Jicama
Malted Barley Flour for Malnourished Infants
Seed Storage
Articles
Jicama
Wayne Niles
Native to Central America, Jicama is also known as the Mexican Turnip or Yam Bean. The edible part is a large tuber that develops just below the surface of the ground (Figure 3). The rest of the plant is mildly toxic.
Malted Barley Flour for Malnourished Infants
Martin Price and Tim Motis
Porridges are made by boiling traditional starchy foods such as cornmeal, rice, oatmeal, potato, or ground sorghum in water. However, it can be difficult for infants to swallow. Enzymes in malted barley flour (germinated barley seeds that have been carefully dried and ground into a powder) can convert these boiled staple foods into a semi-liquid form that is easier to swallow for infants, for adults suffering from starvation, or for AIDS patients with throat infections. More important than liquefaction, the malting process in effect pre-digests much of the porridge, making sugars, amino acids, calories and mineral nutrients immediately available.
Seed Storage
Jennifer Gerson, working in Liberia, wrote to us about seed storage.