YUCCA

$44.00

Shipping calculated at checkout

  • ~33 lbs
  • Yucca aka "Mandioca", "Manioc", "Yuca", "Cassava", "Cassave", "Mu-Shu", "木薯"
  • Yucca is a root vegetable that is long and tapered at the end, with a brown, almost bark-like skin and bright white flesh. The texture is similar to potato with a mild, sweet, somewhat nutty taste. Yucca must be cooked before consumption in a similar manner as potato. A common application is oven-baked yucca fries. Yucca is available year-round.
  • The Juice: Do you like tapioca? Did you know it is made from yucca? Yucca is dried and ground to powder with the addition of brown sugar to make tapioca.
Handling Tip
Selection
  • Yucca should be firm and fairly straight without any cracks or decay.
  • Free of vascular streaking, blue or purple spots when the root is cut transversely.
  • Look for waxing coating on the yucca which helps to preserve the item. 
Storage
  • Yucca should be stored at 45°F - 50°F (7°C - 10°C) with a relative humidity of eighty-five to ninety percent and no mist.
  • The typical shelf life is two to three weeks. Long-term storage leads to cracked skin and yellow flesh.
  • Yucca is very sensitive to water loss. Waxing is applied to yucca to maintain postharvest quality. Waxing and the optimal storage temperature can extend the shipping time to over thirty days.
  • Yucca is sensitive to ethylene, a naturally occurring gas that regulates ripening. Yucca should not be stored with high ethylene-producing products to decrease the chances of vascular streaking. Yucca with optimal relative humidity produces a low level of ethylene but lower relative humidity increases the level of ethylene.
  • Yucca is sensitive to chilling injury at storage below 41°F (5°C). Symptoms include vascular streaking. The optimal storage condition will have minimal symptom development; as long as immediately consumed when removed from storage before symptoms have had time to develop.