Appears in
On Food and Cooking

By Harold McGee

Published 2004

  • About

Oca is the small tuber of a South American relative of wood sorrel, Oxalis tuberosa. It is variably starchy or juicy, comes in a number of anthocyanin-based skin colors, from yellow to red to purple, and is unusual in being distinctly tart, thanks to the oxalic acid typical of the family. In Peru and Bolivia it’s usually cooked in stews and soups.