Maca: The High Andes Root Vegetable Explained Simply Here

A root vegetable from the roof of the Andes

Maca is the common name for Lepidium meyenii, a low, rosette-forming plant grown on the high plateaus of central Peru. Botanically it belongs to the Brassicaceae, the same family that gives us cabbage, radishes, turnips and mustard. If you have ever pulled a small round radish from a garden bed, you already have a rough picture of the part people grow maca for: a swollen, turnip-like root that sits just at the soil line.

The plant itself stays close to the ground, with a tuft of small, finely lobed leaves and little pale flowers on a short stem. It looks modest, which suits its setting. Maca is grown on windswept grassland, often called puna, where few other crops will take hold.

Where and how maca grows

Maca is closely tied to the Peruvian highlands, with farming traditions centered around the Junin plateau and nearby regions. Fields sit at elevations often above 4,000 meters (about 13,000 feet), where the air is thin, the nights are cold, frost is common and the midday sun is intense. Few cultivated plants tolerate that mix, and it is part of why maca has such a distinctive place in Andean farming.

Growers sow seed by hand or with simple tools and then give the plants months of slow growth before harvest. Because the soil is poor and the weather is harsh, farmers have long rotated their fields and let the land rest between plantings. Stone walls and grazing animals are part of the landscape, and so is a patient farming calendar shaped by the seasons of the plateau.

The colors of the root

One of the first things people notice about maca is its range of color. Roots are commonly sorted into cream (often called yellow), red, and black, with purple and other shades turning up as well. A single field can hold a mix, and growers may sort roots by color after harvest.

• **Cream or yellow:** the most common type and the one you will see most often in markets.
• **Red:** a deeper, rosy root that is less common and often sold separately.
• **Black:** a darker, smaller root that is usually grown in smaller amounts.

Color is simply a feature of the plant, much as carrots come in orange, purple and white. Sellers often label a product by color so buyers know what they are getting.

In the Andean kitchen

Traditionally, maca roots are handled like other hardy root crops. Fresh roots can be roasted or boiled, and in the highlands they have been cooked in earth ovens. Dried roots are ground into a flour that goes into porridges, breads, pancakes and cookies. A fermented or sweetened drink made from maca is also part of regional food culture, along with simple hot beverages made from the milled root.

Many home cooks outside Peru meet maca as a pale tan powder. It has an earthy, slightly malty taste, and cooks often compare it to butterscotch or toasted grain. A spoonful stirred into oatmeal batter or a baking mix is the usual way to try it in the kitchen. If you enjoy cooking with whole grains and roots, you might also like our ideas for Mediterranean-style plates.

Drying, storing and sourcing

After harvest, maca roots are traditionally laid out to dry in the cold, bright air of the plateau. Dried roots are hard and light, and they can be kept for long stretches in a cool, dry place, which made them easy to store and carry in the past. Today the dried roots are cleaned, sorted and milled into flour, while some producers prepare extracts or capsules and other forms for the supplement market.

Home cooks who buy maca flour can keep it the way they keep other flours and spices: in a tight jar, in a cool cupboard, away from steam and sunlight. A small jar goes a long way, so buying a little at a time keeps the flavor fresh. Take a quick look at the packaging for the country of origin, the plant part used and the packing date when they are shown.

When you shop for any plant ingredient, a few label habits are worth having:

• Look for the plant name and the part used, such as root.
• Look for the country or region of origin if the brand provides it.
• Read the full ingredient list instead of only the front of the package.

The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements consumer guide is a good plain-language starting point for reading supplement labels in general.

Maca and Stallion Power

Stallion Power is a dietary supplement in gummy form, and the brand names nine ingredients on its materials, with Maca Root first among them. If you would like to see the full list in one place, our Stallion Power ingredients page walks through every name, and the overview page explains how the product is presented. For the brand's directions, follow the label printed on the bottle, and see our how to take Stallion Power guide for a plain reading of that label. The U.S. FDA page on dietary supplements explains how these products are categorized in the United States.

This article is meant only as a plant-and-food story. It tells you where maca comes from, what it looks like and how people cook with it, and it does not describe anything the ingredient does for the body. Knowing the origin of a name on a label makes you a more informed shopper, and that is the goal here.

If the Andean root caught your interest and you would like to see the complete product, the brand's packs of 2, 3 and 6 bottles and its 60-day money-back guarantee are shown on the order page, along with the current price and offer. Check today's offer on the order page.