The mysterious Yacón, footsteps on the roof

My neighbor and I have gotten to be friends, bonding over our love of chickens. George is an avid gardener and I have been trading him eggs for various plants. The most recent is this Peruvian tuber, called a Yacón (or Yacun). 

As you can see (using the spoon for scale), the tubers grow very large. When you peel and slice a piece, it’s like a sweeter, juicier jicama.  It’s great in fruit salads, taking on the flavor of the fruit, in regular salads, or in stews. I like it so much I got some rhizomes from George to plant my own.

George said gophers were extraordinarily fond of the tubers, so I dug a bed and lined it with chicken wire before I planted them.

You can buy a syrup made of yacón to use as an alternative sweetener, and the tuber is supposed to contain many beneficial micronutrients. The Inca used the yacón in religious ceremonies as food for the dead and created ceramic representations of them. I planted five of the rhizomes, and await a delicious crop. Meanwhile, we took advantage of a federally-sponsored program and signed up for solar, which is finally being installed today.  There are footsteps on the roof as I write.

Greener and greener…

 

6 thoughts on “The mysterious Yacón, footsteps on the roof

  1. Those Yacon sculptures for the dead are very interesting. What do you think that
    handle looking appendage is for? Perhaps an arm to help with the firing?

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