Varieties

The ulluco is a stem tuber with edible leaves similar to spinach and a root with an earthy flavor that tastes like a cross between a potato and a beet. Its flesh is white or pale yellow, and the skin, which is thin and soft and, like the skin of a potato, does not need to be removed before eating, comes in striking colors of tan, pink, white, red, or purple. These tubers tend to be 6 to 8 inches/15 to 20 centimeters long and variously shaped: some roundish, others a little crooked and sausagelike.