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Sweet potatoes are a type of root vegetable cherished for their starchy consistency and earthy, caramelised flavour. You might have taken a few to prepare a sumptuous sweet potato pie or a casserole. Although you can eat them all year, their culinary uses are varied.
There are countless cooking methods you can use to create savoury or sweet dishes, including baking, roasting, frying, steaming, and boiling. These fleshy roots, scientifically known as Ipomoea batatas, are part of the Convolvulaceae, or Morning Glory, family.
Bayou Belle:
'Bayou Belle' is a novel sweet potato variety known for its deep orange flesh and red/purple skin without the usual mushiness after cooking, making it an appealing choice for culinary enthusiasts. The Bayou Belle is delicious, baked or roasted since it is sweet and firm. While it shares a similar sugar content with Evangeline sweet potatoes, it distinguishes itself with a firmer texture when baked.
The crop cycle of 'Bayou Belle' is relatively short, spanning 90 to 100 days. Additionally, 'Bayou Belle' matures in 110 to 120 days and exhibits resistance to various diseases, including the southern root-knot nematode, soil rot, rhizopus soft rot, fusarium root rot, and fusarium wilt, making it a hardy and reliable option for growers.
Amish Bush, Porto Rico:
Amish Bush Porto Rico sweet potatoes are an early variety known for their unique characteristics. These sweet potatoes feature pink skin and vibrant orange flesh, with ivy-shaped leaves on the plant. They are ideally suited for regions with summer night temperatures below 60°F. The taste profile of Amish Bush Porto Rico sweet potatoes is sweet and buttery, offering a smooth mouthfeel.
They pair well with dishes like turkey, ham, and chicken, making them a versatile choice in various recipes. When selecting these sweet potatoes, opt for the largest ones with bright orange skin and no visible damage. They are typically available from February to November, with peak seasons in March, April, May, September, and October. You can prepare them by boiling, peeling, baking, or roasting them to achieve the desired softness for your recipes. To store them, keep them refrigerated for 5-7 days at cool temperatures.
Apache:
The Apache potato has cream-coloured streaks across its warm-red skin. It has a chestnut flavour and is a wonderful substitute for roasted potatoes. The Apache potato is simple to prepare and is bursting with flavour and wellness.
Apache sweet potatoes are rich in carbohydrates, containing approximately 17.12 grams of net carbs per 100-gram serving. Net carbs represent the total carbohydrates minus dietary fibre. In the context of a strict keto diet, where daily carb intake typically ranges from 20 to 50 grams, Apache sweet potatoes can significantly increase your carb intake.
While Apache sweet potatoes offer numerous nutritional benefits, including essential vitamins like Vitamin A, B-6, C, and E, as well as minerals such as potassium and iron, they may not align with the strict carb restrictions of a keto diet.
White Sweet Potatoes:
Compared to most other varieties of sweet potatoes, white sweet potatoes are more crumbly, dry, and sweet-tasting. They are a more wholesome and nutrient-dense alternative to starchy potatoes. This sweet potato makes an excellent sandwich side dish if cooked properly. White sweet potatoes can be combined with butter to enhance moisture and creaminess because the flesh is a little bit dry.
Sumor:
Sumor sweet potatoes, named after the Old English word for "summer," are native to the tropical Americas. Thriving in hot climates, they are easy to cultivate and a significant global food crop. These sweet potatoes feature bright orange skins adorned with deep purple spots and stripes, making them visually striking. They excel at baking, maintaining their texture under high heat, and offer a taste remarkably similar to standard white-fleshed potatoes.
Botanically belonging to the Ipomoea batatas plant family, Sumor sweet potatoes can serve as a versatile substitute for Irish potatoes when needed. They have tan skin and white or yellow flesh. Sumor is an early-maturing variety, reaching maturity in 110 to 120 days, and is known for its robust resistance to various diseases and pests, including fusarium wilt, stem rot, and root-knot nematodes.
Murasaki:
Murasaki sweet potatoes, also known as Japanese sweet potatoes, are native to Japan and distinguished by their purple skin and white flesh. They are versatile in cooking, with steaming and baking being popular methods. Steaming involves cutting them into small pieces and steaming for 10-15 minutes while baking entails preheating the oven to 400°F and baking for 20–25 minutes.
Murasaki sweet potatoes offer a delightful nutty flavour with hints of brown sugar and vanilla, and their high dry matter content makes them starchy and ideal for roasting. They are nutritionally rich, providing vitamin A, potassium, fibre, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein, and beneficial amino acids, making them a delicious and healthy choice.
Hannah:
Hannah sweet potatoes, scientifically known as Ipomoea batatas, are members of the Morning-Glory family, and they come in two varieties: sweet Hannah and yellow Hannah. These sweet potatoes are medium to large, with a round, rectangular, or cylindrical shape. Their raw flesh is hard, cream-coloured, and dense, transforming into a creamy, flaky texture when cooked. While they possess a mild sweetness, they are primarily known for their starchy consistency.
Hannah sweet potatoes thrive in warm, temperate climates and are available year-round. They have a rich history, originating in South or Central America and being introduced to Europe and Asia in the 15th and 16th centuries. Hannah sweet potatoes are versatile in cooking, suitable for frying, pureeing, mashing, baking, deep-frying, stuffing, steaming, or grilling.
They can be chopped, grilled, garnished with coriander leaves, or mashed as a flavourful side dish. In the United States, they were the first sweet potatoes grown commercially in the 16th century. These sweet potatoes are valued for their nutritional content, containing vitamins A and C, fibre, potassium, iron, and substantial beta-carotene. Proper storage in a cool, dark, dry place with good air circulation allows them to last 2-4 weeks.
