What's a jicama and how am I supposed to eat it?

Murrmurr

Murrmurr

SF VIP
Location
Sacramento, California
An older gent around my age lives in the duplex apartments next to me with his daughter and her family. She was pregnant a few years ago, and I started giving her all of Paxton's old baby clothes, and up until his mom was given custody, I gave the lady everything he outgrew; clothes, shoes, his stroller and car seats.

So anyway, now, like once or twice a month, the old gent brings me fruits and vegetables, water, and ice cream a couple of times. I guess they go to the farmer's market or maybe the give-away market or food distribution center, idk, but he always brings me something you might call exotic....stuff we don't normally buy, like mangoes, pomegranates, and this fat, white tuber looking thing.

I had to look this thing up. I thought it was a turnip, but now I'm positive it's a jimaca, and I've never heard of it. Google says I can just eat it raw.

Has anyone here ever eaten a jimaca?
 

I haven't, but I had heard of it (used to watch cooking shows). I found this:

What Is Jicama and What Does It Taste Like?​
Jicama is a very crisp, refreshing root vegetable most frequently eaten raw. I like to compare it to a non-sweet apple — a little watery and neutral in taste but so crunchy. It can be a little nutty; some people compare it to a water chestnut with that refreshing, crunchy, juicy crispness.
https://www.thekitchn.com/jicama-recipes-tips-and-ideas-22927424​
 
Devi said:
I haven't, but I had heard of it (used to watch cooking shows). I found this:

What Is Jicama and What Does It Taste Like?​
Jicama is a very crisp, refreshing root vegetable most frequently eaten raw. I like to compare it to a non-sweet apple — a little watery and neutral in taste but so crunchy. It can be a little nutty; some people compare it to a water chestnut with that refreshing, crunchy, juicy crispness.​
Click to expand...
I forgot to mention that the old gent who gave me the jicama only speaks Spanish. I'm sure he told me exactly what it is and all that.

I like the slaw idea. But I'm going to cut off a chunk and taste it in a little bit here. If it's yummy, I'll go ahead and eat some raw. Some because it's kind of large.
 
jujube said:
It's good julienned in salads and a nice crunchy addition to chicken or tuna salad.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I tasted it. Not bad at all. I think the guy who gave it to me probly said to eat it quick (in Spanish)...about 2/3 of it is mooshy and mildewy already. Anyway, I think it'd be good in cole slaw, in chicken salad (for sandwiches), and maybe cold macaroni salad too. It was a bit sweeter than a sweet carrot but earthier than a white potato. I suppose the flavor depends on the ripeness. I'm sure this one was a bit over-ripe.
 
I used to julienne it and had a marinade type salad dressing for it. I don’t know it I still have that recipe; if I do, I’ll post it.

Edited: The recipe is no longer in my files. Any of those recipes in @devi’s link would work. Since it’s rotting, throw that one out.
 
Last edited:
Nathan said:
Yes, a Jimaca is a Mexican turnip, you can prepare it in the same way you would any tube root. You can make fries with a Jimaca, like you would a potato.
Click to expand...
Fries! They'd be sort of like sweet potato fries, right? Which go better with hot dogs than burgers, for some reason.

Sounds good. Yeah, I'm gonna try that next time I get my hands on a jicama.
 
The only time I`ve ever had jicama was at a restaurant where we used to eat frequently back in the 80s. It was in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto,so it was a bit uppity. They always put julienned jicama on their dinner salads,a first for us. I can`t remember what we thought it was now,but I`ll try anything that`s not a tomato and it tasted pretty good. Nice and crunchy too.I see it in the produce department now but have never purchased it.
 


Back
Top