Sweet Potatoes

Details

Sweet potato or yam? The names may be interchangeable in the supermarket, but these vegetables are not the same at all. Yams originate from Africa and are bigger, heavier, starchier, generally white-fleshed and grow above ground; while sweet potatoes originate from Central and South America and are smaller, more tender, can have orange, yellow, red and purple flesh, and grow below ground. It is also one of the oldest vegetables known—traces of 10,000 year old sweet potatoes have been found in Peruvian caves. The sweet potato’s history is surprisingly more interesting than the average tuber, so read more in “The Inscrutable Sweet Potato” by Dani Lind.

Sweet potatoes can be found at farmers markets in the fall. It can be difficult to grow them in our region because they have a long growing period, don’t tolerate frost or cool nights, and require steady heat and humidity to ripen the skins for storage. Support your local farmer’s hard work by snapping them up at the market!

Nutrition: Sweet potatoes are high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, beta carotene (which our bodies turn into vitamin A), vitamins C and B6, and also have significant amounts of potassium and iron. They can help diabetics with insulin resistance and blood sugar level stabilization. Their antioxidant content is three times more concentrated in the skin than the flesh, so buy organic and eat the skins.