Late September into October is the time to be harvesting your Yacon.
Dig deep! the roots go down a long way! Don’t worry if you break one or two on the way you can use these first.
remove all the tubers from the root. make sure you keep the stem of the plant with the hard core around the base of the stem, this is your new plant for next year.
Wash the tubers and leave them to dry in a greenhouse or shed, you can eat them now but they will develop sweetness over a couple of weeks. Consumed straight from the ground, they will be crisp and crunchy a bit like watermelon but not sweet at all.
If storing put it in a cool dry place away from mice!! No need to exclude light as they don’t ‘go green’ like potatoes. As the tubers do not have ‘eyes’ (growing points) they will store for a long time.
Uses – raw in salads and fruit salads, cooked – roasted like sweet potatoes or make ‘Yacon’ syrup, a low-calorie sweetener (see recipes).