Another amazing native Peruvian superfood is yacon, a root that grows in the Andes mountain valleys of Peru, under 3,000 meters high. It is simply delicious, tastes like apple and in Peru we use it in many different dishes, from salads to desserts. Yacon can be eaten raw (my favorite way), boiled, baked… even deep fried, tempura stile! You can also drink the water where you boil the yacon in as a delicious refreshment, while benefiting from its properties. Yacon,  both in syrup and in powder, is a healthy alternative to sugar which is more and more used in recipes worldwide.

Yacon’s main traditional benefits are associated to being a natural sweetener for people suffering or in risk of diabetes, as well as for its diuretic properties. Recently it has been more focus on its antioxidant properties but it most definitively has turned into a very popular component of diets linked to loose weight programs due to the fact that it is low in calories yet very filling and has a sweet taste.