Yuca Chips
By ANNE C. HEYMEN Food Editor

They're made from the root of a tree, and they're rich in potassium and in fiber.

They're called Yuca Chips - that's pronounced You-Ka, and last week, Barbara G. Leon, vice president of sales and marketing for Tropic's Yuca Chips, was in town to spread the word about the delicious snack.

Leon was at the World Golf Village for a food show. She was there in conjunction with Tree of Life of St. Augustine. "They are our dis tributors," she explained during a visit to The Record.

Along with her came a case of Yuca Chips in all flavors - original, barbecue, garlic and cilantro, picante and cream cheese and sour cream and onion.

Monday was taste-testing day at "The Record," and when all had sampled, sampled once again and sampled still once more, barbecue seemed to be a favorite of the ma jority. Coming in second wasthe sour cream and onion. Others, though, enjoyed the subtie taste of the garlic and cilantro.

One sure thing was that the chips were popular - as evidenced by one staffer who, although not known as a fanatic snacker like some, returned time and time again for a taste, admitting the chips were some of the best he'd ever tasted.

Not only do they taste good, says Leon, but they're good for you. In addition to being rich in potassium and having twice the fiber as potato chips, Leon says that the Yuca Chips are low in salt- "we use sea salt," they have no cholesterol, no preservatives and no additives. "They're all 100 percent natural."

Leon describes yuca as a tube- like vegetable. "Actually, it's the root of a tree," she says. The chips were developed by South Florida entrepreneur Jerry Ritthaler of Boca Raton. On a trip to Venezuela, he discovered the yuca or cassava, a food which Central and South Americans boil and serve.

The yuca for the company's chips continue to be grown in Venezuela.

First store in the North Florida area to sell Yuca Chips was a gourmet store on Amelia Island. Today, says Leon, they are available in the natural food sections of some Publix markets. The 7.5 oz. bags sell for about $3.79.