Jícama

Pachyr[r]hizus erosus

Appears in

Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini

By Elizabeth Schneider

Published 2001

About

Also yam bean, dou shu and sha got (Chinese), chop suey yam and chopsui potato (Hawaiian), singkamas (Philippine)

What kind of word was ‘useful’ to use on the air?” fumed a talk-show host with whom I had been discussing jícama. “Useful?!! These babies are supposed to be dynamite, outrageous!” he raged, pointing an accusing finger at the slightly scruffy, tan lobed tubers I had arranged in a shallow basket on camera.

As packed produce aisles overflow and vegetables compete for customers’ attention, it has become customary to expect unfamiliar vegetables to deliver out-of-this-world taste. People hope to be transported heavenward at the first bite or even at first glance. If all vegetables were measured by these criteria, imagine the fate of such modest—yes, useful—earthlings as zucchini and potatoes in this day and age.