Jicama Facts

Sylvia

8 years ago

Jicama also known as Yam bean (pronounced he’-cama) is a Vitamin C rich vegetable native to Central America – from South Mexico to Hicaragm and Costa Rica. It is yellowish-brown colored large turnip-like shaped tuberous roots having creamy succulent white, crisp starchy flesh. IT has been used in several recipe through out the world.

Name	Jicama
Scientific Name	Pachyrhizus erosus
Native	Native to Central America – from South Mexico to Hicaragm and Costa Rica -and has naturalized elsewhere after introduction.
Common/English Name	Mexican Potato, Ream, saa got, ChopSuey B.n, ahipa, Yam Bean. Indian Potato; Chop Suey Bean, Mexican licama, Three-Lobed- Leaver, Mexican Yarn Bean, Chinese potato, Manioc B.n,! Yam Bean, Foumrsoked-Root Yam Bea,Short-Podded Yam Bean
Name in Other Languages	Argentina: Paso, atat Vietnamese: C. eh Diu (Northern Vethigh) Khmer: PeThek hrksh: Kfik10 Bityrgice Mexio: licarna Thai: Man Kam Huspackua, Man Lao aya: MeheoChikam Chinese: Bai Gua, Dou Shu, Fan Ge, Fan Ko French: °phone Bullamme, Dohs,. 11Mereux India: Shankalu (Bengali), Kasaur (Ohm) Kaliegn: ragiolo Pato, Dolico Bulbows Brasil: Wag Danish: Mexikansk l’amstotnne Venezuela: Caro. De Cabello Now, Opera Peru: ‘Kama. liguime Laotian: Man Ph’ats Malaysia: Mmgkion, Mengkuan, Sengkuang German: tramhohne, Yarnabohne, Knollige Japanese: Buzuimo Nepalese: Ks Burmese:Pre Blyi, ane-Saar Dutch: Bengkoewang, Hoewi ins, Hoewi Hirim Melanesia: Beingkawang, Besusu (Javanese)
Description	Jicama is a subglobose, large turnip-like shaped tuberous vegetable consumed due to its numerous health promoting benefits. Although seeds, leaves, flowers, pods are toxin, jicama root is full of essential nutrients, mineral, vitamins and lipids.
Plant Growth Habit	Vigorous, subtropical and tropical, climbing legume vine
Growing Climate	Semitropical and tropical climates
Soil	Prefers a rich, sandy, moist, loam soil along with good drainage which is high in potassium
Plant Size	4–5 m long
Leaf	Leaves are pinnately trifoliate, coarse, stipules lan¬ceolate or falcate, 0.5-1 cm long, petiole 10-15 cm long.
Leaflets	Leaflets are shortly stalked obliquely ovate or rhomboid, base cuneate, apex acute, green 6.5-13cm long by 5-15 cm wide
Flower	Shortly pedicelled pretty, big, blue pea flowers
Pods	Pods are subsessile, linear, acuminate, compressed, finely pubescent 5-10 seeded 7.5-15cm long and 1.2-1.6 cm wide
Root shape & size	subglobose, large turnip-like shaped tuberous roots 10-20 cm or more across
Root Weight	3 kg or more
Root color	Yellowish-brown, coarse, membranous
Root Flesh Color	Creamy succulent white, crisp starchy flesh that resembles raw potato or pear.
Root Peel	Thick dust-brown color inedible skin
Flavor/aroma	Slightly sweet, little nutty, starchy, crispy and pleasant, reminiscent of apples or raw green beans
Root Taste	Best described as a cross between a water chestnut and an apple.
Seed	Seeds flat rounded to squarish, olive-green to brown or reddish brown
Varieties/Types	jicama de agua, Pachyrhizus tuberosus (Amazonian yam bean, jíquima), jicama de leche, Pachyuhizus ahipa (Andean yam bean) and Pachyrhizus erosus (Mexican yam bean)
Major Nutrition	Vitamin C 14.1 mg (15.67%) Total dietary Fiber 4.9 g (12.89%) Iron 0.57 mg (7.13%) Carbohydrate 8.82 g (6.78%) Copper 0.046 mg (5.11%) Vitamin B6 0.04 mg (3.08%) Vitamin E 0.46 mg (3.07%) Potassium 135 mg (2.87%) Magnesium 11 mg (2.62%) Manganese 0.057 mg (2.48%)
Health Benefits	High Blood Pressure Iron deficiency anemia Cardiovascular health Proper Growth Can Improve Your Mood Helps heal wounds Repairs Damaged Skin
Calories in 1cup (100gm)	38
Precautions:	Consuming jicama seeds encountered respiratory system failure as well as loss of life in Two hours of consumption. Avoid consuming seeds, leaves and pods of the jicama plant since they are extremely poisonous.
How to Eat	In Southeast Asia Root tubers and immature pods (substitute for French beans) are eaten as vegetables. Crisp white flesh can be sliced, diced or cut into strips for use as a garnish, in salads, or with dips. It is often served as a snack, sprinkled with lime or lemon juice and a dash of chili powder. Crispy Jicama after boiling and serves as a textural substitute for water chestnuts. Young tubers are consumed raw in salads, or cooked as vegetable or chutney and in pickles. Tubers are sliced and consumed fresh whole or in vegetable salads and chop suey. They are eaten cooked, roasted, braised or simmered in soups, or even cooked in stir-fried dishes with seafood and meat like shrimps and dried squid or cuttlefish or conserved in vinegar. It is cut into cubes and used as an ingredient for a mixed fruit cocktail. Slivers of the peeled tubers are combined with other vegetables and fruit in a vegetarian dish called `rujak’ which is consumed along with a spicy peanut sauce as well as prawn paste in Malaysia and Indonesia. It is a main ingredient in the Malaysian specialty called ‘popish’ and the Chinese salad, `yusheng’. Jicama is also a source of a starch used in custards and puddings in Latin America.

Jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus) Scientific Classification

Scientific name	Pachyrhizus erosus
Kingdom	Plantae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta
Order	Fabales
Family	Fabaceae ⁄ Leguminosae
Genus	Pachyrhizus Rich. ex DC
Species	Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urb.
Super division	Spermatophyta
Division	Magnoliophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida
Sub Class	Rosidae

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