About Sweet Potatoes
Storage
Keep in a cool, dry, dark, and well-ventilated place. Keep away from heat sources, do not refrigerate, and do not store in plastic or near onions. They will stay fresh for at least a week, usually 2-3. Don’t wash until ready to use. Handle thin, delicate skins with care. The flesh will darken when it’s exposed to air, so before cutting, prepare a bowl of water with a good splash of vinegar, lemon juice, or other acid. Drop into water as you cut, in order to keep it from discoloring, until ready to use.
Can be roasted, sautéed, steamed, grilled, or eaten raw –simply grate, or cut into julienned matchsticks into a salad or use as a crudité.
Sweet potatoes are only distantly related to "regular" potatoes. They're one of the world’s oldest vegetables –proof of their use in prehistoric times has been found in Peruvian caves. Christopher Columbus brought them back to Europe after his first trip to the Americas, and they were later introduced into Asia and Africa by Portuguese explorers.
Sweet potatoes are also one of the most nutritious vegetables, with off-the-charts levels of beta-carotene and vitamin A, plus tons of C, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and blood sugar-regulating nutrients.
Delicious roasted, sauteed, steamed, grilled, or even eaten raw– simply grate or very thinly cut into a salad, or use as a crudité.
Purple
This variety is a bit denser and drier than orange sweet potatoes; they’ll take just a bit longer to cook. Their flavor is rich and complex like a fine wine.
Purple sweet potatoes are extra healthy, containing anthocyanins- offering the same antioxidant rich pigmenting as purple carrots, cauliflower and other similarly colored veggies.
Liz Talley, Urban Graze
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