Distillation Diaries: Yacon

12/11: Initial tests commence

Bought yacon at the market in Pedro Ruiz. In December, there is not very much yacon available, but was lucky to find some and worked with whatever we could find. 

Cooking accelerates the sun-drying process. If sun drying achieves a conversion of 30–40% of FOS into simple sugars, then cooking at 120 degrees Celsius would be more efficient for that conversion. Agaves are also inulin-containing. Knowing how agaves are processed to exploit their inulin, I wanted to use the same approach that I have familiarized myself with over 10 years of working in the agave spirits industry in Mexico: hydrolysis, extraction, formulation with water, fermentation, and distillation. Let’s go! 

We have ordered a refractometer, hydrometers, and a brixometer/saccharometer from Mercado Libre. I forgot to pack my own! 

12/12: cooking methods with peel on or off? 

I am experimenting with two methods: a syrup method and a thermal hydrolysis method using a pressure cooker. Most local processing of yacon is into syrup by slowly reducing the yacon extract (juice) over low heat. 

Working from an agave spirits framework—since agaves, like yacon, contain inulin—my instincts are that a pressure-cooking method would be best for fermentation and distillation, while the yacon syrup process would be analogous to making agave syrup. Not to mention, the processing of yacon is much simpler with the pressure-cooking method: work smarter, not harder. However, I will experiment with both approaches before discarding either, in order to test my hypothesis.

1. COOK WITH PEEL OFF: peeling, grating, cooking in water: .495 gramos, peeled and grated + 4.5 Liters of Water to boil (extract). 

2. COOK WITH PEEL ON: wash, add minimal water, place in pressure cooker (15 psi), 120 C, but (around 118 degrees with altitude considered). 

3. Test cooking periods: 20 min, 40 min, 60 min at full pressure. 

METHOD 1: Pressure cooker (peel on) notes:

The peel came off easily - a plus for processing times!

Next, I mashed cooked yacon with a pestle & mortar, which yielded 585 g of mash, and added 585 g of water for fermentation. No brixometer or refractometer to measure sugars, yet.

Yellow “paja” or “straw” in color.

NOTES: Cook for longer. Employ an initial cooking phase to “clean” the yacon. 

METHOD 2: Peeled, Grated, & Boiled (“pre jarabe”)

340.7 grams of “pre-jarabe” - I am calling it “pre-jarabe” or “pre-syrup” because I wanted to keep sufficient water content for fermentation and avoid caramelization.

Brix unknown.

Tastes sweet.

Dark green in color. 

12/15: Notes

The pressure cooker method (#1)

• Best for alcoholic fermentation. 

• Fermentation between 10 and 30 Celsius (50-86 F). 

• I transferred fermentation (cooked yacon + water) from a porous clay vessel to a glass jar when I noticed liquid was absorbing into the clay

• Upon transfer to glass, I removed the fibers.

• Placed in the koji maker for warmth and to facilitate fermentation.

• PH: 3.07 

• 12/19: This was distilled with 2 brix remaining, combined with guarapo. (See distillation notes below).

The pre-syrup method (#2)

• Is fermenting, has bubbles, tastes fizzy, but smells of acetone/ethyl acetate. (Not good).

• PH: 3.02

• It’s acidic, which is good. Off aromas might have to do with too fast and hot a fermentation? Starting Brix unknown - maybe too high?

• 12/19: This was distilled with 2 brix remaining and combined with guarapo. (See distillation notes below).

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Distillation: yacon + guarapo

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9:30 am: fuego 

10:10 am: 285 g yacon (pre-syrup) 2.5 brix (starting sugars unknown), 3.32 ph 

10:15 am: 685 g yacon (pressure cooked) 2 brix (starting sugars unknown), 2.94 ph 

10:20 am: 2830.4 g of guarapo, 0 brix (starting sugars unknown), 2.43 ph 

10:30- 11 am: struggled to get the distiller sealed as the mash began to boil over the wood fire. 

11:30 am: empezó a gotar, added ice to the condenser 

2:30 pm: empezó a salir más agua

2:40 pm: tales ya

Three cuts

1. 27 C / 16 adjusts to 20 C/ 14.2% abv 

2. 27 C/ 16 adjusts to 20 C 14.2% abv

3. 27 C/ 10 adjusts to 20 C/ 8.6% abv 

3 liters of guarapo with no residual sugar, 1 liter (approx) of yacon (two ways) with some residual sugar yielded 500 mls of 13% abv. I let the tales go way too long and pulled through too much water.

3.8 liters of starting ferment, did not measure vinasas.

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YACON HYDROLYSIS: 

Inulinase breaks down inulin, a process spurred by hydrolysis. I have discarded the “pre-syrup” method and am moving forward with the pressure cooker method. 

Goals: determine cook times, Brix levels, formulation, and fermentation. 

Experimenting with cook times: 

1. In a pressure cooker, 1 kg of yacon (batch #1) skin on. 

   1. 30 minutes of pressure cooking. 

   2. Skin comes off so easily after pressure cooking, once cooled. 

   3. Pulp mashed in molcajete 

   4. 722 g mashed

   5. (10 brix)

   6. 4.58 ph. 

2. In a pressure cooker, 1 kg of yacon (batch #2) skin on. 

   1. 35 minutes of pressure 

   2. +1.6 kilos of licor from pressure cooker (4 brix, ph 4.7) 

   3. 624.4 grams after peeling 

   4. 595 g milled 

   5. 4.73 ph 

   6. (8 brix). 

   7. 870 grams with fibers removed 

   8. 3.75 ph 

   9. 9 brix 

   10. Added 440  grams of “licor” or “oven honeys” 4 brix

   11. Total: 1314 kilos at 7 brix on 12/18

       1. 12/19: 6.5 brix 

       2. 12/20 5 brix 

       3. 12/23 5 brix (fermentation is stalling)

       4. 12/29 Distilling yacon (1 L) combined with pitahaya and guarapo 

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Distillation: guarapo + yacon + pitahaya

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1 Liter guarapo 0 brix? No se deja medir, 2.65 ph

1 Liter Yacon 3 brix, no ph measurement

2 Liter pitahaya 5 brix ph 2.49  (fermentation stalled, 20 starting brix, reduced to approx 10 with water for fermentation, and did not complete fermentation before I ran out of time.)

Approx 300 mls of distillate - this was kindof a crap shoot with so little to work with, hard to make any accurate conclusions.

4 starting liters of ferment, 2.2 liters of vinasas (compost).

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BIPRODUCTS TO CONSIDER: 

1. Yacon fibers: possible use in food applications.

2. Vinasas (stillage): the stillage left behind is acidic and needs to be treated (in large quantities).

   1. Potential uses: 

      1. Combine with clay/fibers for brick making in construction

      2. Neutralize for compost. 

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POTENTIAL FOR YACON? CONCLUSIONS:

Experiments around yield, hydrolysis, fermentation, distillation, energy use (wood), water use, and more will need to be carried out during the yacon harvest season to run various tests.

A tuber endemic to the Andes, yacon is part of the sunflower family and a relative of chicory, sunchokes, and dahlias. It could be the ideal hyper-local ingredient for distillation in Amazonas. It could generate meaningful financial opportunity for rural areas, offering some relief from reliance on a fickle tourism industry, while centering an ancient ingredient that, across generations, has quietly slipped from regional diets.

As foreign wellness markets like Japan and Australia “discover” its health benefits, they are poised to propel this Andean crop into the international spotlight as the next health craze.

Yacon presents challenges as a fresh product. It is delicate to store and transport, and distillation offers a method of preservation. I am most excited by the potential to transform it into a spirit made from hyper-local raw materials that honors its origins, while creating new pathways for its future so it is neither forgotten nor dispossessed.

Not to mention that in Peru, there is ample opportunity to present bespoke distillates to the Peruvian market, especially Lima, where the food and beverage scene has captured international acclaim. Bartenders are seeking endemic products for use in their cocktails, elevating their craft on the international stage and further distinguishing Peru as a top destination to eat and drink, which is precisely what makes Lima such a leading food and beverage city.

In the export market, Peruvian products should prepare for a shift in focus from Mexican distillates toward their own, as the U.S. market becomes increasingly curious about spirits from deeper within Latin America. With a long-standing tradition in pisco, wine, and rum, alongside burgeoning whisky and gin distilleries, Peru is at the forefront of developing a robust drinks culture that rivals other countries with established drink cultures, such as Mexico. With ancient ingredients, extreme biodiversity, and boundless creativity and motivation, I expect Peru to be at the forefront in the coming years.

While in the end we did not achieve a refined product from the 4-liter capacity clay pot, that was not necessarily the goal. The main takeaway was to understand how to process the yacon with the materials we had on hand, opening up a dialogue between us, the agricultural products, and their potential to become viable spirits, while establishing initial production methods for their transformation.

En fin, I’m excited about yacon!