jícama
Plural: jícamas
Language: Spanish
Description: The jícama, Mexican turnip or Mexican potato, is also known as the yam bean and is a tuber-like legume. It is a large bulbous root vegetable, a tuber of the legume family, with crisp, sweet, white flesh and a brown skin. It has a nutty flavour and can be eaten raw or cooked. I have seen it cut into strips and included in a salad.
Pronounced: HEE-kah-mah
Latin: Xanthosoma sagittifolium (Linnaeus. Schott)
Ethnicity: Mexican, Spanish
Most frequent country: Mexico, Spain
Also known as: ahipa, Mexican potato, yam bean
See places: Mexican food and cuisine
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