes that are free from mold and wrinkles. These tubers can be refrigerated, unwashed, in a plastic bag for up to one week.

1 cup = 120 calories

Yucca (also known as manioc or cassava), is a white, starchy tropical vegetable that is widely grown and consumed in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. In many countries, yucca is a dietary staple.

Yucca contains a high amount of vitamin C and carbohydrates and is also a good source of dietary fiber.

How to eat

It is usually eaten boiled, steamed, or in flour form as a thickener or additional ingredient for noodles, cakes, and pastries.

Add yucca with potatoes and other vegetables to beef, chicken, or vegetable-based soups and stews.

How to buy

Fresh yucca is available year round. Look for firm, blemish-free tubers. Store whole yucca as you would potatoes, in a cool, dark, dry place for up to one week. Peeled yucca can be covered with water and refrigerated, or wrapped tightly and frozen for several months.

1 cup = 110 calories

Also known as dasheen, eddo and kalo, taro root is enjoyed in many areas of the world including West Africa, Asia, Central America, South America and the Caribbean and Polynesian islands. This root is most well-known as the ingredient of the Hawaiian dish "poi," or mashed taro root.

How to eat

Taro root is a starchy vegetable and is commonly used in place of potato. The hairy outer coating on its surface is similar to that of a coconut. This outer layer is always removed with caution as the juices secreted by the taro root can cause skin irritation. The use of protective rubber gloves is recommended when handling taro root. 

Taro root is toxic in its raw form so must always be cooked before eating. It takes on a nut-like flavor when cooked. You can fry, bake, roast, boil, or steam taro root as an accompaniment to meat dishes. Taro root can also be used in soups and stews.

How to buy

Select tubers that are firm, hairy, with no wrinkling. Taro root can be stored for up to one week in a cool and dry location, so long as the roots do not dry out.

Hailing from Southeast Asia, water chestnuts are actually roots of an aquatic plant that grows in freshwater ponds, marshes, lakes, and in slow-moving rivers and streams. 

How to eat

The water chestnut is commonly associated with Chinese cooking, but is finding its way into other ethnic meals.

Add water chestnuts to your stir-fries, salads, or any meals where you need a crunchy consistency.

How to buy

Processed and canned water chestnuts can easily be found in most supermarkets. Fresh water chestnuts are more difficult to find, but availablity is increasing.

If you find fresh water chestnuts, select those that are firm with no signs of wrinkling. These will need to be peeled prior to eating and cooking. If fresh tubers are wrapped tightly in a plastic bag, they can be stored for up to one week.

Canned, unopened water chestnuts will store indefinitely. Once opened, canned tubers will keep up to one week in a bowl of water. Be sure to change the water daily to keep the product as “fresh” as possible.