Yacon 雪莲果

          This fruit attracts me not  by its appearance, but its Chinese name 雪莲果 which reminds me TianShan Snow Lotus (天山雪莲)  in those martial arts stories(武侠小说).    The latter, according to those stories, was very rare and had a magic healing power.  
          Back to yacon, this tuber looks like sweet potato.  Once peeled, it turns brown very fast, which means it has minerals that can be oxidised easily.  So it is suggested to put it into water once it is peeled.  It is said that yacon can be eaten as a fruit.  However, I've never tried eating it raw as I don't like its muddy smell.  I usually cook it for sweet soup.  Its flesh remains crunchy even after cooking for an hour. And the muddy smell has gone after cooking.

 The flesh in raw

          Ingredients for the Sweet Soup are ginkgos( 白果 or 銀杏), red dates(红枣), lotus seeds(莲子),Chinese almonds(南北杏), dried longan meat(龙眼肉), a spoon of  barley(薏米) and rock sugar (冰糖). 

Sweet Soup