Is Yacon the Same as Sweet Potato? A Detailed Explanation of Their Differences, Benefits and How to Choose

Yacon is known abroad as “Agong.” It is naturally delicate, and because it grows underground it is commonly called the “underground fruit.” Its appearance is very similar to that of the sweet potato. So is yacon the same as sweet potato? What is the difference from sweet potato? What are yacon's benefits and effects, and what are the tips for choosing it?

1. Is Yacon the Same as Sweet Potato?

No. Yacon and sweet potato look very similar in appearance, but their taste is different. The main component of sweet potato is starch, while yacon is an underground fruit rich in vitamins and minerals. Yacon can not only be eaten raw, but can also be stewed with pork ribs, made into soup, or squeezed into juice. The flesh is also different.

2. What Is the Difference Between Yacon and Sweet Potato?

1. Touch

The skin of yacon and sweet potato differs: one is smoother, while the other is slightly rougher.

2. Appearance

The stems and leaves of yacon resemble those of hemp-type plants. Its flower is a kind of sunflower, and the fruit and seeds of yacon do not grow together. The seeds look rather like ginger, while the seeds are what resemble sweet potato.

Sweet potato is an annual herbaceous plant. Its leaves generally grow in an oval shape, and its corolla comes in many colors, most commonly pink, white and purple. The part buried underground is mostly an oval-shaped tuberous root.

3. Taste

Yacon is relatively crisp and tastes very sweet, while sweet potato is a bit tastier. Sweet potato is generally only eaten cooked, while yacon can be eaten raw or used as a vegetable for stewing soup and the like.

4. Nutritional Value

Yacon has higher nutritional value. It is an underground fruit, rich in many nutrients such as various vitamins. It is a low-calorie fruit that can not only help with weight loss, but for people suffering from the "three highs" it can lower blood pressure and blood lipids, and can also reduce cholesterol. It further promotes digestion, reduces constipation, and cleanses the intestines.

The main component of sweet potato is starch, and it also contains abundant pectin, vitamins, protein and amino acids. Its main benefits are protecting the heart, preventing and treating diabetes, emphysema and fighting cancer. Sweet potato is an annual plant. Its flowers are generally white, pink or pink, and its leaves are oval in shape. It is a very common and important food.

5. Price

Yacon is more expensive. Every five jin costs 25-45 yuan, varying. Sweet potato, however, is much cheaper, at most 2—3 yuan per jin.

3. Yacon's Benefits and Effects

1. Yacon can regulate the blood, lower blood sugar, blood lipids and cholesterol, can prevent and treat high blood pressure and diabetes, and also has a certain therapeutic effect on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and obesity.

2. Yacon can aid digestion and regulate and improve poor conditions of the digestive system. It can significantly promote gastrointestinal peristalsis and lubricate the intestines to relieve constipation. It can not only eliminate constipation, but also prevent and treat diarrhea. It is the nemesis of gastrointestinal diseases.

3. Yacon can resist oxidation and eliminate free radicals, and can reduce or prevent the occurrence of lithiasis.

4. Yacon is a growth promoter for beneficial intestinal flora and produces bifidogenic factors.

5. Yacon has the benefits of clearing the liver and detoxifying, reducing internal heat and lowering blood pressure, and is a natural health product for preventing and treating facial acne and blemishes and for maintaining beauty.

6. Yacon is rich in sweet-tasting oligofructose. The human body has no enzyme that can hydrolyze this carbohydrate, so it is difficult for people to absorb, and diabetics and those trying to lose weight can also use it.

7. Yacon improves immunity.

8. Yacon's fructo-oligosaccharide content is 60 to 70% of its dry matter, the highest content among all plants. It is also rich in minerals and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium and selenium. Research has found that taking 3 to 6 grams of fructo-oligosaccharides per day, within 3 weeks, the content of toxic carcinogenic compounds in human feces can be reduced by more than 40 percent.

9. Yacon is rich in more than 20 kinds of amino acids needed by the human body as well as various vitamins and minerals. In particular, its oligosaccharide content is the highest, and it can promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms.

4. Introduction to Tips for Choosing Yacon

Choose small ones that are whitish on the outside; large ones that lean red are actually not good. Ones with cracks are good; through the cracks you can see that the inside leans red.

Yacon hardly uses chemical fertilizers, using only fermented farmyard manure, and at the same time it has very high requirements for irrigation water. Generally, yacon that meets the requirements has golden-yellow, crystal-clear flesh, while yacon that uses chemical fertilizers and hormones has white or pale-yellow flesh.

Try to buy in-season ones and buy fewer out-of-season ones.

The growth of yacon is seasonal. For example, strawberries in spring, peaches at the turn of spring and summer, and so on. When it is the harvest season for a certain fruit, the market will supply it in large quantities, and in that case the price of this kind of fruit will be relatively low.

Try to buy local yacon and buy fewer from other places or foreign countries. Every place, according to its local climate and soil conditions, will certainly produce relatively distinctive fruits.

Buy an appropriate amount, and by no means cause unintentional waste. The preservation of fruit requires certain conditions; whether temperature, humidity or time, all have requirements, and ordinary households simply cannot preserve fruit well for a long time.