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Yacón is a coarse textured, robust perennial herbaceous plant with large leaves and little yellow daisy flowers. The plant gets up to 6 ft (1.8 m) tall with an equivalent spread. The stems are thick, hairy and streaked with purple. The leaves are opposite and broad, 8-14 in (20.3-35.6 cm) long with winged petioles. The dainty little flowerheads are about 1 in (2.5 cm) across with yellow rays. They are not very showy and seem a little out of place amongst the huge leaves. Yacón produces spindle shaped storage tubers that can reach 1 ft (0.3 m) in length and weigh up to 5 lbs (2,3 kg), although they are typically less than 0.5 lb (0.2 kg) and 6-8 in (15.2-20.3 cm) in length. They are attached to the swollen stem just beneath the ground surface and point outward like the spokes on a wheel. The tubers have a tan to purplish brown skin and the inside can be white, yellow, violet or orange.
Location
Culture
In frost free areas yacón tubers can be removed without disturbing the plant which will continue to produce more tubers. After flowering, the yacón plant dies back to the ground for a rest period during the dry season and the tubers are usually harvested then. In frosty climes, harvest the tubers after the plant dies to the ground by groping around with your hands under the plant; don't disturb the main roots and the plant will come back in spring and produce more tubers. Yacón tubers are incredibly sweet. The flesh is white and crispy, a little juicier than an apple, but every bit as sweet as the sweetest Red Delicious. Some say they taste like sweet water chestnuts; others compare the taste to an apple and watermelon combination. The tubers get even sweeter after curing in the sun, but they may not be as crisp. Yacón tubers are usually eaten raw, out of hand like a fruit. They are good sliced and added to green salads, or shredded with carrots and raisins for a sweet slaw. In Peru yacón tubers are grated and squeezed through a sieve to make a sweet drink, and the juice is concentrated into blocks of candy called chancaca. Tubers are also boiled or baked and the stems and leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. Yacón retains crunchiness during cooking and is just beginning to come into favor for Asian stir-fried dishes. The leaves contain 11-17% dry weight protein and are useful as a livestock feed.
Features There are other species of Polymnia native to the U.S., but they do now produce tubers. Jerusalem artichoke, also in the sunflower family, is another plant that produces inulin in its underground tubers. Steve Christman 12/5/00; updated 10/17/03
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