garnet, I really enjoy the yacon tubers. They're crunchy, sort of like jicama, but sweet, sort of a sweet earthy taste with undertones of -- what? -- something herby and very slightly bitter. You're supposed to be able to harvest as needed, but I find that when I start digging, pieces break off and so I end up harvesting the whole plant at once. I've seen yacon syrup for sale at the Whole Foods store!
I always have lots of propagules to give away (usually at the community garden or at a local plant exchange). At the community garden, I've noticed only one other person grows them every year. They do take a lot of space -- 5 ft. wide or more, and 5-7 ft. high, though the one I've planted between Fox Cherry, KB(not X), and Caspian Pink is so far fairly well behaved. Also, they need a long season to get any size, and lots of water. I planted mine in April and only one of them is a good size. The ones in the shade are only a couple feet high. I've kept some in containers, where they survive but stay quite small and don't produce big tubers.
I read that the leaves were edible, so I tried some last year. They're not good raw, and not good steamed. I'll have to find that reference and find out how they were prepared.
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