10 Weird Sweet Potato Recipe Ideas You'll Love (2024)

FAQs

What all can be made from sweet potato? ›

The prevailing explanation is that Polynesian voyagers had sailed to South America and brought the sweet potato back to the islands on their return. Archaeological and genetic data seemed to support this conclusion, although scientists have questioned some of this evidence over the years.

Native Americans were already growing sweet potatoes when Columbus arrived on America's shores in 1492. The sweet potato is not a potato, not even a distant cousin. Potatoes are tubers; sweet potatoes are roots. Sweet potatoes have been growing in the South since as early as 1648.

Despite what your grandmother says, this cloying side dish didn't originate as a family recipe. It was concocted by Big Marshmallow as a way to push the candy on Americans. Though the tubers are high in sugar to begin with, there's historical precedent for treating sweet potatoes like dessert.

Sweet Potato: Past to Present

Early Hawaiians appreciated this hardy tuber for its ability to thrive in drier climates. They used it to make 'uala ho'omalamala, similar to poi, and 'uala 'awa'awa – an alcoholic beverage made of fermented mashed ʻuala and water.

Research shows that sweet potatoes can lower your LDL "bad" cholesterol, which may lower your odds of heart problems. Macular degeneration. Large amounts of beta-carotene and vitamin A, which are in sweet potatoes, can lower your chances of getting this eye disease, which is the most common cause of vision loss.

The Bottom Line. You can eat sweet potato skin. It's a good source of fiber, a nutrient that may help lower the risk of heart disease and keep you feeling full for longer periods of time. The next time you make a sweet potato dish, whether it's a roasted side dish or a hearty, cozy casserole, leave the peel on.

Soft rot, Rhizopus nigricans. Sweet potatoes in storage are commonly infected with the bread mold fungus, which causes a watery soft rot of part or all of the tuber. The fungus may be seen as a fluffy, white growth, with black dots supported on threads.

Scurf is caused by a fungus that grows on the surface of the sweet potato tuber. It shows itself as purple/brown/black patches on the skin (fortunately it is mainly cosmetic and doesn't affect edibility).

China is the world's biggest producer and consumer of sweetpotato, where it is used for food, animal feed, and processing (as food, starch, and other products).

Which sweet potato is the healthiest? ›

Sweet Potatoes and Health

Sweet potatoes with orange flesh are richest in beta-carotene. Sweet potatoes with purple flesh are richer in anthocyanins. Beta-carotene and anthocyanins are naturally occurring plant “phyto” chemicals that give vegetables their bright colors.

While both our experts say eating a sweet potato a day is certainly healthy, they don't recommend more than that, since there are plenty of other vegetables to enjoy too. “If you're eating more than one a day, you might want to consider varying up your food choices so you get a variety of nutrients,” Rizzo says.

In China, yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes are roasted in a large iron drum and sold as street food during winter.

The ooze is actually referred to as "sap." It is made up of sugar and starch combined with the moisture found in the vegetable, and it escapes out of the damage made from the knife. The sap really equals the sweetness. If it's pouring out of your potato, that means it's a sweet and delicious vegetable.

Since its introduction to the East, sweet potato has earned a special place in Asian cuisines. In China, they're baked in large iron drums and enjoyed as a winter street food; or made into Mantou buns; while in North-eastern parts, they're often cut in chunks and fried, served with hot syrup.

Boiling may actually retain most of the antioxidant power of sweet potatoes, compared to roasting and steaming. If we compare baking to boiling microscopically, boiling helps thin out the cell walls and gelatinize the starch, which may enhance the bioavailability of nutrients.

Because of their fiber and vitamin contents, sweet potatoes are often considered the healthier choice between the two. Sweet potatoes are likely healthier than regular potatoes. They have a lower GI, more fiber, and large amounts of beta carotene.