Description

Showing up in all sorts of irregular shapes, jicama, pronounced HEE-ka-mah, offers a delicious white crisp flesh tightly wrapped in a tannish-ivory colored easy-to-peel skin. Sweet in flavor, its texture is wonderfully crunchy. Varying in size, jicama can weigh anywhere from one-half pound to five or six pounds. Jicama is available year round with a peak season December to June.

Very low in sodium, raw jicama contains about 50 calories per cup. This pleasurable vegetable is a good source of potassium and offers a fairly good source of vitamin C.

Jicama's crisp white flesh is most commonly eaten fresh in salads. Raw or cooked, jicama adds delicious crunch to most anything. Maintaining its texture, bake, steam, braise, deep-fry or boil. Cut in strips; serve with dips. Perfect for prepared-ahead hors d'oeuvres. Dice; smother in flavorful sauces. Ideal for adding crunch to stir-fries. Pair with seafood and poultry. Jicama makes a perfect substitute for water chestnuts. To prepare, peel away fibrous outer skin; cut into desired shapes. To store, wrap cut jicama tightly in plastic; refrigerate. For optimum taste, crunch and texture, use within one week. Peeled and cut jicama may be stored in vinegar or lemon water to preserve freshness. Refrigerated whole unpeeled and uncut jicama does not require wrapping and keeps about three weeks. If fibrous or starchy, use in cooked dish.