INDIAN BREAD-ROOT

or Pomme Blanche, or Prairie Turnip, the spindle shaped root of a plant (Psoralea esculent a) native to the prairie regions of the Central West, and formerly an Indian food of considerable importance. It is ordinarily about the size of an average hen’s egg, with a tough, dark brown skin enclosing a whitish meat which resembles the flesh of a chestnut in both appearance and flavor except that it is le sweet. The fresh root is eaten raw, or cooked in any way that is suitable for potatoes; or dried for winter use and then crushed, mixed with water, and baked in small cakes. Its cultivation was at one time proposed as a substitute for potatoes. The title ‘‘ Indian bread-root’’ is also applied to the Coonziz (which see).