You Say Potato, I Say Yucca

Working at HEB there are always new things coming across my scanner. I have probably seen all of the produce that we have to offer there. I decided to take a trip across the street to La Michoacana. Although their produce department was much smaller than HEB’s, there were a few items that I had never seen before. The one that grabbed my attention was the Yucca root. It had brown rough looking skin and was as hard as a potato. It was about eight inches long and two inches wide, and had the shape similar to a tube, but odd like a sweet potato. I honestly decided to buy it because it was so ugly and I was interested in what it would taste like. I did some research and discovered that it is native to Brazil and very rich in starch.

I went up to a woman in the store and asked her what I could do with it. She told me it was very similar to a potato and her children love when she makes Yucca fries. She said you can bake it, fry it, boil it, and mash it. I asked how do I make the Yucca fries and it was actually quite simple. At that point I had decided I was going to make Yucca fries, but Yucca fries alone as a snack. I would follow the woman’s instructions and hope I get it right. I chose to make Yucca fries because I have tried normal French fries and sweet potato fries so this would be something familiar with a new ingredient.

First on the instructions was to peel the Yucca. I thought this process was going to take awhile do to the roughness of the skin. To my surprise it was as easy as peeling a potato. Once the Yucca was peeled I could see that the inside was white with a light yellow tint. The next thing to do was to cut and boil the Yucca enough to where you can stick a fork in it. The Yucca was hard to cut through mostly in the center, and reminded me of a sweet potato. It took about 30 minutes for my Yucca to boil which surprised me. For some reason I thought it was going to boil quicker. Once boiled I placed the Yucca on a cutting board and when it cooled down enough to handle I cut each piece in half because the woman said there is a tough center part though the Yucca that I would want to get out. It was difficult finding this because I had no idea what I was looking for. When I finally got the center out I started cutting the Yucca into small fries, laid them on a pan, and sprinkled some salt and pepper on them. With the oven at 350 degrees I popped the Yucca in. The woman did not say how long to bake them, but she said that they will change to a golden brown when ready. I took them out after about 10 minutes to flip them and left them in for 10 more minutes.

First bite into the Yucca fries and I knew I put too much pepper. The texture was strange and the Yucca had not taste or smell to them at all. After about two fries in I pushed my plate aside. I was hoping for more of a soft texture but the Yucca was too dense and chewy for my taste. They were not crispy, but I suppose I could bake them longer. If I try Yucca again, I will probably try frying my fries rather than baking them. But as for now, I’m sticking with the potato.