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No Jicama? No Problem! Alternative Options for Salsa Making

We were introduced to Jicama on our trip to Mexico last fall. They consider it like a potato, serve it raw, in wedges with lime and salt on it. I...
wadesgirl
Gold Member
11,412
I have a consultant on my team who wants to try the new salsa but cannot find jicama any where close to her. What should I suggest instead?
 
Someone in my cluster suggested an Asian Pear. Water chestnuts are the right kind of texture, but not the right flavor.
 
I was also going to suggest some type of pear. I think an Asian Pear would work just fine :)
 
So jicama is sweet? I remember seeing it at one store here, but I haven't found it again yet!
 
Yep, it's crunchy like a water chestnut, but it is sweet. So delicious! :)
 
  • Thread starter
  • #6
I thought of it as a crunchy "sweet" potato - like a cross of a potato and an apple.
 
wadesgirl said:
I thought of it as a crunchy "sweet" potato - like a cross of a potato and an apple.

We must have bad jicama here as I never noticed a sweet taste. It tastes dry to me, in fact I have thought that water chestnuts would be a good substitute. Interesting. Maybe it IS my tastebuds.
 
I have never found what I consider to be a good one in Boise either.
 
asian pears and granny smith apples are the best substitutes. If you don't want as sweet, radishes or water chestnuts work best.

Asian pears can be quite pricey though, so I usually use the granny smith if jicama isn't available.
 
  • #10
Isn't the Granny Smith rather tart?
 
  • #11
yes. Jicama isn't really sweet. It's got a very slight sweetness to it. So hard to describe. I just find that the granny smith is the most reliable flavor wise as a raw substitute. When a recipe calls for cooked jicama and you can't find it, I use water chestnuts.
 
  • #12
Great info., Thank you!
 
  • #13
I used a red delicious apple the other day and it was a bit too sweet, so I think a granny smith might work great.
 
  • #14
So thankful for this thread! Last night my host was so proud that she was able to find a jicama. Went to prep it and it was ...a rutabaga!!!
Fortunately she had an apple and all was well!
Live and learn ;)
 
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  • #15
loreo said:
So thankful for this thread! Last night my host was so proud that she was able to find a jicama. Went to prep it and it was ...a rutabaga!!!
Fortunately she had an apple and all was well!
Live and learn ;)

Oops!! Did you try it to see a difference?
 
  • #16
Grocery stores to try:
Walmart
Any Mexican Grocery store (I drove all over and it just dawned on me that there is a Mexican Grocery store next door)
 
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  • #17
amyscookinggear said:
Grocery stores to try:
Walmart
Any Mexican Grocery store (I drove all over and it just dawned on me that there is a Mexican Grocery store next door)

She sort of live out in the middle of now where and did try the closest WalMart to her.
 
  • #18
ALL of Iowa for the most part is in the middle of nowhere...

I was born and raised there so I have personal experience and am not just dissing the state. I was born in Maquoketa, lived in Clinton for a year, moved to Britt, and spent my Jr High and High School years in Cedar Rapids. I am proud to say that I am FROM Iowa (but it does mean I left... ;) )
 
  • #19
wadesgirl said:
Oops!! Did you try it to see a difference?

I didn't. I've not been feeling well ( gall bladder I think :() and didn't want to risk it. Everyone else loved it though!
 
  • #20
I've made the salsa twice without the jicama or a substitute, and it was still delicious. My DH loved it so much that he bought 2 mangoes, the largest red onion I've ever seen, and about 6 jalapenos at the store today so I could make a batch for him before I left town for the week. HAHAHA- he didn't know how much of anything was in it.I'd be curious how it tastes with a Granny Smith.
 
  • #21
I used Granny Smith in mine today and it was delicious (and I forgot the jalpeno! and refuse to put cilantro in it.)
 
  • #22
We were introduced to Jicama on our trip to Mexico last fall. They consider it like a potato, serve it raw, in wedges with lime and salt on it. I had a waiter bring one to me so I'd know what it was. I never thought of it as being sweet, but is a great snack for kids.
 
  • #23
I made it the other day but couldn't find the jicama (always forget how to pronounce it too). I added pineapple instead and it was FABULOUS!!!
 
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  • #24
gailz2 said:
We were introduced to Jicama on our trip to Mexico last fall. They consider it like a potato, serve it raw, in wedges with lime and salt on it. I had a waiter bring one to me so I'd know what it was. I never thought of it as being sweet, but is a great snack for kids.

I guess when I say sweet I mean it reminds me a lot of a potato but has a little bit of a sweeter taste to it than a potato.
 
  • #25
jicama - pronounce it like "hick"+ "a"+ "Ma"I couldn't find a jicama at Walmart. The lady said they come in occasionally...
 
  • #26
Malinda Klein said:
jicama - pronounce it like "hick"+ "a"+ "Ma"

I couldn't find a jicama at Walmart. The lady said they come in occasionally...

Funny... Walmart if the only place around here that I can find it.
 
  • #27
wadesgirl said:
I guess when I say sweet I mean it reminds me a lot of a potato but has a little bit of a sweeter taste to it than a potato.

I agree. Substituting an Asian Pear in it's place sounds good to me.
 
  • #28
So glad I found this thread!
 
  • #29
I usually just make it without and it is really good. I'll try the Asian Pear or Granny Smith apple next time - thanks!
 
  • #30
I used a Gala apple & it was great!
 
  • #31
I've made mine without, and I've used Granny Smith apples. Both work well for the salsa.. For the Cool & Crunchy Chicken Tacos/Salad- I used the apple.BUT, my host on Saturday had found the jicama at a Food Lion! (To me, it's like the "lowest" grocery store in our area for selection. I was then able to find it at a Food Lion near me as well. I haven't tried my other stores....I've asked at most of them and no one knew what I was even talking about. But when I found it at Food Lion- it was in the section with the various Squash. My host said near their loose potatoes and squash. It has the shape of a large vidalia onion- but a skin like a white potato or ginger. We did learn at the show that jicama is a tougher fruit/veggie to chop - it got wedged in the blades of the MFP. But once we got it off the blades, it chopped up ok. (It was my first time using the jicama.)
 
  • #32
esavvymom said:
I've made mine without, and I've used Granny Smith apples. Both work well for the salsa.. For the Cool & Crunchy Chicken Tacos/Salad- I used the apple.

BUT, my host on Saturday had found the jicama at a Food Lion! (To me, it's like the "lowest" grocery store in our area for selection. I was then able to find it at a Food Lion near me as well. I haven't tried my other stores....I've asked at most of them and no one knew what I was even talking about. But when I found it at Food Lion- it was in the section with the various Squash. My host said near their loose potatoes and squash. It has the shape of a large vidalia onion- but a skin like a white potato or ginger.

We did learn at the show that jicama is a tougher fruit/veggie to chop - it got wedged in the blades of the MFP. But once we got it off the blades, it chopped up ok. (It was my first time using the jicama.)

I haven't found it at our Food Lion but our Lowes Foods has a sign saying where it belongs on the shelf - I've looked every week in a year and they never have it in but the sign remains. :grumpy: I find it at Walmart.
 
  • #33
Made the salsa for the first time this week. Our store did not have jicama or asian pears in stock, so I tried a bosc pear. The salsa was sooooo yummy!!!! I was even proud of myself for using a fresh jalapeno for the first time (have always been nervous about getting the burning oils on me). Next time I will try using the Granny Smith apple if the jicama or asian pear is not available.
 
  • #34
Watch out for those peppers! I don't ever want to go there again! The burn hurts big time! I will never do hot peppers without some sort of protection and I don't know why any "chef" would. Those things are nothing to mess around with!
 
  • #35
I'm in southern Indiana & found one at Meijers. We tried the Jicama in the salsa last week & it was terrible! We gave the salsa to a friend. I'm not sure if they ate it, but there was no way I could. I'm not a picky eater, but this was NASTY! I had never tasted Jicama before so I didn't know what to expect. There was no sign so I never would have found it if it wasn't for a young employee who showed us where they were. How can you tell if you have a bad one?
 
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  • #36
Rhonda-Roo said:
I'm in southern Indiana & found one at Meijers. We tried the Jicama in the salsa last week & it was terrible! We gave the salsa to a friend. I'm not sure if they ate it, but there was no way I could. I'm not a picky eater, but this was NASTY! I had never tasted Jicama before so I didn't know what to expect. There was no sign so I never would have found it if it wasn't for a young employee who showed us where they were. How can you tell if you have a bad one?

You should put a lot in it that it over powers the salsa. Did you try the jicama by itself to make sure that's what you were tasting?
 
  • #37
Rhonda-Roo said:
I'm in southern Indiana & found one at Meijers. We tried the Jicama in the salsa last week & it was terrible! We gave the salsa to a friend. I'm not sure if they ate it, but there was no way I could. I'm not a picky eater, but this was NASTY! I had never tasted Jicama before so I didn't know what to expect. There was no sign so I never would have found it if it wasn't for a young employee who showed us where they were. How can you tell if you have a bad one?

Any jicama I've ever had has been very mild tasting. Are you sure what you had was a Jicama?
 
  • #38
I'm thinking that wasn't really a jicama, too!
 
  • #39
The jicama I found has the shape of a vidalia or even a red onion, but the skin looks more like a potato's skin. The texture and color inside is that of a water chestnut.

http://www.defeatdiabetes.org/resource/dynamic/global/food_-_jicama.jpg
jicama.jpg
 
  • #40
hmmm...I think the skin looks more like turnip, beet, or parsnip. Thicker than potato skin, definitley.
 
  • #41
In North Carolina (Sandhills and Raleigh areas), the updated Food Lion Stores carry Jicama.
 
  • #42
Well, it looked like the picture Bobbi posted. It had a wax on the outside but it had a funny smell. My boyfriend said it smelled like old dirty socks. lol Since there's so many people that like the salsa with the Jicama, I will have to buy another one & try it again.
 
  • #43
Rhonda-Roo said:
Well, it looked like the picture Bobbi posted. It had a wax on the outside but it had a funny smell. My boyfriend said it smelled like old dirty socks. lol Since there's so many people that like the salsa with the Jicama, I will have to buy another one & try it again.

Jicama should not have a funny smell. As has been mentioned before, the taste is mild and so is the smell. There have been times the jicama at our stores has been mushy and/or smelled bad so I've substituted a granny smith apple instead with great results. I reall think the one you bought was spoiled. If you can find a good one, do try it again.
 
  • #44
Rhonda-Roo said:
Well, it looked like the picture Bobbi posted. It had a wax on the outside but it had a funny smell. My boyfriend said it smelled like old dirty socks. lol Since there's so many people that like the salsa with the Jicama, I will have to buy another one & try it again.

If it had wax on the outside, it sounds like a turnip....
 
  • #45
Or a rutabaga.
 
  • #46
Yes, I've never seen a jicama with wax on it. They should be really hard and firm, not mushy at all. Old dirty socks? That sounds like a turnip.
I need to find one today to make that confetti salsa.

Does anybody know if jicama can be frozen? I am not going to use the whole thing and would like to keep the leftovers for a later recipe.
 
  • #47
I just have to say that I :love: that PC has introduced me to Jicama. I wonder if i would have ever thought to try it otherwise. Just one more reason to :sing: about what we do. ;)
 
  • #48
I've been using a Granny Smith apple -- you just need the crunch and texture. (and you can also show the wedger or apple wedger or peeler if you choose before tossing everything in the MFP)
 

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