Root Vegetables

Edible roots are a commonly neglected bunch, but have recently emerging from the shadows to make their presence definitely known.  They have never inspired love at first sight anyway. Beneath their rough skinned, knotty, and ugly outer cloak, they harbor a wealth of earthy flavors and nutritiens. They are excellent sources of fiber, minerals, vitamins and low calorie energy. It is important to know that not everything that grows below ground is a root vegetable.

Potatoes, jicama, turnips, cassava, kumara, yams, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, manioc, oca, these are just a few of dozens of underground tubers that sustain modern humans, who boil, bake, and fry them for lunch, dinner, and sometimes breakfast. Tubers are storage organs which preserve the plant in a dormant state through the winter, and give the plant a boost in making new growth in the spring. The tubers come in many shapes and sizes and are an excellent source of nutritiens.

Onions, garlic and shallots are underground bulbs. Each root has its own unique taste and nutritional value, so be daring and expand your taste buds! Roots to know: beet, burdock, carrots, celery root, celeriac, horseradish, daicon radish, parsnips, radishes, parsley root, salsify etc.