Originally from Central and South America, the sweet potato is a natural American plant mentioned by Columbus in the records of one of his voyages. It is one of the oldest cultivated plants. Sweet potatoes from all over the world are usually found in warm, sunny climates. There are hundreds of types of sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes are not yams, however. Actual yams are more like yuca or cassava. In the U.S., you can assume that you are getting orange fleshed sweet potatoes even if the sign says yams (if you are not at an international market). Sweet potatoes can also have white, yellow, red or purple flesh. Each of these have powerful phytonutrients depending on the flesh and skin color.
Peak Time: Available year round, but best from October to January
Average Price: $1.00 per pound
Tips for Selection and Storage: Look for small to medium potatoes that are firm, with coppery pink, unblemished, smooth skin and taper toward the ends. Avoid potatoes that look dull, dry or shriveled, or that have signs of decay or bruising since rot spreads quickly. Avoid those in the refrigerated section of the produce department since cold temperatures negatively alter their taste. Sweet potatoes need to be stored in a cool, dark, dry, well-ventilated place or cool room for not more than a week.
Tips for Preparation: Sweet potatoes are best eaten with the peel since many of the nutrients and phytonutrients are in the peel or just under it. However, if not organic or from a local farmer’s market they will have to be scrubbed thoroughly get off the dye or wax that is often put on commercial sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes lend themselves to most methods of cooking, however, baking or roasting brings out their natural flavor even if you are going to mash them. Microwaving or steaming has a shorter cooking time and preserves more of the water soluble vitamins like Vitamin C. The taste of sweet potatoes is enhanced by most fruits as well as ginger, cinnamon, dark sugars and syrups, pecans, raisins, and rum or bourbon reductions.
Nutritional Highlights: One medium sweet potato contains only 118 calories and six times the recommended dietary allowance for adults of vitamin A from beta carotene and about half the adult recommendations for vitamin C and manganese. Orange-flesh sweet potatoes are very rich in the phytonutrient beta-carotene. Purple-flesh varieties are outstanding sources of the phytonutrient anthocyanin. Both also have unique phytonutrients only found in sweet potatoes. These phytonutrients along with vitamin C give sweet potatoes extra antioxidant power to boost the immune system and protect the body against inflammation and aging diseases. Sweet potatoes are also excellent sources of copper, potassium, phosphorus, B vitamins and both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber. Sweet potatoes are a nutrient dense, packing all of these vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients into a low calorie package. Sweet potatoes are a prebiotic that benefit healthy gut bacteria and with both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber to help prevent both colon cancer and heart disease.
For a recipe for maple roasted sweet potatoes with toasted pecans, click here.
