Because of this, raw jicama is often used as on raw vegetable platters.
As a snack it is served sprinkled with lime juice a little chili powder.
Jicama's unique flavor lends itself well to salads, salsas, and vegetable platters.
The tubers can sometimes grow to be quite large, although when they exceed the size of two fists, they begin to convert the sugars that give them their sweet flavor into starches, making them somewhat woody to the taste.
Its skin is thin and can be gray, tan, or brown in color with white flesh.
Most of the tubers range in diameter from 4 to 8 inches and in weight from 1/2 pound to about 6 pounds The skin is typically peeled before eating it raw.
Therefore, jicama is a nice complement to various stir-fry dishes because it blends well with many vegetables and seasonings.
Jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus) belongs to the legume or bean family (Fabaceae) and is native to Mexico, Central and South America where it is a popular dietary staple.
It had been cultivated by all major Mesoamerican civilizations.
Most commonly eaten raw, it maintains much of its crispness when cooked and can be used as an alternative to water chestnuts.
Jicama may also be cooked on its own as a vegetable, sauteed with with other vegetables, used in stir-fries or added to stews.
Jicama is a crispy, sweet, edible tuber that resembles a turnip in physical appearance, although the plants are not related.