Queensland Arrowroot - Nutrition and serving ideas

 Queensland Arrowroot - Nutrition and Serving Ideas

The rhizomes form large starchy tubers that are a great substitute for potatoes and the immature seeds and young shoots can be eaten as well.

Nutritional Value

Rhizomes:

• 1-3% protein
• 24% carbohydrate
• Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, & C 
• Contain potassium, calcium and phosphorous
• Fibre

Leaves and shoots:

• 10% protein

Selection and storage

Only harvest the young tubers, those that are fleshy and whitish. Look out for small new shoots (less than 10cm long) – these ones will be nice and tender. Young tubers have the best flavour; the older ones are fibrous and hard.

Wash the rhizomes and remove the roots and store in the fridge crisper. 

Alternatively, they can be stored in the ground or in a container covered in damp (not wet) soil somewhere cool and dark.

Preparing

Arrowroot Flour:

• Peel tubers and cut into 2- 3cm cubes,
• mince cubes or put in a blender with a little cold water and blend to a pulp.
• Tip the pulp into a bucket or large bowl and add more water.
• After a few minutes, the flour will sink to the bottom and brown fibrous liquid will come to the top, which is carefully drained off.
• Add more water and stir, and more fibre will come to the top, to be drained off.
• After several rinses, the water on top will be clear with no brown fibre remaining.
• Drain off the water and pour the thick white flour 1-2cm thick onto trays to dry in the sun or use a dehydrator.
• When it is dry it will be soft and flaky; bottle and store ready for use.

The flour keeps well and does not go rancid with age. The flour yield is usually about 1/4 to 1/5 of the original weight of the tubers.

As a vegetable:

• Wash them,
• peel with a knife and
• place into water until you are ready to cook them – they will oxidise otherwise.

Serving ideas

Queensland arrowroot can be:

• Baked
• Boiled
• Mashed
• Roasted
• Eaten raw in salads -they have a slightly sweet, crunchy texture
• Barbecued
• Stir Fried
• Cubed or grated and used as a thickener in stews, casseroles and soups
• Cut into thin chips
• Fried
• Young growing tips & unfurled leaves can be used as a cooked vegetable or added to stir-fries