Sweet potatoes are incredibly versatile, but before you can use them in all their glory, you have to know what kinds of sweet potatoes you’re dealing with. Yes, there’s more than one type of sweet potato at your local grocery store. Here are 16 different sweet spuds in a range of colors, textures, and flavors to consider as you make your favorite sweet potato recipes.
The jewel sweet potato, with its copper skin and deep-orange flesh, is probably what you think of when you think sweet potato. It’s traditionally used for baking and casseroles, especially around holidays. But there are also sweet potatoes, such as the hannah variety, that doesn’t have an orange interior at all. We’d bet you’ve never heard of a speckled purple sweet potato either. It’s never too late to become well-acquainted with these lovable spuds.
“A general guideline to estimating how many sweet potatoes you need when hosting friends or family for a meal is one medium sweet potato per person,” Burgess says, as if she's done this many times before.
You can still eat sweet potatoes if you have diabetes, assures Huff. The fiber content in sweet potatoes, especially if you consume them with the skin on, can help reduce spikes in your blood sugar. Plus, how you cook your sweet potatoes can also help reduce the extent to which your blood sugar rises.
Garnet. You can spot a garnet by its reddish-purple skin which reveals a striking orange interior. These are super velvety, with a denser texture and more complex flavor than jewels. Garnets kind of bring to mind plums and some vanilla—it's a sweet, gorgeous, deep flavor.
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.
Choose the Right Fertilizer: Select a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer with equal parts nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). A fertilizer labeled as 10-10-10 or similar works well for sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes are full of antioxidants, vitamins and fiber to support your eye, digestive and heart health. They're generally safe to eat daily, especially if you eat them with calcium to prevent calcium oxalate kidney stones. There are so many fun and tasty ways to eat sweet potatoes.
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.
For the gardener who doesn't care about looks, but is searching for taste, "Jewel" is considered the "Queen of Sweet Potatoes" and is the leading spud planted in North Carolina for commercial growers.
Though larger ones might seem appealing, according to our friends at Real Simple, smaller sweet potatoes tend to be sweeter and creamier than larger ones, which are usually starchier. Also, the sweet potato should be firm to the touch. If it's soft or limp, it's probably already starting to go bad.
Since North Carolina is the nation's top sweet potato producer, you're likely already buying sweet potatoes grown within the state. Though uncommon just a few decades ago, these tasty tubers can now be found in every major grocery store chain, particularly orange-fleshed varieties such as Beauregard and Covington.
Sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene, and their excessive consumption can lead to hypervitaminosis A (vitamin A toxicity), in which excess vitamin A accumulates in the liver. Although it is not considered harmful, the color of the skin and nails may turn orange. Additionally, sweet potatoes are rich in carbohydrates.
If knowing the benefits of sweet potatoes has you ready to eat them regularly, you may be wondering if the adage “too much of a good thing” applies. 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.
Sweet potatoes are often touted as being healthier than white potatoes, but in reality, both types can be highly nutritious. While regular and sweet potatoes are comparable in their calorie, protein, and carb content, white potatoes provide more potassium, whereas sweet potatoes are incredibly high in vitamin A.
Squash will compete with Sweet potatoes for space: these vigorous growers like to spread out. Prevent problems by not planting any members of the Solanaceae family (potato, tomato, all peppers, ground cherries (tomatillo), and eggplant) in the same spot next year.
After that, sweet potatoes can usually fend for themselves, though they do benefit from weekly deep watering during serious droughts. Or, simply feed with a water-soluble plant food, like Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Edibles Plant Nutrition every week.
If you love growing sweet potatoes, this fertilizer guide is for you. Learn how to nurture your sweet potato plant with simple items like coffee grounds, egg shells, and more. Follow this guide to soil health, and harvest sweet potatoes with ease.
How to tell if sweet potatoes have gone bad. If your sweet potato is soft in spots, smells rotten, or oozes a mysterious liquid, that potato should be discarded. Another sign that sweet potatoes have taken a turn for the worse is if they start growing stalky purplish sprouts.
Because of their higher sugar levels and high vitamin A content, you can likely enjoy them in moderation about two or three times per week. Eating these vegetables too often could lead to too much vitamin A intake or increase the potential for negative effects on your blood sugar.
Answer. Sweet potatoes are considered a starchy vegetable, but they are also a great source of nutrition. Starchy vegetables are usually higher in calories than non-starchy vegetables which have higher water contents and fewer calories (cucumber, lettuce, peppers, etc.).
Introduction: My name is Van Hayes, I am a thankful, friendly, smiling, calm, powerful, fine, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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