Yacon tuber with cut slices
Have you come across yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) yet? It is a juicy, crunchy, sweet tasting underground tuber, also known as Sunroot, Yacón Strawberry, Apple of the Earth, Arocona, Jacon, Jiquima, Sweet Fruit Root, Underground pear or Peruvian Ground apple. It originates from the South American countries of Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador. It has been grown in the Peruvian Andes since the time of the Incas. It grows like its relative Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)
Clockwise from top left yams, kumara, yacon, jerusalem artichokes and Lima beans I harvested.
– both are herbaceous perennials with mini yellow sunflower type flowers in late summer or early autumn. However, Yacon is far less invasive and it doesn’t cause upset stomachs like Jerusalem artichokes which are ‘farty’ plants.(try pickling them in a salt brine to counteract this).
Me with a club size yacon tuber.
In July when yacon’s tall 2m stalks and leaves had finally
Yacon tubers that are harvested still attached to the crown or mother plant.
died off (frosts will do this in colder regions and frosts also sweeten the tubers) we carefully lifted the clumps separating the smooth skinned, oval, storage tubers (they’re brittle and easily damaged by rough handling and forks going through them) from the mother plant or crown with perennial shoots that will grow up again the next season. The plants can produce many good -sized tubers which can weigh up to 500gms!
Yacon tubers contain an indigestible form of glucose called fructooligosaccharides which is great for Type II diabetics because it doesn’t enter the blood stream and keeps blood sugar levels stable. Yacon root has also been found to help prevent the build-up of cholesterol in the arteries which keeps the heart healthy and helps prevent heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
Yacon leaves emerging in spring
The health giving qualities are well known in Andean folk medicine, where yacon is used for liver and kidney disease and in Bolivia it is used to treat diabetes and digestive problems. In fact yacon helps digestion with a prebiotic called inulin. This is a non-digestible compound that helps feed the micro flora in our gut in turn boosting the efficiency of the probiotic gut flora. The result is a smooth running gut able to efficiently absorb nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from food. Furthermore, yacon helps blood pressure regulation with its rich levels of potassium by relaxing blood vessels and lowering the strain on the cardiovascular system. It also contains Vitamin C and calcium.
Amazing yacon harvest
How can we use yacon?
- They are great as a snack peeled and sliced or eaten on crackers with almond butter
- Cut into cubes and add to fruit salads or to replace the apple in a waldorf salad – squeeze lemon juice over them to prevent browning
- Cook in stir fries with ginger, turmeric and tamari sauce
- Try grating them with carrot, apple , roasted seeds or nuts with a vinaigrette dressing
Yacon syrup
- Bake whole without peeling or as chips
- The arrow shaped leaves can be used in tea or in smoothies
- The juice can be boiled down to a syrup
To start a plant off obtain a crown from a friend or a crop swap and plant it out in spring.
They need space so allow a metre between plants and plant them deep enough to cover the crown. Feed with compost and cover with mulch. Yacon are easy to grow being pest and disease free. The tall stems need staking and produce better during summer with deep watering a couple of times a week. The soil where they grow becomes beautifully aerated and loose. While this plant is not a ‘weed’ it is a real winner (in my eyes at must have) adding diversity to your plant collection, that is beneficial for us and the soil!
Yacon flower
Yacon plant showing mini sunflower flowers
