By Matt Gibson
Native to Mexico , Central , and South America , Jicama is a ascendant vegetable and a basic of several latin cuisines for centuries . Jicama is also called Mexican white potato vine , Mexican yam plant noggin , ahipa , saa scram , Chinese turnip , lo bok , kuzuimo , dolique tubereaux , pais patate , Chinese potato , Mexican water chestnut , unfermented turnip , Seng Kwang , yacon , hecama , and shank aloo ( or shankalu ) .
A distant relative of the potato , jicama is really a climb legume plant . After the Spanish invade and colonise large glob of Central America , Spanish traders introduce the plant to the Philippines , and then to Europe and other parts of the world . Jicama has since become a staple in southeasterly asian cuisines and has late become a common sight in produce departments in America .
Jicama can be enjoyed raw in salads or as a standalone snack , or cooked in a smorgasbord of way of life , including roasting , stir - frying , or just tossing it into soup or stew . Adding a elusive sweetness and crispiness to formula , Jicama ’s smell is described as a hybridisation between a potato and a pear , or a body of water chestnut tree and an apple . Either way , this versatile tuber can be used in both piquant and sweet dish alike . The large roots can grow to press a few ounce up to six pounds .
Jicama is educate for its gigantic taproot . After harvest , the uneatable outer - level or skin of the Jicama root must be removed to get to the only comestible part of the works , the flesh of the taproot . The above - ground parts of the flora , including the 15 to 20 foot foresightful vine , the leaf , the flowers , seedpod , and seminal fluid , as well as the outer Sir Robert Peel of the root , are all highly toxic , and should be throw out and continue away from favorite and small child . All parts of the plant aside from the delicious base contain rotenone , which is extremely venomous .
Though you are quite probable to find out jicama at your local foodstuff entrepot , you are much less likely to find it available at your local gardening center . This is likely due to the fact that jicama typically requires nine months of red-hot weather to produce a enough harvest . This requirement can be significantly shorten by starting your industrial plant indoors or in the glasshouse long before moving them outdoors . If you are having trouble locating the seeds at a glasshouse near you , you may always range them online and get started growing jicama in your garden . The nutritional fact of this oddly appealing legume root leave hatful of reasons to start out acquire jicama forthwith .
The crispy , livid , starchy chassis of the tuberous root is high in antioxidants , dietary fiber , and vitamin C , and a half - loving cup serving is only 25 large calorie . The solution also check substantial sum of B vitamins such as pteroylglutamic acid , riboflavin , pyridoxine , pantothenic acid and thiamine , as well as all-important minerals such as copper , atomic number 26 , atomic number 12 , and manganese . Jicama is considered one of the best instinctive source of dietary fiber , and it is also a good author of oligofructose inulin , an important fiber which is technically a zero - calorie , gratifying , inert carbohydrate . Inulin does not metabolise inside the organic structure , which makes Jicama an excellent sweetened snack for dieter and those with diabetes .
Varieties of Jicama
There are only five eff varieties of the Pachyrhizus specie , and only three of those are popular Jicama cultivars which are commonly cultivated around the world . The three mutual cultivars are Pachyrhizus erosus , known as the Mexican yam plant bean ( this is the cultivar that is popularly cultivated in Asia and the US ) , Pachyrhizus ahipa , known as the Andean yam edible bean , and Pachyrhizus tuberosus , or the Amazonian yam plant bean , jíquima . Pachyrhizus palmatilobus , a less popular and less tasty miscellanea , also known as jícama de leche , has a whitish sap and deeply lob leaflet . P. erosus , the most pop assortment is also recognize as jícama de agua , for it ’s exonerated sap , to tell it from jícama de leche , which has a milklike sap .
Growing Conditions for Jicama
Jicama enjoy long day of full sunlight exposure and requires a trellis for accompaniment , as its vines grow up to 15 to 20 feet long with adequate support . Long vine and quite a little of leaves equal a large taproot to reap . Jicama prefers a well - draining soil that is full of nutrients and rich in organic matter . conflate in several inch of well - rotted compost prior to planting to ameliorate native soil . Keep filth moist at all clip throughout the growing season .
How to Plant Jicama
bug out jicama seeds by souse them in pee overnight . Then , sow at least two source into each four inch weed using a seeded player bulge out pot mixture . Using a grow light , a nursery , or a warm windowsill , place the tray in a full light source about eight to ten hebdomad before the last Robert Lee Frost or even earlier if you have a short growing season in your area . Thin the seedling to the warm one per pot after germination is perfect .
Move into larger pots as soon as plants commence to outgrow their containers . This should be done regularly , and may need to be done several times before run outside , unless you move them into considerably large planter betimes . Offer sustenance to new plant if necessary and be inclined to support them with a treillage once you move them outside . Once the terror of rime has long passed , season off your jicama plants and move them outside .
Care for Jicama
Amend aboriginal soil by mixing in several in of well - rotted compost prior to planting . render plenty of piss , maintain the soil moist at all clip throughout the growing season . prey your jicama plants regularly with a uninterrupted acquittance fertilizer or plant food several fourth dimension during the growing time of year . Remove flowers as they appear so that the flora will focus on root outgrowth rather of efflorescence production .
Your jicama plant will require a treillage or some other variety of living to keep them off the ground . you may train jicama vine on a net , a wire fence , or a bamboo tripod , though raising the plant off the ground makes them much punishing to protect from frosts . Like Irish potato , all parts of the flora which grows above soil level are toxic . If you notice any voice of the genus Tuber becoming exposed to the Dominicus , manually pack in stain around them to cover them completely .
Jicama will not produce tuber until the days towards the end of the growing season are fewer than nine hours long , as it is a day - duration sensitive plant . Typically , the shorter days it involve will coincide with the first crepuscule frosts , so you might have to provide frost shelter to get your Jicama Tuber to turn to a respectable size . Greenhouses are optimal , but cold frames and cloches can provide enough protection to extend the season as well . You may also choose to use cloche at the beginning of the time of year as well , to facilitate speed up the process of early growth and to help harden off the plants when moving them outdoors a little bit betimes .
Alternatively , you could opt to grow your jicama indoors under grow lights . Though you will belike only be able to originate a couple of works due to space , growing jicama indoors will sure enough still the work load .
How to Propagate Jicama
Jicama is propagated by semen only . Because of its long taproot , transplant after plants have become established is not recommend . Jicama can be planted each yr .
Garden Pests and Diseases of Jicama
Because the absolute majority of the Jicama plant is toxic , insect pests do n’t usually trouble the plant at all . However , sometimesweevilscan vex a problem . Set out a shallow pan of water at night , which will draw the weevils and overwhelm them . or else , weevil can be treat with pesticide .
How to Harvest Jicama
You may have to provide Robert Frost protection to get your jicama genus Tuber to grow to a usable size . If cold frames or cloche are not an option , you’re able to even cover your plants with an old mantle to protect them from balmy rime .
Similar to tater , you will know that your jicama plant are ready for harvesting when the above - ground part of the plant begin to go off . hold back as long as potential before harvesting so that genus Tuber will reach optimum size . idealistic tuber sizing is three to six in in diameter , however , though smaller Tuber have a milder flavor , they are usually sweet than full - sized tubers , and some people prefer them when they are slightly smaller .
To harvest your jicama Tuber , use a garden fork to gently loosen the grime around the plant . Feel around the grunge with your hands for the tubers . rend them out and light brush off all the soil on the surface of the plant . Do n’t rinse your tubers until you are quick to use them , as urine will boost mold formation and can easy cause your tubers to spoil before you get a opportunity to use them .
How to Store Jicama
There are several option for storing jicama tubers . No matter what method you choose , the most important factor is to keep them dry . you may store jicama at room temperature until you decide to cut it or peel it . Once it has been trim back , it can be store in the electric refrigerator for little term exercise or in the freezer for long condition depot . you may freeze whole jicama or you may hack it up first and freeze the pieces .
Jicama can also be displace for extended storage . Jicama is also great pickled . You will have to do some enquiry and figure out how to can it or find a pickling recipe on your own , but we will walk you through all of the standard memory board methods for jicama so that you may easily extend the shelflife of this versatile vegetable .
Freshly harvested jicama can be stored at way temperature . Keep it in a nerveless dry place , ideally in temperatures between 53 and 59 degrees F , but no colder . check that they are in a spot where they will not roll up moisture , as this will lead to decompose or mold . Jicama store at room temperature should last for two to three weeks . process your jicamas with concern while in depot . If they get spang around , the protective skin could bruise or blemish , which can greatly affect their shelf life-time .
Once you trim down into the jicama , it can no longer be salt away at room temperature . If left out too long after cutting and peeling it , it will pop to discolor . After cut , you will want to keep it in the fridge for lengthy memory board . Pat ironic with a clean towel or paper towel and enfold tightly in plastic wrap to foreclose them from collecting wet .
Store twine jicama in the vegetable crisper draftsman in the electric refrigerator . Keep it out of the insensate spots in the icebox . Jicama should keep in the electric refrigerator for about two weeks . If you do n’t have charge plate wrapping , you’re able to keep it in ziploc bags , but make certain to press out redundant air before sealing and seal the bags well .
If you are n’t rifle to apply all of your jicama in a timely manner , and you only employ little amounts at a time , it is probably good to put in your jicama in the deep freezer for lengthy periods . you could stop dead and lay in the whole jicama or cut jicama in the Deepfreeze . Just check that that it is dry before come in in the freezer .
For whole jicama , envelop it tightly and completely in foil and salt away it in the freezer for up to one year . For jicama that has been peeled and sliced , pat slice dry and stored in a sealable freezer bag or an airtight plastic container . Either option work , as long as it is sealed and airtight . Cut jicama will store in the freezer for up to 9 months .
When you are quick to use your flash-frozen jicama , just set it out at room temperature for 30 bit to an hr and put it to utilize straightaway or move it to the fridge to thaw overnight . Once you have removed icy jicama from the freezer , you will want to use it within one or two days , as it will not keep for long after thawing .
young jicama tubers are gratifying and milder , whereas larger Tuber are more robust and flavourful , but more or less less seraphic . Cut in the altogether jicama into sticks and habituate it as a raw vegetable snack to eat on by itself , or to dip into hummus . Raw jicama can also be chopped or tear up onto a salad , and is peculiarly well raw when combine with citrus elements , such as marinated in lime succus . Jicama is also excellent when cooked , and can be tossed into soups , stews , or stir - Roger Eliot Fry .
Learn More About the Jicama Plant
https://dengarden.com/gardening/How-to-Grow-Jicama
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/jicama/growing-jicamas.htm
https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/jicama.html
