The yucca plant is also known as the manioc or cassava. The yucca plant is a white, starchy vegetable originally grown by the people of Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia. This vegetable is one of their dietary staples, and used in making cooking flour and paste.
How the yucca plant is harvested.
Nowadays, in many Latin countries such as Cuba and Costa Rica, the yucca is grown on plantations. The starchy vegetable is grown into a bush like plant, with the fibrous root being the edible part of the yucca. If its harvested too late, there is a real possibility the edible portion will develop into a wood like texture. The other penalty of a late harvest is root rot, which can kill the plant. As you can imagine, yucca farmers follow strict and proven methods to ensure the vegetable is harvested successfully.
A versatile and nutritional vegetable
The yuccas popularity as a vegetable has reached many non-Latin populations. An estimated ten and a half million pounds of the yucca plant was sold in the United State alone. It is often substituted for potatoes in soups, stews and other dishes. It contains vitamin C, carbohydrates for energy and dietary fiber, yet has only 120 calories in a 3.5-ounce serving.
The yucca plant has a thick, dark brown skin that looks similar to a trees bark. The average size of a yucca found in a store is about 9-15 inches long. A sharp knife is needed to peel away the skin of a fresh yucca. The white flesh inside can then be boiled, fried or used in baking. After the yucca plant is fully cooked, a tough, string-like fiber can be found inside the middle of the vegetable. Simply remove this hard portion and enjoy the softer flesh around it.
You can find skinless and precut yucca in the frozen section where other Spanish foods are found. The yucca is now used in to make chips. The chips are made in a similar way to potato chips.