What does jicama taste like?
Jicama is a delicious starchy root vegetable that has some amazing benefits. Jicama also known as Pachyrhizus erosus is leguminous vine of the Fabaceae family, grown for its edible tubers. It is typically grown as an annual plant, since the plant is killed during the harvest.
FABACEAE FAMILY
The fabaceae family are herbs, vines, shrubs, trees, and lianas found in each temperate and tropical areas. fabaceae is the family within which the peas are the principal part. It features abound 670 families. Fabaceae family is additionally called papillonceae or leguminaceae.
The distinguish options of family Fabaceae member flower is there arrangements of petals. These plants produce legumes and are present all over the world. Bracts are the small leaf like structures at the base of the flowers, It is a leaf or leaf-like structure from the axil out of which a stalk of a flower or an inflorescence arises. Such flowers are then termed as “Bracteate flowers”.
The Fabaceae is a very large group with a worldwide distribution. Members of the family are dominant species in some ecosystems in parts of Africa and Australia and ecologically important for hosting nitrogen-fixing rhizo-bial nodules.
JICAMA
Jicama may be a healthy food to incorporate in your diet. Jicama or the Mexican yam, may be a delicious, sweet-tasting and firm food almost like a sweet potato, although while not edible skin. It’s high in several nutrients, fibre and antioxidants, which may provide health benefits, including improved digestion, weight loss and a reduced risk of disease. Plus, jicama is tasty and crunchy and can be eaten by itself or paired with many other foods.
Jicama is commercially grown in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Mexico and warmer areas of the southwest United States. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as yam bean, although the term yam bean can be another name for jicama.
The other major species of yam beans are also indigenous within America. Pachyrhizus tuberosus are the other two cultivated species. Jicama contains huge fiber content and so excessive consumption leads to digestive disorders like constipation and stomach ache.
WHAT DOES JICAMA LOOKS LIKE
Jicama is a thick-skinned root vegetable with a dark skin. It has a white interior and a flavor just like an apple. It’s similar to a potato, but with far fewer carbs. The skin’s texture is analogous to rutabagas and turnips, and looking on maturity, it will be agent like paper, or nearer to bark.
WHERE TO BUY JICAMA
Many Mexican grocery stores will carry jicama in the produce section, especially between fall and spring when it is in season. Jicama can also be found in organic foods store or a farmer’s market. Choose small to medium size jicama roots. Depending on where you live, you may have a better chance finding them from October to May, at their peak.
HOW TO GROW JICAMA
Jicama may be a vegetable that appears like an outsized potato. Jicama is propagated from a tuber or seed. Growing jicama with the seeds requires soaking of the seed in warm water overnight so as to soften the seed coat and speed germination. The plants shrivel in winter in cool climates however the tubers can shoot once more in spring.
The basis of jicama develops swellings the scale of an outsized turnip, up to five per plant underneath the surface of the bottom. The tubers are harvested the fourth month for small and it takes nine months for large tubers to develop.
BENEFITS OF EATING JICAMA
The benefits of eating Jicama includes the following;
- Jicama is one in every of the good sources of antioxidant and wealthy in alternative nutrients.
- It does not contain any fat. Jicama contains most water and fiber.
- The nutrients contains the Jicama provides benefits to your health.
- Jicama can promote healthy digestion by its fiber.
- It also may help to prevent and relieve constipation.
- Fiber contained in Jicama can help to lower cholesterol. Jicama helps in weight loss and they also have other benefits.
- Jicama does not exactly rise the blood sugar levels. Its for those who are a bit sugar conscious and people with diabetes.
- Eating jicama can supplement the vitamins and minerals the body needs, and enhance the body’s resistance and immunity.
- Jicama is very helpful to the health of the gastrointestinal tract.
- It is a good carbohydrate choice for people with diabetes and others attempting a low-sugar diet.
HOW DO YOU EAT JICAMA
Jicama is always served peeled. The skin is quite fibrous. The green part of the plant is poisonous. Jicama doesn’t really have to be ripe to be eaten. Once harvested and once bought from the shop, they will be eaten . The most common way to use jicama is as a raw garnish or main salad ingredient. You can conjointly eat raw jicama as a snack as you’d carrots or radishes. Jicama also works well in stir-fries.
To retain its fresh texture, wait till the last 3 to 5 minutes of cookery to feature the jicama. Jicama also can be baked, cooked or mashed as another to potatoes. Jicama can be cooked or eaten raw and eat slices like a turnip. It can be use in salads with mandarin oranges, diced red pepper, jalapeño and cilantro. The skin of Jicama is edible. As with all fruits and plants it is recommended to properly wash first before usage.
If you do not like the skin then peel it with a customary vegetable peeler. It’s solely slightly higher than a raw potato, sort of a starchy apple associate with none of the items that creates an apple unique to eat. It is usually eaten fresh with condiments like rice vinegar and a sprinkle of salt. This fresh vegetable additionally makes an honest salad or dish ingredient.
WHAT DOES JICAMA TASTE LIKE?
Jicama tastes good. It’s slightly sweet and crunchy. They have a unique mild earthy root flavor that isn’t really like anything else. They are eaten more for their texture than flavor. The texture is crisp, crunchy, and juicy, and goes well with lime, salt, sugar, or spices. it can be cut in cubes and put into salads, soups, or stews. It can be used in a recipe when the recipe calls for an apple and none is readily available.
WHAT PART OF JICAMA IS TOXIC
Only the flesh of the foundation vegetable itself is safe to eat. Jicama’s skin, stem, leaves, and seeds are toxic. Jicama skin contains an odourless crystalline substance used in insecticides.
STORAGE OF JICAMA
Like most root vegetables, they’re to be stored in an exceedingly dry space at temperature. Don’t keep for too long as it will become dry. It is essential that the tubers remain dry, store unwrapped at cool room temperatures, or in the refrigerator, free from moisture, for 2 to 3 weeks. Once cut, cowl tightly with wrapping, and store cold for up to one week. Each pound of jicama yields about 3 cups chopped or shredded vegetable.
The most important thing to remember when storing jicama is to keep it dry. Whether you store it on the countertop or the refrigerator, making sure it stays dry will keep it fresh much longer. The root may be hold in a plastic bag and place in the refrigerator for many weeks as long as possible provided it remains unpeeled. If you have some left over while preparing a dish, be sure to wrap it and place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
CONCLUSION
You surely can eat jicama raw, the interesting thing about jicama, is that you can only eat what grows below the ground, the leaves that grow above are actually toxic, as is the skin. Jicama or Pachyrhizus erosus is native to Mexico. It is not a cross between watermelon and celery, although its appear a small amount like that. It is a member of the plant family Fabaceae and thus related to beans.