Beyond Potatoes: The Weirdly Spicy World of Andean Roots

Video Description

These aren’t your grandpa’s root vegetables. Unless he was South American. Two of the strangest-tasting roots I’ve tried came from Peru. One bizarrely delicious, the other, I don’t know how to feel about. Today, the Andes mountains are known as the source of potatoes and sweet potatoes, but there were actually many root vegetables that originated here, but most haven’t achieved the same worldwide fame yet. Colourful, cromulent, and sometimes confusing, here are 5 of these less-known crops, plus a very popular fruit from the area, just for good measure. Special thanks to YouTube member Ken Johnston for supporting me! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/amblingwithsam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amblingwithsam/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amblingwithsam Plants In This Video: Yacón (Smallanthus sonchifolius) Asteraceae (Aster family) Other Names: Peruvian ground apple, strawberry jicama, batata yacon, batata do diabético Oca (Oxalis tuberosa) Oxalidaceae (Wood Sorrel family) Other Names: New Zealand yam*, uqa, apilla, apiña, batata-baroa, mandioquinha, cuiba, quiba, hibia cubio, macachin, miquichi, papa extranjera, huasisai, qua, ibi, truffette acide *neither from New Zealand, nor related to true yams Olluco (Ullucus tuberosus) Basellaceae (Malabar Spinach family) Other Names: papa lisa, ulluku, ullucu, ulluko, milluku, illaco, melloco, chungua, ruba, ulluma, earth gems Maca (Lepidium meyenii) Brassicaceae (Mustard family) Other Names: Peruvian ginseng, maca-maca, maino, ayak chichira, ayak willku, macao, maca-peruana, 印加萝卜 Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) Tropaeolaceae (Nasturtium family) Other Names: añu, isaño, mashwa, maswallo, mazuko, mascho, cubio, tuberous nasturtium, nabu Lúcuma (Pouteria lucuma*) Sapotaceae (Sapodilla family) Other Names: eggfruit**, lucma, lucmo, rucma, maco *synonym Lucuma bifera also commonly used **more often used for close relative P. campechiana Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:54 - Yacón 08:13 - Oca 11:51 - Olluco/Earth Gems 15:35 - Maca 25:01 - Mashua 32:46 - Lúcuma Images and Footage (roughly in order): Timelapses (2): https://youtu.be/6xZDe1awvRs?si=98hKwnaW4hQG-RN3 , CC-BY 2.0 Cotahuasi View: https://youtu.be/uDxT7IrraGE?si=6mbPSLTooAWtPlMM , CC-BY 2.0 Yacón Underground: Skrissh, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported Arracacha: Nicolás Baresch, iNaturalist, CC-BY 4.0 Oca Varieties: Luisa Sirpa, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 International Yacon Packaged: François Nguyen, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY 2.0 Generic Yacon (2): NusHub, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported Yacon Fruit Salad: Forest and Kim Starr, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Yacon Juice: Monica Kaneko, Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0 Agave Nectar: Heather Kennedy, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Yacon in Hand: Jesedmateo, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 International Enzyme for FOS: Maaroufi, Halim & Levesque, Roger. (2015). Glycoside hydrolase family 32 is present in Bacillus subtilis phages. Virology Journal. 12. 10.1186/s12985-015-0373-6. CC-BY 4.0 Yacon (2): Suedpfalz, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 International Yacon in Malaysia: Choo Kwong Yan, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported Yacon Ceramics (2): Museo Larco – Lima, Perú Mixed Crops: Rafael Estrella, Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0 Mixed Roots: © FAO / Jeremy Cornejo More Mixed Roots: tjabeljan, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Yacon Flower: Intillapa, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 International Yacon: Suedpfalz, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 International Yacon Leaves: Forest and Kim Starr, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Oca: Conall, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Oca Plant Harvested: Corine Quarles van Ufford, Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0 Oca Plants: Local Food Initiative, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Oca Roots: Markus Leupold-Löwenthal, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported Oca and Mashua Cooked: Håkan Svensson, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported Oca Roots (2): Frank Vincentz, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported Oca Dug Up: Local Food Initiative, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Olluco in Basket: Kristin Miranda, Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0 Olluco: Nzfauna, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported Olluco in Bag: Thomas Quine, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Olluco in Mesh: Luis Tamayo, Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0 Olluco: MiguelAlanCS, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 International Olluco Plant: Frank Vincentz, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported Malabar Spinach: F Delventhal, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Kaniwa: © FAO / Alipio Canahua Pachamama and Pachatata Mountains: Jimmy Harris, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus): m. m. v., Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Mauka (Mirabilis expansa): Lou Tignoùs, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 International Arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza): Germarquezm, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported Ice Cream Bean: Forest and Kim Starr, Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Achira (Canna indica): Fpalli, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported The credits were too long to fit here, so see here for complete credits: https://pastebin.com/Wmc0Lxpi