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Cocoyam

Cocoyam is a starchy tropical root cooked and used similarly to other root vegetables.

Cocoyam — illustrative ingredient image

About Cocoyam

Cocoyam is a culinary name for starchy underground corms and cormels from several tropical aroid crops, commonly including taro and tannia types. It is used as a root vegetable in soups, stews and other cooked dishes.

Raw pieces are generally firm, with brown, grey or reddish skins and white, cream or purple-flecked flesh. Cooked flesh becomes soft, dense and often slightly sticky, although texture varies among the crops sold under this name.

Fresh roots, peeled chunks, flour and dried pieces are encountered in commerce. Boiling, steaming, baking, frying, pounding or mashing changes the appearance and texture substantially, and preparation behaviour is not uniform across cocoyam types.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where cocoyam appears

8 linked foods

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Showing 1–8 of 8

Main dishes

Sides

Soups

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for cocoyam

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Cocoyam

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Cocoyam nutrition & diet

Cocoyam nutritional value

Cocoyam, tuber, white, raw — WAFCT 02_005

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the named food form.

Calories
136kcal
Protein
3.3g
Carbs
28.9g
Fat
0.3g

Per 100 g edible portion. Source: Vincent et al., FAO/INFOODS Food Composition Table for Western Africa (2019). Carbohydrate is available carbohydrate calculated by difference; square-bracketed fat in the source uses continuous-extraction analysis. Values describe this reference form, not every recipe, cultivar or preparation.

Portions & preparation

Establish the species or local variety and use the edible cooked corm or tuber after appropriate preparation. Peeling, boiling, steaming, pounding, frying, or drying changes the served form; leaves, stems, and flour are separate entries and should not be substituted.

Compare the right form: Match references to the identified cocoyam species or variety and the edible cooked corm or tuber form, not leaves or flour.

Diet considerations

Cocoyam is a plant-derived starchy root. Plain cooked cocoyam differs from fried pieces, pounded preparations, flours, and dishes containing meat, fish, dairy, eggs, cereals, or coatings. Compatibility and carbohydrate patterns depend on variety, processing, recipe additions, and the portion served.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: FAO/INFOODS Food Composition Table for Western Africa (2019) — 02_005 ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .