Mashua

Tropaeolum tuberosum

root

Conical, colourful tubers of the tuberous nasturtium, an Andean plant; peppery raw like a radish, they lose this bite when cooked. They provide glucosinolates.

Origin

Andes

Season (United States)

all year round

Preparation

The tubers are scrubbed and eaten raw, thinly sliced, for their radish-like bite, or cooked — boiled, roasted, in stews — where they turn mild; the thin skin is eaten. The bite IS the molecule: long cooking erases it, raw and short cooking keep it.

Molecules

Pungent glucosinolates

Did you know?

Around 1850, Europe tried it, with oca and ulluco, to replace the potato devastated by the blight of the Irish famine.