cause gassy discomfort Crosnes contain little starch, and turn mushy when even slightly overcooked Jicama Jicama is the swollen storage root of Pachyrhizus erosus, a South American member of the bean family Its main virtue is its sturdy crispness: it keeps well, is slow to discolor, and retains some crunch when cooked Jicama is often eaten raw, in salads or dipped into a sauce, and is sometimes used as a fresh replacement for Chinese water chestnuts, though it doesn’t have the same sweet and nutty character Lotus Root Lotus root is the muddwelling rhizome of Nelumbo nucifera, a water lily native to Asia that has North American and Egyptian relatives The lily is an important image in Buddhism and other systems of thought — a stalk rising from the mire to bear a beautiful flower over its floating leaves — so lotus root can carry extraculinary connotations The rhizome contains large void spaces, so cross-sectional slices have a characteristic lacy pattern It is crisp and remains so after cooking, for the same reason that water chestnuts It has a mild aroma and slight astringency, and discolors rapidly when cut due to phenolic compounds Lotus root is cooked in many different ways, after an initial peeling (and blanching in the case of salads), from rapid stir-frying to braising and candying Its modest store of starch is also extracted Oca Oca is the small tuber of a South American relative of wood sorrel, Oxalis tuberosa It is variably starchy or juicy, comes in a number of anthocyanin-based skin colors, from yellow to red to purple, and is unusual in being distinctly tart, thanks to the oxalic acid typical of the family In Peru and Bolivia it’s usually cooked in stews and soups Lower Stems and Bulbs: ...connotations The rhizome contains large void spaces, so cross-sectional slices have a characteristic lacy pattern It is crisp and remains so after cooking, for the same reason that water... aroma and slight astringency, and discolors rapidly when cut due to phenolic compounds Lotus root is cooked in many different ways, after an initial peeling (and blanching in the case of salads), from rapid stir-frying to braising and. .. salads), from rapid stir-frying to braising and candying Its modest store of starch is also extracted Oca Oca is the small tuber of a South American relative of wood sorrel, Oxalis tuberosa It is variably starchy or juicy, comes