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Here's an interesting question to ponder this afternoon. Do you know what this vegetable is? The WOW Report found this in the produce department at Whole Foods. The produce manager either did not know or did not say what they were, and gave several away. You can see that they are relatively small, judging by the chilis nearby, and even though they look vaguely like sweet potatoes, they are not.
Read on for the answer - but no peeking until you've taken a guess!
The mystery vegetable is a "yacon" or "yacón" (I've seen it with and without the accent). It is a sweet root vegetable original from the Andes mountains. They are crisp, sweet and quite juicy. Apparently, Incan travelers would eat them to satisfy their thirst on long journeys. They can be eaten raw, steamed, baked or roasted and can even be juiced, but the skin is a bit bitter and should probably be scrubbed off.
Update - It seems like the mystery vegetable might instead be an Oca, which is a different type of root vegetable also found in the Andes mountains, althought it is also grown in other parts of the world. The two don't seem to be related, at least not closely. It is prepared in much the same way as yacons are.
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10-26-2006 @9:24AM Jake said... These taste like snozzberries
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10-25-2006 @8:52PM Berkana said... Those would be turmeric tubers if I remember correctly.
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10-25-2006 @9:07PM andrea said... looks like something i would find under my kids bed...yuck!!!!
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10-25-2006 @10:58PM Ming said... My first guess was grub worms :)
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10-26-2006 @12:41AM Dr. Electro said... Yes, yacon is tumeric root. The seeds are extremely spicy and the root is very sweet. I wish somebody would get adventurous and ship some to West Texas. I haven't tasted yacon in over thirty years. Jicama is very plentiful here but all it is is a sugar beet. Gets boring after a while.
I know, some of you can send me a yacon or two for Christmas!!
:D
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10-26-2006 @2:18AM Gwaant said... I'd call it an Oca (Oxalis tuberosa) , or in New Zealand it would be called a New Zealand yam .It's quite common in NZ and I used to have them a lot with the Sunday Roast when I lived there.
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10-26-2006 @1:54AM Emma said... These are yams! A very common New Zealand vegetable - perfect roasted (in their skins) with a nice leg of lamb, chick or any other piece of meat you like! For more information have a look here : http://laughinggastronome.blogspot.com/2006/08/yams.html
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10-26-2006 @2:54AM santos. said... er, yacon and turmeric might be related (i don't know, but judging from the latin names, they aren't), but they aren't the same thing. yacon is smallanthus sonchifolius and turmeric is curcuma longa; both are used as anti-inflammatories/antioxidants/anti-carcinogens. i've never seen them that colour, nor that small. usually at the markets here they are big and drab:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/santos/68253396/
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10-26-2006 @2:32AM Gwaant said... Yacon is completely different from Oca. Not that I've ever seen a Yacon, but if you compare http://www.greenharvest.com.au/Plants/yacon_info.html to http://www.greenharvest.com.au/Plants/oca_info.html you should see that your picture is of an Oca (NZ yam).
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10-26-2006 @10:57AM weno said... in brazil it's called "batata yacon" (yacon potatoe) and it's associated as a diet food because of its low calories.
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10-26-2006 @7:41PM Angie said... You sure it's not a slightly shrivelled pink fir potato. I've got some in my garden. I can post a photo if you like.
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11-14-2006 @9:52AM Paul Yott said... I would like to purchase some yacon (potatoes) My friend in Peru constantly glorifies their medical benefits.
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