Jicama Benefits (Ayurveda Insights)

CONSTITUTIONAL & METABOLIC INSIGHTS

Keep cool with Jicama. Foods with astringent taste, like Jicama, are often cooling and refreshing. Jicama's sweetness is restorative on a sweltering summer day.

Astringency reduces summer puffiness. It also gives Jicama a exciting crunch. This crunch makes Jicama an excellent substitute for croutons in a salad. Serve them instead of chips at your next barbecue. They go well with any sauce or marinade.

Jicama is high in carbohydrates and dietary fiber. It's sweet flavor comes from the oligofructose inulin which is a prebiotic. Pre-biotics supply sugars to the bacteria in probiotics, greatly increasing their effectiveness. Jicama is 86-90% water, and high in vitamins C, A and B, along with calcium and phosphorus.

About Jicama

Although Jicama appears like a dusty old stone, it's taste and texture are refreshingly sweet and crisp. Jicama is the only root in the bean family consumed as a food. Licorice root, the other edible root of the legume family, is largely consumed as an herb. Jicama, like licorice root, is sweet and starchy, reminiscent of apples or raw green beans. In contrast to the root, the rest of the plant is very poisonous. Although native to South America, where it has been cultivated for centuries, has become popular in Southeast Asia where it was propogated by Spaniards.

Cooking Jicama

In its native habitat, Jicama is served as street food with lime and a pinch of fiery cayenne. Served raw and julien sliced, jicama makes a crunchy addition to salsas and salads. Cut into squares, it enhances a fresh fruit salad. It can also be cooked as a potato, grilled, stewed, mashed, etc. In Asian cuisine, it is sometimes used as a substitute for water chestnut and paired with grilled fish or sesame oil. It is also cooked in soups and stir-fried dishes.

Buying & Preparation

The tubers are sweetest when grown in winter. Medium sized, firm tubers with dry roots are best. Avoid large sizes, which may be woody and less sweet. Avoid wet or soft spots which may indicate rot.