1. Sweet Potatoes versus Yams
Often used interchangeably, the terms sweet potato and yam are actually two different vegetables unrelated to one another. The sweet potato is grows in the United States, while yams only grow in tropical climates. Sweet potatoes come from the morning glory family, have a sweeter taste, are more moist and are shorter in length than yams.
2. A Nutritional Powerhouse
Health-conscious people choose sweet potatoes more often than just for Thanksgiving dinner. Sweet potatoes pack about four times the recommended daily allowance of beta carotene, which is an antioxidant shown to have anticancer properties. Vitamin C is another benefit to sweet potatoes, shown to lower the risk of heart disease by raising good cholesterol and lowering the bad. Fiber is another noteworthy component of the sweet potato, which lowers your cholesterol and your risk of colon cancer. All this benefit to your health, yet surprisingly low in calories on its own, at about 140 calories for an average sized sweet potato.
3. Versatile and Easy to Prepare
Sweet potatoes are versatile as a side dish or a dessert. They blend well with many spices, such as cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, orange flavoring and even pepper. You can easily increase the caloric content beyond what you'd like with fat and sugar, so be careful. Cook them by boiling, baking, microwaving, sauteeing, deep frying or cooking on a charcoal grill. If using canned sweet potatoes in a dish, put them in toward the end of the cooking process. Incorporating more sweet potatoes into your family's diet is easy when you broaden your long-held thoughts about sweet potatoes. With the increasing popularity and known health benefits, more recipes are being created all the time for this previously overlooked vegetable.
4. How to Choose
Look for a firm sweet potato that's smooth and dry. Handle them gently to minimize bruising. Store at room temperature or slightly lower, 55 to 60 degrees F, but don't refrigerate as it will lose some of it's desirable taste. Be sure to use a stainless steel knife when cutting a sweet potato. That keeps it from getting dark spots.
5. Maybe You Could Grow Your Own
So versatile in cooking, yet finicky about where it grows, that's the sweet potato. They need a long growing season that's frost-free. Most sweet potatoes grown in the United States for commercial distribution are located in North Carolina and Louisiana. Plant them soon after the last frost to obtain the long growing season it needs.
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