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J Is For Jicama

 


J is for jicama, a tuber that often looks like an overgrown radish.  It is crunchy, mild and a little sweet in flavour.  It is often used in salads in Mexico and Central America.

Steps for cooking jicama:

  1.   A great salad is achieved by mixing it together with bell peppers of all colours, onion, cucumber, coriander and lime juice.
  2.   Chop all the ingredients and toss them together in a bowl with the lime juice.  Chill before serving. 
  3. You can also add avocado and serve this delicious salad with refried beans and tacos.


Another tasty ‘J’ is jacket potato, also called a baked potato.  These are best when topped with a filling of your choice.  Cheese, beans, tuna and mayonnaise, and chilli all are good toppings.

Some things beginning with J that are not always associated with foods and eating include:

  • japonica, also called the camellia, this flowering shrub is seen as a lucky symbol for the Chinese New Year.  The variety ‘camellia sinensis’ is said to have been used by the Shang Dynasty as a medicine, and is infused to make a drink of tea.  Japonica fruit is an ornamental quince and is often used in pies with apples, but must not be eaten raw,

  • Jew’s ear, or jelly ear, an edible fungus found growing on dead and living wood that is noteably shaped like an ear, the name is derived from the belief that Judas Escariot hanged himself from an elder tree and it was originally known as ‘Judas’s ear’,

  • Job’s tears, a tall grain-bearing plant from Asia used to make drinks, soups and coarse bread, and

  • junket, a dessert made with milk, sugar, vanilla and rennet, creating a set custard like, chilled pudding.  It is often served with nutmeg sprinkled on top.  In America there is now a packet version of junket.

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