Know Your Andean Root Vegetables: Part 2

Here is the second of our Andean root vegetable fliers.  This one has the lesser known Andean crops: Achira, Ahipa, Arracacha, Maca, and Mauka.  There is a link to the full two-page version below.    Click here for the two page PDF.    

Maca: Puny Plant from the Puna

As I have written previously, last year’s maca (Lepidium meyenii) was a disappointment, but this year is turning out better, at least so far.  I credit that largely to discarding much of what I know about maca. Maca plant with bonus weeds In its normal habitat, high in the Andes, maca stands largely alone.  It […]

Maca: The slow-growing, foul-tasting, aphrodisiac, Inca radish?

Maca roots from Wikimedia Commons Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is hot right now among people who consume so-called “super foods.”  Apparently, most are consuming it as a powder added to their witch’s brews of obscure roots, berries, and twigs from distant lands.  It is a member of the mustard family, sometimes called “Peruvian Ginseng”. For me, maca […]