How to cook Sweet Potato

As a main dish or prepared as a dessert, the sweet potato is a nutritious and economical food.

One baked sweet potato (3 1/2 ounce serving) provides over 8,800 IU of vitamin A or about twice the recommended daily allowance, yet it contains only 141 calories making it valuable for the weight watcher.

This nutritious vegetable provides 42 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin C, 6 percent of the RDA for calcium, 10 percent of the RDA for iron, and 8 percent of the RDA for thiamine for healthy adults.

It is low in sodium and is a good source of fibre and other important vitamins and minerals.

A complex carbohydrate food source, it provides beta carotene which may be a factor in reducing the risk of certain cancers.

For the most food value, choose sweet potatoes of a deep orange colour.

When buying sweet potatoes, select sound, firm roots.

Handle them carefully to prevent bruising.

Storage in a dry, unrefrigerated bin kept at 55-60 degrees F. is best.

DO NOT REFRIGERATE, because temperatures below 55 degrees F. will chill this tropical vegetable giving it a hard core and an undesirable taste when cooked.

Wash cured sweet potatoes and bake or boil until slightly soft.

If boiled, drain immediately. Thoroughly cool the baked or boiled sweet potatoes. Wrap individually (skins left on) in freezer film or foil and place in plastic freezer bags. Seal, label and freeze.

Most sweet potato dishes freeze well. Save time and energy by making a sweet potato dish to serve and one to store in the freezer.

Bake a large pan of sweet potatoes at the same time. This saves time and energy. Freeze for later use or store the sweet potatoes in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days.

Freshly dug or uncured sweet potatoes are better boiled and used in dishes that include fruits or syrups.

The curing process makes the sweet potato sweeter and improves the cooking quality.

Canned or frozen sweet potatoes may be substituted for the fresh form in any recipe calling for cooked sweet potatoes as the starting point.

Canned sweet potatoes are generally smaller in diameter because of their better canning qualities.

Six to eight canned sweet potatoes are approximately the equivalent of four medium fresh sweet potatoes.

To reduce calories in your favorite sweet potato recipe, experiment with the recipe by reducing the sugar or fat by using the next lower measure on the measuring cup. For example, when a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar or fat, reduce the amount to 3/4 cup. For 3/4 cup, reduce it to 2/3 cup, and so on.

Sweet potatoes make an attractive house plant.

• To grow a sweet potato vine, use a jar with an opening that will support it.

• Place the sweet potato in a jar of water with its narrow end down.

• Put the jar in a warm, dark place and keep the jar filled with water.

• New roots will start to grow, and in about 10 days, the stem will start to grow.

• As soon as this happens, put the jar in a sunny window.

• As the vine grows, it can be left to trail or trained to climb.

Sweet potatoes can be baked, boiled, fried, broiled, canned or frozen. They can also be cooked in the microwave oven.

Before cooking sweet potatoes, scrub skin and trim off any bruised or woody portions.

If you are cutting calories, serve a plain sweet potato, cut down on margarine or butter and use skim milk or unsweetened orange juice as liquid when you prepare mashed sweet potatoes.

Remember, it is what you add to the sweet potato that increases calories.

A freshly baked or boiled sweet potato is delicious and nutritious. You need only to add a pat of butter or serve it plain. Don't feel that you must add high-calorie ingredients to make the sweet potato acceptable.

Rub a little fat or oil over clean and dry sweet potatoes of uniform size. Place on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F. until soft, 30 to 50 minutes, depending on size. Sweet potatoes that are greased before baking peel easily.