As with the word “quinoa,” the word “jicama” is sometimes mispronounced. It’s not kwin-Oh-ah, it’s keen- WAH. Likewise, it’s not juh-KAI-ma, it’s HICK-a-muh. Now, that we’ve got that out of the way…

Also called the “yam bean,” (much easier to pronounce), jicama is native to Central and South America. It was originally cultivated by all major Mesoamerican civilizations. This root vegetable is shaped like an overgrown flat onion. It has papery, brown skin, which hides beneath it, crisp, white flesh.

The Jicama’s bulky size and odd shape make preparing it a cumbersome ordeal. This got us thinking: What if we took care of the painful prep stage for you? We presumed that if we did, more people would become eager fans of this refreshing, underutilized vegetable. So, we did. We peeled the skin and cut the flesh into ready-to-serve sticks.

The mild, sweet-starchy flavor of jicama (sometimes described as a mix between pear flesh and potato flesh) makes the perfect blank canvas for dips—especially shaped like sticks, as these are. The wonderful crunch makes a great addition to fresh salsas and salads—just chop our sticks into smaller, bite-sized pieces. Jicama also works well cooked into stir-frys and soups.