Yacon syrup is a malty sweetener which is best used spread on bread and crackers. It is not overly sweet, so if you have a sweet tooth it is maybe not for you! But if you are looking for one of the healthiest sweeteners on the planet, then maybe you should choose yacon. It is suitable for diabetics and those on an anti-candida diet, with a glycemic index of 1.
The sugars in yacon are called fructoligosaccharides. These sugars taste sweet, but are not recognised by the body, so yacon has no impact on the blood sugar. It is also high in antioxidants.
Yacon is a Peruvian vegetable, similiar to a parsnip. It is illegal to export the whole yacon root out of Peru, which is why it is unfamiliar to us in the West. Plus, until recently, it was outlawed under the EU Novel Foods Act. It was passed for sale in the EU in 2014.
Ingredients
100% Organic Yacon Root
Nutritional Information
Nutritional Information
per 100g
Energy
344 Kcal 1440 kj
Fat
0.2g
of which saturates
-
Carbohydrate
85.6g
- of which sugars
-
Dietary Fiber
0.5g
Protein
0g
Salt
-
Further Information
Our yacon is produced by a farmer named Lucho Alva. Lucho proudly owns a 1000 hectares farm, inherited from his father. In the 90´s the region was very dangerous due to terrorist groups. At that time he had to flee from his home after his father was assassinated by teterrorist groups.Years later he went back to his land, and today he has became the largest organic yacon farmer in Peru. He employs over 100 people for his operation and provides free technical assistance to neighbor communities in organic production.
Our Yacon syrup is concentrated at low temperatures, but need to be pasteurized before filling bulk bins to eliminate mold spores. In Yacon, the most important nutrient is the FOS content. Because of this process, our supplier is the only company that assures minimum 30% FOS in our product. FOS is not heat stable so products excessively heated will have lower content of it and higher glycemic index due to production of short chain sugars from FOS fractions.
Our yacon syrup is produced by hand-selecting the roots, then washing, disinfecting and peeling them. After this they are pressed, filtered, vacuum concentrated, filtered again and bottled. Our yacon syrup is guaranteed raw; most other yacon syrups on the market are heated during pressing and pasteurised so they are not raw.
It is an important crop in South America. It has been grown since ancient times on the eastern slopes of the Andes, from venezuela to north western Argentina. It was a trandtional crop of the original Peruvian populations. Yacon is favoured for its juicy tuberous root which have been used for centuries as a traditional folk treatment.
Podcast
To learn more about the Peruvian farming co-operative that we source these products from, click here. Full of fascinating insights into how to produce truly raw products, and the unique manufacturing processes that are needed to ensure that these raw organic foods are premium quality, and produced with high regard for the environment and the farmers.
Raw Living was founded in Sep 2002. As a celebration of 20 years in business, we talked to some of our oldest and best customers about why they love Raw Living: the products, the service, and the ethos. Click here to play the episode.
