Is yucca Edible????!?!?!

[danmc]

cuz i was reading that yucca roots are edible, but i didnt know if its only certain species


crashdive123 thanks for the links to

make sure that your source is not confusing yucca with yuca. If you see it in the grocery store, and we commonly do here in Georgia, then it is yuca a.k.a manioc (Manihot esculenta). Sometimes at the grocery store they spell it wrong and call it yucca root. This is not the same plant as those from the Yucca genus which are the ones you find in the US with the sharp leaves. I always worry when I see yuca labeled as yucca at the grocery store. I'd hate to think someone will see that and think "oh, I have that plant in my yard, I'll eat it".

As far as I know, and I'm not an expert, yucca root is *not* edible although you can make soap and fish poison from it. At least some of the yucca species do however have edible flowers. Maybe all of them do, but I certainly don't know that so find out for sure about your particular species before you eat it.

-Dan

basic info on yuca:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuca

basic info on yucca:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca

[danmc]

I can't say about all parts, but I did see yucca root for sale at the Eglin A.F.B., commissary in the vegetable section.

and what you saw was almost certainly not yucca root but yuca root that had been mislabeled. I see that mistake all the time in grocery stores.

[canid]

yeah, as i've mentioned, another name for that root is cassava [Manihot esculenta]. it is a deciduous shrub, bearing no relation to yucca. it's one of the largest carb crops in the world, being popular mostly in south america and africa.

[paizley]

A food staple in South America, yuca (one C) is a member of the cassava family. Sometimes misspelled as yucca. I have eaten this boiled with garlic and onion in South Florida. It was delicious and the yuca tasted like a combination of cabbage and potato.

From the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassava

Processing and Toxicity:

The leaves cannot be consumed raw since they contain free and bound cyanogenic glucosides. These are converted to cyanide in the presence of linamarase, a naturally occurring enzyme in cassava. The roots, however, are eaten raw everywhere in Africa. Cassava varieties are often categorized as either "sweet" or "bitter", signifying the absence or presence of toxic levels of cyanogenic glucosides. The so-called "sweet" (actually "not bitter") cultivars can produce as little as 20 milligrams of cyanide (CN) per kilogram of fresh roots, while "bitter" ones may produce more than 50 times as much (1 g/kg). Cassavas grown during drought are especially high in these toxins.[6] [7] One dose of pure cassava cyanogenic glucoside (40mg) is sufficient to kill a cow.

Societies which traditionally eat cassava generally understand that soaking and/or cooking is necessary to avoid getting sick.[citation needed] However, problems do occur - konzo (also called mantakassa) is a paralytic neurological disease associated with several weeks of almost exclusive consumption of insufficiently processed bitter cassava. Dr Jasson Ospina, an Australian plant chemist, has developed a simple method to reduce the cyanide content of cassava flour.[8] The method involves mixing the flour with water into a thick paste and then letting it stand in the shade for five hours in a thin layer spread over a basket, allowing an enzyme in the flour to break down the cyanide compound. The cyanide compound produces hydrogen cyanide gas, which escapes into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of poison by up to five-sixths and making the flour safe for consumption the same evening. This method is currently being promoted in rural African communities that are dependent on cassava.[9]

For some smaller-rooted "sweet" varieties, cooking is sufficient to eliminate all toxicity. The larger-rooted "bitter" varieties used for production of flour or starch must be processed to remove the cyanogenic glucosides. The large roots are peeled and then ground into flour, which is then soaked in water, squeezed dry several times, and toasted. The starch grains that float to the surface during the soaking process are also used in cooking.[10] The flour is used throughout the Caribbean. The traditional method used in West Africa is to peel the roots and put them into water for 3 days to ferment. The roots then are dried or cooked. In Nigeria and several other west African countries, including Ghana, Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, they are usually grated and lightly fried in palm oil to preserve them. The result is a foodstuff called 'Gari'. Fermentation is also used in other places such as Indonesia.

The reliance on cassava as a food source and the resulting exposure to the goitrogenic effects of thiocyanate has been responsible for the endemic goitres seen in the Akoko area of southwestern Nigeria.[11]
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Yucca (2 Cs) on the other hand found in the Southwest and as an ornamental garden plant is a member of the Agave family. It is the state flower of New Mexico. Native Americans have used yucca for medicinal purposes but not as food. The Pueblo chew the ends of yucca leaves to reveal the fiber and use these as paint brushes for pottery.

To learn how to extract fiber from the yucca, go to this link:
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival...cca/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca

[crashdive123]

Thanks Paizley. When you get a chance how about heading over to the introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself. Thanks.

[PlantMan42]

Most species of yucca are edible, but that's for the flowers, young flowering shoot, and fruit. What you see sold as "yuca root" is actually manioc, cassava, or tapioca root, which is quite poisonous until it's been properly prepared (pressing to remove the cyanogenic compounds, or thoroughly cooked). The root of some yucca species may be marginally edible, but it's high in saponins, and so is better used to wash your hair and body.

The flowers of most species are pleasantly floral, but mildly bitter when raw, and some people may have a negative reaction to them the same way some react to raw daylily flowers or raw cattail hearts. Cooking generally reduces that problem, but as always, limit your intake of any food until you are more familiar with it. The flowering stem, when it is young and tender, may also be cooked and eaten. I have no direct experience with the fruit, but you'd want to harvest them when they are ripe, but not yet dried. Likely the banana yucca would be the best, but again, I have no direct experience there.

[hunter63]

Plantman42....Thanks for the post.
Hunter63 saying Hey and Welcome.......

Wondering how you found this thread from 2008.........?
Just curious.

[edr730]

I've ate Yucca root like from the store many times usually with pork rinds and raw cabbage which is the traditional way in some areas. I've ate pieces of it raw also from time to time and watched others doing the same. There is one root that is very similar to the Yucca root but it is pink on the inside. That root can not be ate raw and must be boiled not fried. It is pronounced key-KEY-stay. Neither of them are in any way similar to the plant we call yucca in the United States.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

All nightshades are not edible, some are deadly poisonous, some will provide you with a rather unique experience, others are delicious AND nutritious.


All Yuccas may not be edible, some may be used for a variety of purposes other than food and some can be made edible if the gatherer, the prepare and the eater knows what they are doing.

If you cut the tip half way through and peel off the fibers attached to it for the length of the leaf it makes a passable needle and thread for some crude sewing. Same with agave. The leaves can be used to skewer small morsels of whatever kind of food you have acquired and hold it securely over the fire. The leaves can be hardened over a fire and used to attack Spanish soldiers if any come around.

Alan

[Rick]

So, are you saying some yucca are yucca?

[crashdive123]

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[hello_there]

Do not confuse yucca with yuca. Yuca, also known as cassava, is the root of a plant native to central america, used to make tapioca. One species of cassava is high in cyanide, so it must be soaked, rinsed, then cooked well in a ventilated area so avoid inhalation or consumption of hydrogen cyanide. Another species of cassava (frequently sold in grocery stores) doesn't have these high levels of cyanide, so simply ensuring it's properly cooked is enough to eat it safely. So if you hear people talking about one species of yucca root being edible, and another not, they're likely confusing it with yuca, both species of which are actually edible, one just must be cooked with great care. In regards to actual yucca, this wikihow article might be of help.

www.wikihow.com/Eat-Yucca