17/12/2024
Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) is a plant that gives and gives. Above the ground, the plant produces sunflower-like flowers. The root below has two distinct elements: On top is a bunching of reddish rhizomes which look similar to young ginger and underneath are brown, edible tubers that look like sweet potatoes or sunchokes. They have a crisp, fresh bite, similar to water chestnuts or jicama, and taste like a cross between apple, watermelon, celery and pear.
Also called sweet-root, Peruvian ground apple, Bolivian sunroot and pear of the Earth, the plant is native to the Andean region of South America — today’s Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. It has been cultivated in the region for hundreds of years — the Incas called the vegetable water root, thanks to its refreshing flavor — and is still a staple crop in South and Central America today.
