A small, brightly colored Andean tuber — pink, yellow, red, or speckled — eaten across Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador for its waxy, slightly mucilaginous flesh and earthy sweetness.
A pre-Columbian staple
Ulluco was one of the second-most-cultivated tubers in the Inca Empire after potatoes, and remains widely eaten in highland Andean cuisine. The plant tolerates extreme cold and altitude (up to 3,500+ m) where conventional potatoes struggle. Its colors are vivid: ulluco markets in the Peruvian highlands are kaleidoscopic — pink, yellow, and red tubers piled in baskets.
Different cooking properties
Unlike potatoes, ulluco has a waxy, slightly slick texture that doesn’t fall apart in long cooking. The flavor is mild and earthy, with a faint mucilage similar to okra (especially in young tubers). The skin is thin enough to leave on; many traditional dishes use whole sliced tubers.
Olluquito con charqui
Peru’s most famous ulluco dish — olluquito con charqui — is a stew of julienne-sliced ulluco with charqui (sun-dried llama meat) and yellow chili paste. It’s hearty, distinctively Andean, and almost unknown outside the highlands.
A “lost crop”
Ulluco is one of the “lost crops of the Incas” that international agriculture is starting to rediscover. It’s hardier than potato, more colorful, and grows in marginal soils — qualities of interest as climate change pushes traditional agriculture into harder ground. Research stations in Peru and Ecuador are working to develop higher-yielding varieties for export.
Find more vegetables by letter
Ulluco starts with U and ends with O. Browse other vegetables along the same letter.
Vegetables that contain a letter from "Ulluco":