Arracacia xanthorrhiza

The arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancr., Syn.: Arracacia esculenta DC.; Conium arracacia Hook.) also known as arracache, apio criollo, racacha, virraca, < b>white carrot or mandioquiña salsa is a plant whose tuber is food, native to the Andes and currently cultivated in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela and Ecuador among the 600 and 3200 m above sea level. n. m. It belongs to the Apiaceae family, like carrot (Daucus carota) and celery (Apium graveolens).

Description

The arracacha plant has a short cylindrical trunk with numerous shoots at the top from which the long-petioled leaves originate; Its flowers are purple. Its edible part is the root that resembles a thickened carrot, which can be white (hence why it is called white carrot in Ecuador), yellow or purple depending on the variety. This storage tuberous root is appreciated not only for its flavor but also for its digestibility since it contains a very fine starch as well as a high content of calcium and vitamin A (yellow variety). The young stems can be consumed in salads and the leaves can be used as fodder for cattle or pigs.

Taxonomy

Arracacia xanthorrhiza was described by Edward Nathaniel Bancroft and published in Transactions of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Jamaica 1825: 5. 1825.

Sinonimia

• Arracacha esculenta DC.
• Andean Arracacia Britton
• Arracacia esculenta DC.
• Arracacia xanthorrhiza var. andina (Britton) S. Knudsen, Sørensen & Hermann
• Bancroftia decipiens R.K.Porter
• Bancroftia xanthorrhiza Billb.
• Conium arracacia Hook.

Economic and cultural importance

Uses

Arracacha is cultivated mainly for its storage root, which has a pleasant flavor and is easily digestible, since it has a very fine starch, high content of calcium and vitamin A and adequate levels of niacin, ascorbic acid and phosphorus. Its main drawback is its short storage life and its vulnerability to damage during transportation. Given its nutritional value, the consumption of arracacha is recommended in the diet of children, the elderly and convalescents. Although the arracacha is best known for its roots, no part of this plant goes unused. The stems and leaves are used as animal feed and the leaves, which are high in oxidants, are also used in many traditional medicinal applications.

Arracacha is generally sold in a fresh state for homemade preparations of soups, purees, cakes and sweets, but in Colombia and Brazil some transformed products have been developed from it such as flour, fried arracacha, chicha de arracacha, precooked arracacha, instant soups and baby foods; A typical sweet called “grated arracacha” is produced, which is made with cane honey.

In Venezuela it is mainly used in beef, chicken, hen or tripe sancochos and is called apio (not to be confused with celery, called apio España in this country).

In Costa Rica, where it is known as 'arracache', it is mainly used for picadillos and in stores it is sold in bags already processed for cooking.

In Colombia, it is a fundamental part of Cundiboyacense gastronomy, where it is mainly used to thicken sancochos and the famous ajiaco soup typical of Bogotá, in turn it is used in the Llanera region as a complement to fish and as raw material for chicha de arracacha and sweet arepas.

Nutritional value

The root of this plant provides 100 calories per 100 g, of these 84 g correspond to water and 26 g to dry matter; carbohydrates make up 23% and about 1 g of protein; It contains four times more calcium than that found in the potato pastusa (Solanum tuberosum). Yellow specimens contain significant amounts of carotenoid pigments, precursors for vitamin A, to the point that excessive consumption can cause a yellow tone to the skin, something that is not dangerous. See table.

The roots are an excellent source of vitamin A, niacin, calcium, phosphorus and iron.

Other sources vary in the values in arracacha roots (ACC Yellow variety). In these studies the percentage of starch is 82.2% (fiber 9.17%), protein 4.69%, fat 1.39% and ash 4.23%.

Production

Colombia is the world's leading producer of arracacha, with a production in 2007 of 116,610 tons. The crop is found in almost all the Andean departments, concentrating especially in the municipality of Cajamarca, department of Tolima. In Brazil the arracacha was introduced about 100 years ago from Colombia; Its cultivation is carried out mainly in the southern and southeastern regions, in the states of Minas Gerais, Paraná, Espirito Santo and Santa Catarina, and its harvested area is estimated at 12,000 hectares, with a marketed volume of 90,000 tons per year. In Venezuela, arracacha is grown mainly in the states of Mérida, Trujillo and Táchira; Production is estimated at about 23,500 tons per year. In Ecuador, cultivation is concentrated in the region of San José de Minas, located in the province of Pichincha; Statistics allow us to estimate Ecuadorian production between 12,000 and 24,000 t annually. In Peru, the main arracacha producing area is located in the district of Sócota, department of Cajamarca, with an estimated cultivated area between 2,000 and 3,000 ha. In Bolivia, cultivation takes place mainly in San Juan de La Miel, in the Province of Nor Yungas, 200 km from La Paz, where there are an estimated 170 hectares of cultivation. Other regions where arracacha cultivation has been reported are northern Chile and northern Argentina, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Cuba and other Caribbean islands. In Asia and Africa, introductions are reported in Sri Lanka, Rwanda and Burundi, but the results of their adaptation are not known.

Common names

• Quechua: rakacha, laquchu, huiasampilla
• Aymara: lakachu, letcachu
• Spanish: arracacha (Colombia, Peru), arracache (Costa Rica); streak, apio criollo [or simply celery] (Venezuela, Puerto Rico), avocado (Latin America); racha, virracacha, arracacha (Peru); zanahoria blanca (Ecuador)