Author Topic: tubers on topic or off  (Read 4806 times)

tabbydan

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tubers on topic or off
« on: September 25, 2012, 11:30:21 AM »
Is discussing tubers rhizomes on topic or off?

I was thinking of discussing "Jerusalem artichoke" (Helianthus tuberosus), a native tuber... and also wondering if people had something to chime in about its "after effects".
What's that got to do with Jose Andres $10 brussel sprouts?

nullzero

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2012, 02:12:20 PM »
I grew it out, tried the tubers raw.. They were pretty tasteless. I suppose this is a vegetable that needs to be cooked for good flavor. Since space a premium, I found the Yacon more rewarding and great to eat fresh or juiced.
Grow mainly fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

tabbydan

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #2 on: September 25, 2012, 02:24:23 PM »
I tried it and found that they are more flavorful than a potato but that they give me painful gas (I'm not used to having my "cargo hold" pressurized).  I'm curious since it seems some people have a reaction and others don't (yet the tubers always contain inulin (which is digestable by no one) so I'd think everyone would have the same reaction).  My wife, for instance, is eating about the same amount I am and not having any problems "down the line".
What's that got to do with Jose Andres $10 brussel sprouts?

nullzero

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2012, 03:37:34 PM »
I tried it and found that they are more flavorful than a potato but that they give me painful gas (I'm not used to having my "cargo hold" pressurized).  I'm curious since it seems some people have a reaction and others don't (yet the tubers always contain inulin (which is digestable by no one) so I'd think everyone would have the same reaction).  My wife, for instance, is eating about the same amount I am and not having any problems "down the line".

If you want something tastier and healthier then a potato... try Black Salsify (Scorzonera hispanica), boil with some sea salt. Its mild, creamy and has excellent texture. I ate it raw taste was mild with slight bitterness... however cooked it transforms into an excellent tuber for dinner and is low in carbs.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2012, 03:40:20 PM by nullzero »
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tabbydan

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2012, 04:27:54 PM »
I've always been curious about Black Salsify.  I've tried "normal" salsify which is not bad but pretty bland.  I should check that one out.
What's that got to do with Jose Andres $10 brussel sprouts?

nullzero

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2012, 04:38:55 PM »
I've always been curious about Black Salsify.  I've tried "normal" salsify which is not bad but pretty bland.  I should check that one out.

You should grow it for sure! After you taste them boiled you will see why :), should be cold hardy in your zone as well. Typically the plants are harvested for the roots on the second year. You can find seeds for it from Adaptive seeds. If you plan to grow them, I would recommend getting at least 20 plants going. Since you can harvest them for the roots anytime of the year.
Grow mainly fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Mike T

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2012, 06:05:40 AM »
My yacon struggled in the hottest as well as the wettest time of the year and I found chinese jicama more productive and versatile.I also grow WI arrowroot,laos canna arrowroot,qld arrowroot and a variety of sweet potatoes.People often forget choko has tubers at the base of the vine that are of good quality and probably more worthwhile than the fruit.I did have 4 different yam species but found them to be too vigorous.So far as aroid tubers go my garden has several taro types and xanthosoma.No longer do I grow cassava as ther are only so many starchy root crops you can use.

fruitlovers

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2012, 01:45:14 AM »
My yacon struggled in the hottest as well as the wettest time of the year and I found chinese jicama more productive and versatile.I also grow WI arrowroot,laos canna arrowroot,qld arrowroot and a variety of sweet potatoes.People often forget choko has tubers at the base of the vine that are of good quality and probably more worthwhile than the fruit.I did have 4 different yam species but found them to be too vigorous.So far as aroid tubers go my garden has several taro types and xanthosoma.No longer do I grow cassava as ther are only so many starchy root crops you can use.

Grow yacon here all the time...no struggle. Sounds like they don't like your soil. I like yacon a lot more than jicama. Yacon is sweeter and juicier. Also jicama can climb and run out of control here.
Oscar

Tim

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2012, 02:09:05 AM »
Does anyone eat canna rhizomes or are we the only weird ones? 
Tim

BMc

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #9 on: October 16, 2012, 07:24:28 PM »
Does anyone eat canna rhizomes or are we the only weird ones?

Canna edulis - Queensland arrowroot - is a good eat. I only grow dwarf green and black versions of the flowering cannas, so that doesnt make it worth the time diggin them up. Others here do eat the full sized flowering types.
I've also been growing purple fleshed sweet potatoes from Mike, which are an irridescent pink and white inside. They are absolutely delicious and sweet on their own. Absolutely destroys the beauregard and otehr orange varieties. I'm also trying an oak leaved white sweet potato for fun after a pal told me they were not only edible, but surprisingly one of the best he's tried, after he picked them up as an ornamental.
I also had a good harvest of cocoyam this winter. It was my first and I didnt know how to use them. By the time I found out how to use they were not much good for eating, so most have gone back into the ground and I'll be more savvy next season.

Tim

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #10 on: October 16, 2012, 08:25:14 PM »
Yea the purple sweet potatoes are really good...not mushy like the orange we have, and not as dry as the white.  We're talking purple inside and out including the skin right?  The light purple white skinned sweet potato doesn't do much for me.

I miss eating canna tubers, I'll have to pay my sister-in-law a visit soon.
Tim

Tim

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #11 on: October 16, 2012, 08:33:42 PM »
As for cocoyam, don't harvest them prematurely....way too mushy for eating, also flavorless in that stage.  My wife's side of the family eat them boiled, with a sprinkle of ground roasted peanuts, sugar and a tiny pinch of salt, decent but I enjoy them both ways.
Tim

Mike T

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #12 on: October 17, 2012, 03:40:27 AM »
The sweet potatoes I prefer are the purple skin and purple flesh,brown skin,yellow flesh and also some white skin purple flesh are good.There are lots of types but not as many as taros.

tabbydan

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #13 on: October 17, 2012, 04:52:50 PM »
The purple ones I get here have purple flesh and beige skin, they also tend to be oddly shaped.
What's that got to do with Jose Andres $10 brussel sprouts?

zands

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #14 on: October 17, 2012, 05:16:25 PM »
As for cocoyam, don't harvest them prematurely....way too mushy for eating, also flavorless in that stage.  My wife's side of the family eat them boiled, with a sprinkle of ground roasted peanuts, sugar and a tiny pinch of salt, decent but I enjoy them both ways.

What East Asians think about tubers is they are inferior to rice. Rice is the main food as in the Japanese word gohan. Rice is their principal food. In Europe wheat and its cousins were and are the principal food. The foundation. As in the Bible "You earn your daily bread by the sweat of your brow"

Tubers are fun and tasty like sweet potatoes. When the rice harvest fails the peasants scramble to cultivate and eat sweet potatoes. Same for other tubers. Towards the end of WW2 and for the years of poverty that followed the Japanese and Koreans were subsisting on sweet potatoes. Vietnam I am less knowledgeable. Please note that tubers have zero percent protein while rice and wheat have protein


tabbydan

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #15 on: October 17, 2012, 06:49:19 PM »
Actually zands, while the majority of tubers tend to mainly be starches some tubers do have decent amounts of protein in them.  But compared to legumes, nuts, etc... they do quite poorly.  Rice probably beats most or all the tubers in terms of protein percentage, but many of the other grains / pseudo grains are poor on protein (of course amaranth and quiona do quite well)

If one was reduced to a one food vegetable diet tubers wouldn't be such a bad choice because carbohydrates are actually the ideal fuel for humans.  That being said, one food vegetable diets are NOT a good idea.  I'm not certain but in terms of minerals and vitamins I think tubers are often better than grains.
What's that got to do with Jose Andres $10 brussel sprouts?

zands

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #16 on: October 17, 2012, 08:35:08 PM »
Actually zands, while the majority of tubers tend to mainly be starches some tubers do have decent amounts of protein in them.  But compared to legumes, nuts, etc... they do quite poorly.  Rice probably beats most or all the tubers in terms of protein percentage, but many of the other grains / pseudo grains are poor on protein (of course amaranth and quiona do quite well)

If one was reduced to a one food vegetable diet tubers wouldn't be such a bad choice because carbohydrates are actually the ideal fuel for humans.  That being said, one food vegetable diets are NOT a good idea.  I'm not certain but in terms of minerals and vitamins I think tubers are often better than grains.

Amaranth quiona buckwheat are spinach cousins are not real grains grasses. Please give me the best protein count you can find on a tuber. This is part of the reason Africa has problems. They make tubers into principal food. In the last 400 years they have also taken up maize which makes for huge problems regarding protein and niacin. The only right way to process corn (maize) into a civilization sustaining food is masa

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Three-seed Porridge with Ginger and Blueberries
nourishedkitchen.com › Season › Any
27 mins
Feb 17, 2012 – Not quite grains, buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa are the seeds of broad-leafed plants. Grains, in case you're wondering, are the seeds of ...

zzzz
« Last Edit: October 17, 2012, 08:39:56 PM by zands »

tabbydan

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #17 on: October 17, 2012, 08:46:07 PM »
Actually zands, while the majority of tubers tend to mainly be starches some tubers do have decent amounts of protein in them.  But compared to legumes, nuts, etc... they do quite poorly.  Rice probably beats most or all the tubers in terms of protein percentage, but many of the other grains / pseudo grains are poor on protein (of course amaranth and quiona do quite well)

If one was reduced to a one food vegetable diet tubers wouldn't be such a bad choice because carbohydrates are actually the ideal fuel for humans.  That being said, one food vegetable diets are NOT a good idea.  I'm not certain but in terms of minerals and vitamins I think tubers are often better than grains.

Amaranth quiona buckwheat are spinach cousins are not real grains grasses. Please give me the best protein count you can find on a tuber.

Three-seed Porridge with Ginger and Blueberries
   
nourishedkitchen.com › Season › Any
27 mins
Feb 17, 2012 – Not quite grains, buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa are the seeds of broad-leafed plants. Grains, in case you're wondering, are the seeds of ...

zzzz

If you actually read what I wrote I said "grains / pseudo grains" pseudo grains are crops that aren't true grains but are eaten as such (amaranth, quiona, corn).

I'm not claiming tubers are a powerhouse of protein, just that a few of them (again not most as I said) might beat some of the grains.  Grains like wheat have been drastically reduced in protein during the time they've been cultivated (if you went back to the original wheat(s) in the middle east and europe you'd find they'd have a much higher protein content.  If you are doing a one source vegetable diet things like corn are horrible because they have unbalanced amino acids, so if you eat them alone it is like their protein content is a lot less than it actually is (and corn isn't that great to begin with).
As mentioned in my original post (go back and read it) the average tuber checks in poor in terms of protein but some of the basic grains we have now aren't that great either (better than the average tuber but nothing to shout about).  Some tubers will beat some grains (I can look it up if you really want).
Also as mentioned tubers can have decent vitamins minerals.  Like potatoes having good vitamin C for instance.  Vitamins and minerals are a lot more essential than protein (the need for which is often overstated in the US).
If you can only eat one plant, tubers aren't so bad (but still you will have nutrient deficiency disease as a result).
What's that got to do with Jose Andres $10 brussel sprouts?

BMc

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Re: tubers on topic or off
« Reply #18 on: October 17, 2012, 09:08:49 PM »
Some of the illogic on here today is astounding.
I thought this thread was about tasty tubers, not comparing them to grains, greens and grasses. Everything in the plant kingdom is far inferior to a good slab of Emu or Osterich meat  ;)
Also, Asians value tubers plenty. I've had lots of fantastic taro, yam and sweet potato dishes in Asia and in Australia cooked by folks from East and South East Asia. Incredibly, they are often found on the same plate as gains and dont seem to disagree with each other or my stomach about the evening news.