Sweet Potato

Sweet Potatoes

By: Amelia Attwood, RD, LD

The sweet potato is a colorful comfort food no matter the season. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are ranked as two of the world’s most-produced crops. There are 400 different types of sweet potatoes, and the main varieties are Garnet, Hannah, Japanese, Jewel, and Purple Stoke sweet potatoes. The Garnet variety is sweet, has a dusty brown, maroon-colored skin, golden orange interior, and is starchier and moister than other varieties. The Hannah variety has a pale orange skin and interior and may be best cooked mashed or roasted. The Japanese variety has a purple skin, cream-colored interior, and firm texture best cooked by steaming or roasting. The Jewel variety has a copper-colored skin, a deep orange interior, and is a good all-purpose sweet potato.  The Purple Stoke variety is nutrient-dense and has a deep purple skin and interior that is best prepared boiled or steamed.  

Sweet potatoes like any other vegetable are nutrient dense. Sweet potatoes are rich in carbohydrates, potassium, vitamin A, and B vitamins. The key to reaping health benefits from potatoes is to eat the skin for a source of dietary fiber. Setting aside a bristled scrubbing brush for the skins of fruits and vegetables alone can help remove all dirt before consumption, making the fibrous skin edible. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are carbohydrate-dense and therefore energy-dense foods. To balance the consumption of an energy-dense food at mealtimes combine it with another no starchy vegetable for a 50/50 combination of starchy to non-starchy. A great example of this is how mashed potatoes are often served alongside green beans at the holidays. Overall sweet potatoes are rich in beta-carotene, the antioxidant responsible for supporting vision.  

While there are many ways to cook sweet potato varieties, mashed or baked are a few of the most traditional methods used in American homes and kitchens. The sweet potatoes served at school this month will be mashed. Sweet potatoes can be quartered and baked in combination with other root vegetables such as rutabagas or kohlrabi. Whole sweet potatoes baked on their own can be transformed by adding protein-rich toppings for a balanced meal. Check out our baked sweet potato recipe and know the possibilities are endless from BBQ toppings to southwest toppings. Sweet potatoes provide a great source of family fun, spring activities. Potatoes that are no longer smooth and contain sprouts make great “seeds” to experiment with growing potatoes at home. If you need more simple produce recipes, check out our Simply Seasonal database of five ingredients or less and five steps or fewer recipes. 

Ingredients

Sweet potatoes, small

Oil, canola, as needed

Instructions

1.     Scrub sweet potatoes and rub each with a few drops of canola oil.

2.     Bake in preheated 350° F oven for 45 minutes or until a fork inserted in the sweet potatoes is easily inserted.

3.     Serve immediately.

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