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All
About SweetPotatoes
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SweetPotato--one word-- is not a potato, not even a distant cousin.
Potatoes are truly tubers; SweetPotatoes are roots.
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| Jersey
Sweetpotato |
Golden
Sweetpotato |
Japanese
Sweetpotato |
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SweetPotatoes are part of the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae);
their genus Ipomoea batatas.
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SweetPotatoes are as American as apple pie, and even more so. Native
Americans were already growing SweetPotatoes when Columbus came to
these shores in 1492.
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SweetPotatoes have been growing in the South for as early as 1648.
Today, more than 40 percent of the national supply of
SweetPotatoes
comes from North Carolina, the SweetPotato Capitol of America.
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| Hannah
Sweetpotato |
Okinawan
Sweetpotato |
Jewel
Sweetpotato |
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A favorite of the herbivore dinosaurs??? SweetPotatoes
have been
around since prehistoric times
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What's in a name? When it comes to the yam, a bit of confusion. What
is marketed in the United States as "yams" are really a variety of
SweetPotato, grown in the South. A true yam is a starchy edible root
of the Dioscorea genus, and is generally imported to America from the
Caribbean. It is rough and scaly and very low in beta carotene.
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"Yams,"
as the industry and general public perceives them, are actually
SweetPotatoes with a vivid orange color and a soft moist consistency
when cooked, and tend to have a sweeter flavor. Other varieties of
SweetPotatoes are lighter skinned and have a firmer, drier texture
when cooked.
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SweetPotatoes are smooth with skins that can vary in color, depending
on the variety, from pale yellow to deep purple to vivid orange. Flesh
colors can range from light yellow to pink, red or orange.
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The American "yam"
is a copper-colored SweetPotato with a golden-red flesh that is moist
when cooked and has a sweeter flavor than the "drier" varieties, They
are grown primarily in the South, most notably North Carolina and
Louisiana with California, Mississippi, Alabama, New Jersey, Texas,
Georgia and South Carolina following. Other varieties, grown in
California and the North, around New Jersey, have a flesh that is
light yellow or pale orange in color and are drier and stay firmer
when cooked.
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| Red Garnet
Sweetpotato |
Beau Regarde
Sweetpotato |
White
Sweetpotato |
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  North Carolina SweetPotatoes are available throughout the year. They
are in abundance from September through June.
SweetPotatoes can be baked, boiled, broiled, stuffed, steamed, stir-fried or
microwaved. They go well with pork, chicken, turkey,
beef, lamb and other meats, as well as fish, and can be included in
recipes for stews, soups and salads as well as in baked goods such as
moist breads, pies, custards and cakes.
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