Digest the Feed
Jicama, When I Was Still Hopeful, February 21, 2014
When I picked up the parsnips at Soergel’s for Fresh Friday a couple weeks ago, I almost bought jicama instead. I debated between the two for a few minutes before concluding that the dirty looking carrot seemed less intimidating. This Fresh Friday, I’m tackling the jicama!
I tackled…and it fought back. I tried and tried and tried again. Final score? Jicama 3, Trish 0. Jicama looks much like a used softball, tan and worn in appearance. Flavor wise, it was like a sweet radish but without the hot zing. Typically grown in Mexico (which is where mine came from as well) it is often referred to as a Mexican turnip, Mexican yam or yam bean.
Following my usual protocol, I read up on what kinds of things people make with the vegetable on the chopping block and saw most suggesting a salad or slaw. I figured I could handle that. After washing off my softball, I peeled it and began cutting it into manageable sized chunks. My first attempt was a Green Apple Pineapple Jicama Salad with my inspiration being a Waldorf Salad. Strike one. Okay, so no salad and moving onto slaw. I shredded almost another half of the jicama and tried to toss together a Pineapple Jicama Slaw with some lime juice and honey, etc. I still liked the idea of pineapple but this too was an utter failure. Strike two. With very little of the veggie left, I decided that I couldn’t figure out how to make it tasty raw and looked up cooking it. Not too many things out there so I tried doing fries. I scraped together the final pieces thick enough for standing a chance in the oven and hoped for the best. Strike three. Not even ketchup made them taste better to me. Is that even possible? I love ketchup! I ran out of jicama at that point and decided that after three strikes, I was outta there. No more.
It doesn’t have a horrific flavor, but I couldn’t figure out a way that I would personally use it, therefore, I don’t see it coming back. No new recipes this week. It happens. And it is better to admit it than having people waste money on trying a bad recipe!
Strike One…
Strike Two…
Strike Three…
