Yam berries, Dioscorea polystachya (formerly Dioscorea batatas).

My first harvest!



Several years ago I bought some Chinese Mountain Yam tubers from Oikos Trees (which they don't seem to carry at the moment). Then I hesitated to plant them because I read they can be invasive. They sat in the fridge for probably close to a year, and then I decided to convert my hoop house to growing space for perennials. I chose one of the bordered raised beds and planted the tubers. Since they're a vine, the hoop house has been a good place for them.

For the first couple of years, they poked along, but this year they've produced quite a few yam berries.



I haven't harvested the roots yet, but the other day I picked all the yam berries for dinner.





To cook, I tossed them with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then I oven roasted at 425°F (220°C) for about 12 minutes.



They're starchy, but quite good.

So, besides wanting to share my success, I'm wondering about recipes for them. Ideas, anyone?

those aerial tubers are great in soups and stir-fries! i need to get out and collect some (many roadsides have fairly productive plants in my area), as i’ve wanted to experiment more with pickling them…

One common recipe here is to steam them with rice in a dish called mukago-gohan



This one looks kind of good too - curry powdered mukago


or in croquettes


If you search for むかご on cookpad.com you'll get tons of results.

I'm thinking that these would make a good starchy substitute for grains or potatoes. They could be cooked and coated in mayo for a "yam berry" salad

source

Or with green and spices in Saag Aloo:

source

They might be a bit big for substituting for couscous or rice, but any recipe using gnocchi might be worth trying. I love the idea of a starchy food that can be picked off a vine. I've only had a few 'berries' off mine, I think even in the polytunnle it's a bit cool. I tried planting them to get more vines, but I think the mice had them.....