Yacon is the vegetable discovery of the year!
Yes, of course we've known the forgotten vegetable yacon for a long time, but for some reason it still hasn’t found its way onto our plates. We're Smart wanted to change this and decided to work with it themselves — see the recipes from The Vegetables Chef himself! But it didn’t stop there: yacon also became a required ingredient for the two Benelux competitions co-organized by We're Smart: The Green Battle (hotel schools) and The Green Chef's Hat (professional chefs).
The result was astonishing, original, and incredibly flavorful.
Have you ever tasted yacon — or better yet, used it in your kitchen?
Yacon is a root vegetable native to the Andes (mainly Peru and Bolivia). The plant resembles a sunflower, but underground it forms juicy, crunchy tubers.
What exactly is yacon?
- A sweet, refreshing tuber with a flavour similar to pear, apple and melon
- The flesh is crisp, comparable to a water chestnut
- Also known as the “apple root”
How is yacon used?
- Raw in salads or as a healthy snack
- Steamed or stir-fried in warm dishes
- Yacon syrup is popular as a natural sweetener
Why is yacon interesting?
- It contains fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS): healthy dietary fibers with minimal impact on blood sugar levels
- Favoured by people looking to reduce sugar intake or support a healthy gut flora
- Naturally low in calories
When is yacon in season?
- Mainly autumn to winter in Belgium and the Netherlands.
