By Emily McLaughlin

J is for Jicama.

What is jicama, you ask?

…Good question.

Yesterday I had a few friends over and I began to tell them how I was stuck on the letter ‘J.’ Anything that we thought of seemed to be related to junk food. J… Jello? Juice? Jellybeans? Jalapenos? Jerky? Jam? No… Jicama.

Jicama is an underground, starchy root grown in the warmer regions of the globe (Central American, South Asia, Caribbean). You can find it in the grocery store on its own, or in a number of vegetable medleys. My friend, Alex, recently found some jicama in her Trader Joe’s vegetable stir-fry medley. It was paired with some peppers, onions and a number of other veggies.

What’s so great about jicama? When you cook jicama, especially in a stir fry, it maintains its crunchiness. It’s refreshing, crispy when eaten raw or cooked. As for nutritional value, jicama is low in calories and its nutrition profile is comprised of dietary fiber and  anti-oxidants, as well as small proportions of vitamins and minerals.

Don’t know where to start with jicama? Here is a great Whole Foods recipe and a recipe from Muy Bueno Cookbook!