Everything about Amorphophallus Konjac totally explained
Konjac (
Amorphophallus konjac;
syn. A. rivieri;
Japanese: 蒟蒻/菎蒻; こんにゃく;
konnyaku;
Korean: 곤약;
gonyak; ), also known as
konjak,
konjaku,
devil's tongue,
voodoo lily,
snake palm, or
elephant yam (though this name is also used for
A. paeoniifolius), is a plant of the genus
Amorphophallus. It is native to warm subtropical to tropical eastern
Asia, from
Japan and
China south to
Indonesia.
It is a
perennial plant, growing from a large
corm up to 25 cm in diameter. The single
leaf is up to 1.3 m across,
bipinnate, and divided into numerous leaflets. The
flowers are produced on a
spathe enclosed by a dark purple
spadix up to 55 cm long.
The corm of the konjac is often colloquially referred to as a
yam, although it bears no marked relation to
tubers of the family
Dioscoreaceae.
Cultivation and use
Konjac is grown in
China,
Japan and
Korea for its large
starchy corm, used to create a
flour and
jelly of the same name. It is also used as a
vegan substitute for
gelatin.
In
Japanese cuisine, konnyaku appears in dishes such as
oden. It is typically mottled grey and firmer in consistency than most gelatins. It has very little taste; the common variety tastes vaguely like
salt. It is valued more for its
texture than flavor.
Japanese konnyaku jelly is made by mixing konnyaku flour with water and
limewater.
Hijiki is often added for the characteristic dark color and flavor. Without additives for color, konnyaku is pale white. It is then boiled and cooled to solidify. Konnyaku made in
noodle form is called
shirataki (see
shirataki noodles) and used in foods such as
sukiyaki and
gyudon.
Japanese historical novelist
Ryotaro Shiba claims in a 1982 travelogue that konjac is consumed in parts of
Sichuan province; the corm is reportedly called
moyu (魔芋), and the jelly is called
moyu dofu (魔芋豆腐) or
shue moyu (雪魔芋).
Konjac can also be made into a popular Asian fruit jelly snack known as
konjac candy, usually served in bite-sized plastic cups. Due to the concern in the late 1990s about the risk of small children and seniors choking on the snacks, there were subsequent recalls in the U.S. and Canada. Some konjac jelly snacks now on the market have had their size increased so that they can't be swallowed whole. Unlike gelatin, konjac gel doesn't dissolve readily in saliva. The snacks usually have warning labels advising parents to make sure that their children chew the jelly thoroughly before swallowing.
The dried
corm of the konjac plant contains around 40%
glucomannan gum. This
polysaccharide makes konjac jelly highly
viscous.
Konjac has almost no calories but is very high in fiber. Thus, it's often used as a
diet food.
Further Information
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