Try Using Another Starchy Root Vegetable For Your French Fries

"Variety is the spice of life," they say. And when it comes to eating vegetables, having variety is important, which is why there's also a saying for that, "eat the rainbow" — or is that one for Skittles? Anywho, switching up your arsenal of go-to vegetables (for meal prep, or otherwise) is beneficial to one's health since different veggies across the color wheel will provide different health benefits via each of their unique profiles of vitamins and minerals. 

This may be a troublesome introduction to get through for those who limit their vegetable intake to the three veggies that sometimes come on higher-quality fast food burgers — lettuce, tomato, and onion. But hey, three veggies are better than no veggies, right? And if we're talking about hamburgers as a vehicle to support vegetable consumption, then we have to give crispy french fries credit too, as they are, after all, potatoes. In fact, transforming other starchy veggies into french fries is one of the easiest and definitely one of the tastiest hacks to expand the variety of vegetables we eat.

This is not by any means a hit piece against potatoes. Potatoes are just as wonderfully delicious as they are nutritious and one of the last few things unifying our nation. With that being said, have you met potato's distant Latin American cousin, yuca? Not to be confused with yucca (two c's) which is a tough desert plant used to make soap, yuca is sometimes referred to as cassava and it deserves a place at the table with how fabulous they are when made into french fries.

Yuca's appearance is dark brown and tuberous on the outside, almost resembling the texture of tree bark with a bright white interior. It's grown in tropical areas across the world and received its name from being first cultivated in the Yucatan Peninsula. In Latin American restaurants, this root vegetable is typically served in the form of french fries. 

There are plenty of starchy root vegetables that could easily be sliced up, fried, salted and turn out pleasingly. However, yuca is far superior than others when they're transformed into french fries because of its exceedingly high starch content, which makes them more dense and therefore is able to withhold a hearty shape when fried or baked – even if you happen to cook them to death. They become totally creamy on the inside but nice and crispy on the outside and their naturally nutty, slightly earthy flavor is enhanced when cooked, making them far more distinguishable from potatoes in that sense. 

If you'd like to give yuca fries a try — and it's highly recommended — they're easier to be found than ever before, as they're sold in most national chain super markets either raw in the produce section near other root vegetables or in the freezer section already peeled, cut, and ready to be cooked. If you're handling yuca raw, you'll want to first peel off it's bark-like exterior just as you would peel a potato followed by slicing it into whatever thickness is your favorite as a french fry. Then fry or bake to golden perfection and season generously with salt!