Can yacon be eaten raw? The latest answer is here

Yacon is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family, native to the Andes Mountains of South America. It is a traditional root food of the local Indians. The residents of the Andes grow this plant as a root vegetable. The tuberous roots contain abundant water and fructooligosaccharides, and taste both sweet and crisp. They can also be eaten as a fruit. Now let us take a look at whether yacon can be eaten raw!

Can yacon be eaten raw?

Yacon can be eaten raw. Yacon can be washed, peeled and eaten raw, or stewed with chicken or pork ribs to make soup. The simplest way is to eat it raw. After harvesting yacon from the soil, just wash off the surface soil and peel off the outer skin, and it can be eaten directly like a fruit. If it can be left for two or three days after harvesting, its sweetness will be increased even more, highlighting its juicy, crisp, sweet and aromatic flesh.

Dietary contraindications for yacon

1. Yacon is very cold in nature, so people with poor stomach and intestines should eat it cautiously. After eating a large amount, symptoms such as stomach cold and loose stools may occur.

2. People with stomach cold may feel bloated after eating cold yacon, but it can be eaten after soaking in boiling water for a while. Most people have diarrhea during the first three days of eating it, but it becomes normal after four days, with stools like those of a child. This is normal.

3. In a very small number of allergic people, eating too much yacon can cause diarrhea, metabolic acidosis, increased heart rate but decreased blood pressure, and in severe cases dehydration, hypoproteinemia, disturbance of consciousness and even shock. The incidence rate is about one in a million.

How is yacon best eaten?

1. Chrysanthemum lean pork yacon

[Ingredients] Yacon, lean pork, dried chrysanthemum.

[Method] ① Wash and peel the yacon, and slice it into pieces. ② Cut the lean pork into slices, add wine and salt and marinate for a while. ③ Soak the dried chrysanthemum in boiling water. ④ After the water in the pot boils, add the pork slices, yacon slices and chrysanthemum soaking water together. ⑤ After bringing to a boil and simmering, add salt and it is ready.

[Benefits] Benefits such as clearing the liver, detoxifying and reducing internal heat, and moistening the intestines to relieve constipation. It effectively prevents and treats facial acne and dark spots, and is also a natural health product for beauty and skincare.

2. Yacon stewed with grass carp

[Ingredients] 4-5 pieces of grass carp bones, ginger, red radish, yacon, salt, cooking wine, 1-2 candied dates.

[Method] ① Wash the fish bones and drain them for later use. Peel the ginger and slice it (about 2-3 slices). Wash and peel the yacon and red radish and cut them into pieces. After the yacon is cut into pieces, its surface will quickly oxidize and turn black, so before making the soup it is recommended to boil it briefly in hot water. ② Put the fish bones and ginger slices into an oiled pan, add 1 teaspoon of cooking wine and fry until half-cooked for later use. ③ Put the yacon, red radish, fish bones, candied dates and ginger into a pot, add water and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours, then add salt to taste.

3. Yacon pork shank soup

[Ingredients] Yacon, pork shank, snow fungus.

[Method] ① Wash the yacon, peel and cut into pieces. ② Soak the snow fungus in clear water until expanded, remove the stem, and tear into pieces. ③ Wash the figs, wash the pork shank, cut into pieces, blanch in water and scoop out. ④ Pour 8 bowls of water into a clay pot and bring to a boil, add all the ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to medium-low heat and simmer for one and a half hours, add a little salt to taste and drink.

[Benefits] Regulates the stomach and intestines, lowers blood lipids and helps with weight loss.

4. Water chestnut yacon snow fungus soup

[Ingredients] Water chestnut, yacon, snow fungus, red dates, goji berries, hawthorn.

[Method] ① Soak the snow fungus until expanded. Peel and cut the yacon and water chestnuts into pieces, and throw them into the water. ② Wash the red dates and throw them into the water. I happened to have hawthorn, so I also washed a few slices and threw them in. ③ Turn on the heat and boil. Wash the goji berries and add them at the end, so their nutrients are better preserved. ④ Boil until the snow fungus is cooked and the red dates are soft, add rock sugar, and boil until the rock sugar dissolves.

[Benefits] Moistens the intestines to relieve constipation, promotes intestinal peristalsis, clears intestinal waste, improves constipation, prevents diarrhea, and improves gastrointestinal function.