Jicama is also called kudzu, sweet potato, cold melon, radish, kudzu and jicama. Jicama is often eaten as fruit, and is sometimes used in stir-fries. The edible part of jicama is the plump root tuber. The skin is thin and tough, the meat is white, the taste is tender and crisp, sweet and juicy, and there is no residue in the taste. When eaten raw or cooked, it has the functions of promoting body fluids and quenching thirst, cooling, removing heat and relieving hangover.
The name and method of jicama
Jicama is native to South America. The Indians were the first to discover that the roots of jicama are edible. After Columbus discovered the New World, he also brought many species, including jicama to Europe.
The Spaniards introduced jicama to the Philippines in the second half of the 16th century and to my country at the end of the 17th century. Currently, a large number of sweet potatoes are grown in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other regions.
Jicama is named after its plant that can bloom and produce strings of bean-like pods. Therefore, the scientific name of Jicama is Jicama.
Cold potato also has many aliases. Common aliases include jicama, jicama, sweet potato, Xinluo Ge, soil melon, kudzu, sweet potato, cold melon, and radish.
What family of plants does Jingyam belong to
Jingyam is a plant belonging to the genus Leguminosae of the Leguminosae family, and does not belong to the same family as potatoes and sweet potatoes. When we eat jicama in daily life, we eat the roots that grow underground.
Cold potatoes are mostly in the shape of lumps, with white flesh, crisp and tender texture, and juicy texture. They can usually be eaten from July to August. Because the seeds of jicama are highly poisonous, they cannot be eaten.
Nutritional composition of jicama
Jingyam roots are rich in carbohydrates and protein. 100 grams of fresh jicama contains 7.6 to 11.9 grams of carbohydrates, as well as some vitamins and minerals.
In addition, the meat of jicama is white, tender and crispy, sweet and juicy, and can be eaten raw or cooked. Because jicama is rich in starch, it can be made into kudzu powder, which has a cooling and heat-removing effect.
Foreign studies have found that cold potatoes contain α-amylase, and eating them raw can help digestion.
In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that jicama is rich in potassium, calcium and sugar, and has the functions of producing body fluids and quenching thirst, cooling and removing heat, detoxifying alcohol, preventing cancer, fighting colds, and lowering blood pressure and blood lipids.
Efficacy and nutritional value of sweet potato
① Lower blood pressure
Because sweet potato is rich in potassium, it helps metabolize sodium and has the effect of assisting in lowering blood pressure.
②Reduce blood lipids
Jicy potatoes are rich in starch, mostly amylopectin, with high viscosity, similar to potato (potato) starch, not easy to change color, have slow metabolism, and can resist hunger , has the effect of assisting in lowering blood lipids.
③Cool and remove heat
Jingyam is cool and juicy. Regular consumption can help eliminate internal fire and remove heat.
④Anti-tumor
The n-butanol extract of cold potato has obvious anti-cancer activity, can inhibit the proliferation of KB cells in vitro, has anti-cancer effects in vitro, and is expected to be developed A new anti-cancer drug.