How to Nourish With Jicama Brought to you by Viva Vegetables A Utah State University Extension and Nutrition and Food Sciences Department campaign The goal of the How to Nourish With lesson series is to provide adults and older children with helpful information and demonstrations about selecting, preparing, cooking with, and storing vegetables. This basic knowledge may encourage families to include vegetables more often as a mainstay of family meals and snacks. Objectives: 1. Adults will explain a health benefit provided by jicama. 2. Adults will explain how to select jicama. 3. Adults will discuss cost and time effective strategies for incorporating jicama into family meals. 4. Adults will discuss preparation and storage techniques of jicama, including cleaning, trimming, cooking, and storing 5. Adults will make and taste food that includes jicama. Total Time: ~1 hour Materials Copies of participant handout Dry-erase marker, chalk, or marker and paper 1-2 whole, fresh, raw jicama Cutting board Sharp knife and vegetable peeler Ingredients for food demonstration, see participant handout and lesson plan (chili pepper and lime jicama snack, and Jicama and Pineapple Salad) Plates, forks, and napkins for food demonstration Preparation Required Pre-cut and portion ingredients for Jicama and Pineapple Salad This material was funded by USDA's Food Stamp Program. The Food Stamp Program provides nutrition assistance to people with low income. It can help you buy nutritious foods for a be tter diet. To find out more, call 1-800-221-5689 or visit online at Uhttp://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/coalition/map. htmu. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture's policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, political beliefs or disability. This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
LESSON PLAN Introduction: Jicama is a tuber Welcome and thank the class for coming. Pass out the handouts so that participants can take notes as you are teaching. Ask the class: Can anyone describe what a tuber is? o Swollen underground plant stems o Grow underground (like root vegetables) o Many are edible and are a family of potato-like vegetables Tell the class there are many different kinds of tubers. Hold up a jicama for everyone to see. Ask if anyone knows what tuber it is. Allow time for a few guesses. Write the word jicama on the board (or have it already written or typed on piece a paper, large enough for the entire class to see). It is important for them to recognize the written name, because the pronunciation is different than what it looks like it would be. Tell the class that you pronounce this vegetable [Hee-kah-mah], the j sounds like an h. Ask the class: Does anyone know any of the history behind the jicama vegetable? Where is it from and what are its other names? Provide a brief introduction to the vegetable: o Originated in Mexico, Central and South America o Jicama are called a variety of names: Mexican potato Mexican yam bean Ahipa Saa got Chinese turnip Lo bok Chinese potato o Their skin is thin and can be gray, tan, or brown with a white, juicy flesh o They generally weigh between ½ pound and 6 pounds, but can weigh up to 50 pounds. o Jicama has a texture similar to water chestnuts and has a mildly sweet, nutty flavor. o Jicama roots are edible, but all of the above-ground portions (pods, seeds, flowers, vines) are toxic. o Native Americans used the seeds as fish poison. The seeds would cause the fish to go to the water s surface for the Native Americans to catch them. Objective 1: Adults will explain a health benefit provided by jicama. Activity: Nutrient discussion Tell the class that jicama is good source of many nutrients including fiber, potassium, and vitamin C. Explain that you will only focus on vitamin C during this lesson but if they would like to learn about other nutrients, they are invited to other Viva Vegetables!classes. Ask the class: Why is vitamin C good for us? o Vitamin C promotes immunity, or helps you resist sickness or overcome the sickness in a shorter period of time. An example of this is the common cold. However, eating or drinking large doses is not beneficial because your body cannot store vitamin C; any extra is eliminated through the urine. Vitamin C is best obtained through food. o Vitamin C also helps keep our gums and skin healthy. Objective 2: Adults will understand how to select the best jicama. Activity: Selecting high-quality jicama
Explain that jicama is available year-round, but the best months to buy are between November and June. Ask the class: What do you usually look for when selecting fresh vegetables to purchase? Pass around the fresh jicama and the picture of the old, decaying jicama. Tell the class to examine the differences and explain how they think the feel, texture, and firmness, and appearances are different. While the class is passing around the jicama, discuss that, just like other vegetables,jicama should: o Not have blemished skin, be cracked, bruised, moldy, or discolored o Should be medium in size o Have dry roots o Be heavy for its size o Be firm o Jicama that are less than four pounds generally taste better Objective 3: Adults will understand cost- and time-effective strategies for incorporating jicama into family meals Activity: Discussion on jicama cost and uses Jicamacosts about $0.99/pound and one pound of jicama chopped yields approximately 3 cups. Explain to the class that jicama can be eaten raw or cooked and has the texture of water chestnuts; its versatile nature allows it to be used in many dishes or as snacks. Jicama easily takes on the flavor of other ingredients when cooking, so it blends well in many dishes. Ask the class: What ways could you use jicama? o Eaten as a snack raw o In salads o In stir-fries as a substitute for water chestnuts o In sushi rolls Jicamais sold fresh in grocery stores but can be preserved into pickled jicama, jicama slaw, relish, and salsa. Jicama is time-effective because you can quickly peel and eat them. Jicamais cost-effective because it costs much less than water chestnuts, which are commonly used as an interchangeable ingredient. Just one pound will make at least three servings of jicama, so you are getting more for your money. Because they are not that expensive, especially in season, they are a good way to extend a meal by adding more volume to what you are serving. Objective 4: Adults will understand preparation and storage techniques of jicama including cleaning, trimming, cooking, and storing. Activity: Time: 25 minutes Preparation Wash jicama with a vegetable brush before slicing to remove any dirt. The skin of jicama must be removed before eating it raw. Remove the skin by peeling with a vegetable peeler or use a sharp knife to cut the jicama into slices and then cut around the edges of the slice to remove the skin. o Demo for the class removing the skin from a jicama both ways as listed above. o Allow a couple of people from the class try both methods of peeling. Cooking Jicama
Jicamacan be: o Steamed o Baked o Boiled o Mashed o Fried o Sliced into wide sticks and eaten raw o Eaten raw with guacamole or highly seasoned dips o Cut up into squares andused in a fresh fruit salads o Sautéed with carrots or green beans o Stir-fried with chicken or shrimp o Simmered in savory stews In Mexico, jicama is eatenas a spicy snack after sprinkling withchili pepper and lime juice. Storage Jicama can be stored up to two weeks in a plastic bag in the refrigerator or stored in a cool, dry place uncovered (before being cut up) for up to three weeks. Objective 5:Adults will make and taste something that includes jicama. Activity: Food demonstrations Time: 10 minutes Explain to the class that you will be demonstrating an easy, delicious recipe they can enjoy at home called Jicama and Pineapple Salad in a Cilantro Vinaigrette. Explain as you are preparing the salad you would like two helpers to finish slicing a jicama and flavor the slices with chili pepper and lime juice, so the class can taste how jicamais eaten in Mexico as a snack. Demonstrate making the salad recipe. (Have all the ingredients premeasured and chopped prior to demonstrating the recipe. Then you will just need to mix the ingredients together. Serve up the samples and pass them out to the audience. Conclusion: Summary and Regroup Ask the class: Does anyone have any questions about the recipe or what you have learned? Ask the class: How are you going to try adding jicama into your meals or snacks?
Decaying jicama Decaying Jicama Fresh jicama