Where To Buy Jicama? (Full Guide & Substitutes)
Jicama, also known as Mexican turnip and yam bean, is a delicious starchy vegetable originating from Mexico. The plant grows mostly in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the warm southwest areas in the United States. Thanks to global trade and modern farming, you can find it in other areas. So, where can you buy jicama yourself?
You can buy jicama from regular, organic, or vegan grocery stores, depending on the supply. Ordering online is a good choice as well, from large food distributors to delivering grocery stores to Amazon. Alternatively, you find jicama from the Farmer’s market between the fall and spring seasons.
Jicama isn’t the most common vegetable compared to carrots, mushrooms, onions, and potatoes, yet it can be found. However, small local grocery stores outside of jicama’s natural growing area won’t probably have it in stock. Still, large grocery chains and unique, organic food markets are more likely to have it.
Now, let’s go through three categories of places where you can find jicama and where I would go myself. I’ll also reveal my favorite and the surest way to get your hands on that treat named jicama!
Read also: 9 Best Brands Of Kitchen Utensils
Contents
Where To Buy Jicama?
Generally, you can buy jicama from three places: Online, in Grocery Store, and the Farmers Market. At least, these are the common ways to do it. I’ll start with the safest bet, online.
1. Online
If you ask me, buying jicama online is the best choice because it saves time from grocery store hunting, although that can be fun sometimes. In addition, you are guaranteed to get the product you ordered.
The best thing about ordering jicama online is that many varieties are at your disposal with a few clicks. For example, you can buy jicama in bulk, sticks, slices, seeds, and heck; there are even Jicama tortillas!
So, what are the best places to order jicama online? My favorite is Amazon because they have fast shipping and a massive variety of jicama in different sizes and shapes. You can also order straight from food distributors or browse a local grocery store with a delivery option.
Nowadays, getting your hands on some jicama is easy.
2. Grocery store
Grocery shopping is the most natural way to purchase food in the 21st century.
Jicama is best found in a grocery store between fall and spring when it’s in season. Well-stocked grocery stores may have jicama around the year, but the price will be higher compared to the season. Try organic or vegan stores if you can’t find jicama at the regular grocery store.
The biggest chance of finding jicama year-round from a grocery store is to shop in a big chain like Walmart, Costco, or Whole Foods Market. When it’s jicama season, you can find it from local grocery stores in Mexico, Central and South America.
3. Farmer’s market
Going to the farmer’s market isn’t as easily accessible as ordering online or grocery shopping, yet it has big benefits to its name.
Going to the farmer’s market will support local farmers and their hard work, which is a thing to be proud of.
In addition, you can get jicama and other vegetables cheaper than from online or grocery stores, saving you some money.
And the best thing, the ambiance and atmosphere of a farmer’s market are amazing. You can make a day out of it.
Read also: Can Restaurants Buy From Grocery Stores?
When Can You Buy Jicama?
When talking about food, especially vegetables and fruit, there’s seasonality. All vegetables won’t grow the same 365 days per year, but there are ups and downs in the growing possibilities thanks to the weather. Now, when is the best time to buy jicama?
Generally, you can find jicama year round depending on the merchant. The jicama season is from October into the spring, which is when you can buy jicama from most places, including local grocery shops and farmer’s markets. You can always buy jicama online and in large grocery shops.
To visualize the best time to buy Jicama, see the list below, and the months listed in green are the ones when jicama is in season.
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
As you can see, jicama is in season for six months, from October to march. Yet, you don’t need to wait for those months; you can find Jimaca on Amazon, for example.
What are the Health Benefits of Jicama?
The Health benefits of food are always fascinating because some foods are healthy whereas others aren’t. Jicama is a delicious ingredient used for many things, but there’s a deeper reason to eat it. What are some health benefits of jicama?
Jicama has many health benefits, such as many antioxidants, and it’s packed with nutrients. Jicama is also beneficial to digestion and gut bacteria and may boost heart health and aid in weight loss. Jicama is also versatile and can be eaten raw, cooked, or mixed with other ingredients.
Eating jicama certainly has more benefits to its name than deliciousness. You don’t have to take my word for it. According to Healthline, there are several health benefits to Jicama, such as;
- Nutrients rich
- Many antioxidants
- Beneficial for gut bacteria
- May aid in weight loss
- Promotes digestion
- May boost heart health
- Versatile vegetable
What Is a Substitute for Jicama?
Even though the numerous health benefits and the fact that jicama is delicious, it isn’t the easiest ingredient to come by. If you can’t find jicama, what else can you use in its place?
1. Raw substitute: Daikon radish
Daikon radish is sometimes confused with a turnip, yet it’s only part of the same brassica family. The biggest confusion is that it tastes a lot like a turnip. Daikon radishes are white and can grow to a long carrot-like look, unlike a round turnip.
Jicama is also called Mexican turnip, so daikon radishes make a good substitute for it. The taste of daikon radishes is sweet and crunchy, as is jicama’s; they are exchangeable together.
The best way to substitute jicama with daikon radish is to use it raw. However, you can cook it as well
2. Raw substitute: Jerusalem Artichokes
Jerusalem artichokes, also called sunchoke, originally came from North and Central America, like jicama itself. Luckily, you can find the treat anywhere nowadays.
Jerusalem artichokes are a good substitute for jicama because they have a nutty, sweet potato flavor. The flavor isn’t as sweet as jicama, but it’s similar, and the texture is very close.
You can eat Jerusalem artichokes raw but also boiled or baked. I prefer raw.
3. Cooked substitute: Water chestnuts
If you like to eat jicama cooked, I’d recommend water chestnuts as a substitute for cooked and warm jicama.
Water chestnuts are considered the best alternative for jicama, although they aren’t similar to plants and appearance. However, the similarities come in texture and taste.
Water chestnuts have an almost identical texture to jicama, and the taste is similar too, although water chestnuts are sweeter. Water chestnuts are the best substitute for jicama if you plan to cook the food instead of eating raw. They can get that good crispy texture when cooked.
You can use any of the three substitutes for jicama. When it comes to preference, I can’t tell you which one you will like the most without trying them yourself, but I can give you nutritional facts about them compared to jicama. Take a look.
Nutrition Facts (100g) | Jicama | Daikon Radish | Jerusalem Artichoke | Water Chestnut |
Calories | 38 | 19 | 76 | 97 |
Protein | 0.7g | 0.6g | 2g | 0.6g |
Carbohydrates | 8.8g | 4.3g | 17.4g | 23.9g |
Fat | 0.1g | 0.1g | 0g | 0.1g |
What Is Jicama In English Called?
I remember when I first saw the name jicama. I didn’t know what it was but noticed a slight resemblance with the vegetable swede. This got me wondering if it’s another name, as most things have several names.
In English, the native Mexican jicama is called a Mexican yam bean or Mexican turnip. That’s because jicama’s appearance looks like a turnip, although the color isn’t white and purple but light brown.
Jicama is best known as Jicama, but you should clarify if you’re looking for help in a grocery store, for example. Also, searching Jicama online with its other names can bear fruit.
Can You Get Jicama In the UK?
Jicama is a product of Central and South America, so it’s a big question whether you can get jicama in the United Kingdom?
You can find jicama in the United Kingdom from large grocery stores, organic food shops, and online. Thanks to global trade, you can find jicama relatively easily if you know where to look. The best option is online or large chain grocery stores like Tesco.
There aren’t many things you can’t get in the modern world, even when the ingredient comes from another side of the globe. Take a look at Amazon with the filter ”Deliver to the UK” and see a large selection of jicama!
Here You’ll Find My Favorite Kitchen Equipment.
Thanks for reading this article! I hope that it brought you real value that you can benefit from in your personal life! Here is my top kitchen equipment that I seriously couldn’t live without, and I think they could ease your life as well as they do mine.
- Knife set: As a chef, I can’t stand dull, poor-quality knives without any design. My absolute favorite kitchen knife set is the Gangshan 3-Piece Knife Set. It comes with a handcrafted 8″ chef’s knife and a 3.5″ paring knife. What I love even more than these flawless knives is the walnut knife block which is incredible and unique.
- Skillet: In addition to knives and my unwillingness to bargain with its quality is the cookware. My favorite skillet is Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Skillet. This particular skillet is 9″ in size, it is heavy, it gets very hot, which is what is required to get a good sear, and it is just beautiful, as are all Le Creuset products. Le Creuset doesn’t need an introduction as a brand, as it is one of the world’s rated brands.
- Food processor: I remember when I hadn’t a food processor at home. It wasn’t easy! But now, when I use my Ninja BN601 Food Processor, I can make anything super fast, which saves me many hours per week. This food processor has 1000 watts of power and four options, including chopping, slicing, dough, and purees. I also like the middle-sized 9cup (2.1l) bowl as it is big enough yet not too big to look unfitting in my kitchen.
- Tweezers: Dalstrong Professional Cooking Tweezers are like tongs but much more elegant, thin, and easy to use. They are great for virtually anything, but flipping, turning, and grabbing with them is easy and makes cooking much more fun! These Dalstrgon tongs are titanium coated and very durable. Also, I like the black color instead of the everyday steel.