These Sweet Potato Recipes Are Making Us So Excited for Fall (2024)

FAQs

What does the existence of the sweet potato among Polynesian societies tell us? ›

Roullier et al.'s research has significance far beyond the sweet potato, as well as potentially beyond the Pacific. Significantly, genetic evidence for kumara lineage sweet potato in eastern Polynesia supports other evidence for pre-European contacts between Polynesia and western South America (15).

Sweet potatoes are nutrient-dense root vegetables that come in a variety of colors. They're high in fiber and antioxidants, which protect your body from free radical damage and promote a healthy gut and brain.

The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable.

They are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. One cup of baked sweet potatoes contains 52% of your daily value of vitamin C and vitamin A, which is important for wound healthy and tissue repair. Vitamin A helps your body make immune cells that fight off infections.

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.

Potato and sweet potato are examples of analogous organs. Both sweet potato and potato have a common function i.e., storage of food in the form of starch. Hence, they show convergent evolution. But they both differ in structural origin as the sweet potato is a root modification while the potato is a stem modification.

Just one sweet potato gives you 102% of the vitamin A you need each day. This helps keep your eyes healthy as well as your immune system, your body's defense against germs. It's also good for your reproductive system and organs like your heart and kidneys.

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.

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.

No, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Yams have rough, dark brown skin that is often compared to tree bark, and their flesh is dry and starchy like a regular potato. Sweet potatoes have smooth reddish skin, softer flesh (when cooked), and a sweet flavor.

What is the healthiest way to eat sweet potatoes? ›

Boiling sweet potatoes retains more beta-carotene and makes the nutrient more absorbable than other cooking methods such as baking or frying. Up to 92% of the nutrient can be retained by limiting the cook time, such as boiling in a pot with a tightly covered lid for 20 minutes.

Purple sweet potatoes are a good source of beta-carotene but are an even richer source of anthocyanin pigments, which act as antioxidants that can help reduce inflammation and boost your immune system. Purple sweet potatoes have about three times more anthocyanins than the average blueberry.

Sweet potatoes in fact, are considered a superfood. They are an excellent source of many key nutrients such as fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium and manganese. Additionally, they contain antioxidants and are naturally low in sodium.

Sweet potatoes contain Vitamin B6, which helps turn on serotonin, a “feel good” neurotransmitter in your brain.

Sweet potatoes are planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. Sweet potatoes are great sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, beta carotene, fiber and potassium. Sweet potatoes can be white, yellow, red, purple or orange. The orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are sweeter than the other varieties.

Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America. But archaeologists have found prehistoric remnants of sweet potato in Polynesia from about A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1100, according to radiocarbon dating.

'Uala, or sweet potatoes, have been a staple crop in Hawai'i for centuries, with varieties introduced from South America by Polynesian voyagers centuries ago. Early Hawaiians appreciated this hardy tuber for its ability to thrive in drier climates.

Sweet potato may have spread so rapidly in the Pacific because Polynesian gardeners saw these plants as an improvement on already grown Dioscorea species, such as the purple yam. The plant was likely spread between Polynesian islands by vine cuttings rather than by seeds.

In Quechua, one of the languages of Northwestern South America, the word for sweet potato is Cumal or Cumar. In Samoan, it is called 'Umala, in the Marquesas, Kuma'a, in Hawaiian, Uala, and in Mäori of Aotearoa, Kümara.