In this issue:
Is it a sweet potato or is it a yam?
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Past issues online
Sweet potatoes and yams
With Thanksgiving a few
weeks away, it's time to plan your holiday meal.
Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, veggies, cranberry sauce,
pies - what have we missed?
There are hotlines
available to help you get the turkey and the stuffing right.
But what about the sweet potatoes? Fear not, because
this week Goodness Greeness brings you the inside scoop on
sweet potatoes.
Before we get to the
scoop, however, we have to clear up some confusion
surrounding sweet potatoes and yams. The question is:
What is the difference?
The
difference
The sweet potato is an
enlarged storage root that comes in many different shapes,
sizes and colors. (Believe it or not, it's in the
Morning Glory family of plants). Sweet potatoes have
been around for centuries, originating in Central America
and Peru. They are tasty, healthy and versatile and
they can be used far beyond the Thanksgiving meal.
Several decades ago, a
new variety of sweet potato was introduced - one with moist
flesh, sweet flavor and a rich orange color. To
distinguish this new variety from other sweet potatoes with
the more traditional white flesh, the growers called this
new variety "yams", from the African term for this root crop
"nyami".
So, these "yams" are
simply a new variety of sweet potatoes. But, there is
another root crop also called yams. This is a rough,
scaly, not-so-nutritious tuber. Odds are that you
won't see these yams in your local market.
The bottom line is that
the yams that you know and love and that Goodness Greeness
provides are a richly colored, sweet tasting variety of
sweet potatoes.
The
scoop
Goodness Greeness carries
a large assortment of sweet potatoes/yams. They are
grown organically in California and are available at your
local market throughout the holiday season (and well
beyond).
There's a lot more to
sweet potatoes/yams than you may realize:
They are highly
functional - they can be baked, microwaved, steamed, boiled,
mashed, french-fried, toasted, sauteed, used as chips or
eaten fresh.
They have great
versatility - In addition to being served as baked potatoes,
they can be used in sauces, pasta, custards, casseroles and
cheesecakes.
They are seriously
nutritious - they are a great source of anti-oxidants and
nutrients. They supply vitamins B6, C, E and K.
They are very high in beta-carotene, are high in fiber, low
in sodium and are virtually fat and cholesterol free.
Sweet
potato tips
Here are some tips on
selecting, storing and using sweet potatoes/yams:
For the
most food value, choose sweet potatoes of a deep orange
color.
When
buying sweet potatoes, select sound, firm roots. Handle
them carefully to prevent bruising. Store in a dry,
un-refrigerated bin kept at 55-60 degrees F. DO
NOT REFRIGERATE, because temperatures below 55 degrees
F. will chill this tropical vegetable giving it a hard
core and an undesirable taste when cooked.
Wash
cured sweet potatoes and bake or boil until slightly
soft. If boiled, drain immediately. Thoroughly cool the
baked or boiled sweet potatoes. Wrap individually (skins
left on) in freezer film or foil and place in plastic
freezer bags. Seal, label and freeze.
Most
sweet potato dishes freeze well. Save time and energy by
making a sweet potato dish to serve and one to store in
the freezer.
Helpful
Hints:
-
Bake a large pan of sweet potatoes at the same time.
This saves time and energy. Freeze for later use or
store the sweet potatoes in the refrigerator for 7
to 10 days.
-
Freshly dug or uncured sweet potatoes are better
boiled and used in dishes that include fruits or
syrups. The curing process makes the sweet potato
sweeter and improves the cooking quality.
-
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. Six to eight
canned sweet potatoes are approximately the
equivalent of four medium fresh sweet potatoes.
|
Fresh |
Canned |
Cooked & Mashed |
2 medium
sweet potatoes |
3 to 4 |
1 1/4 cups |
|
3 medium |
1 pound can |
2 cups |
4 medium
(23 ounces) |
3 quart cans |
2 l/2 cups |
- To
reduce calories in your favorite sweet potato
recipe, experiment with the recipe by reducing the
sugar or fat by using the next lower measure on the
measuring cup. For example, when a recipe calls for
1 cup of sugar or fat, reduce the amount to 3/4 cup.
For 3/4 cup, reduce it to 2/3 cup, and so on.
Sweet
potatoes can be baked, boiled, fried, broiled, canned or
frozen. They can also be cooked in the microwave oven.
Before
cooking sweet potatoes, scrub skin and trim off any
bruised or woody portions.
If you
are cutting calories, serve a plain sweet potato, cut
down on margarine or butter and use skim milk or
unsweetened orange juice as liquid when you prepare
mashed sweet potatoes.
Remember, it is what you add to the sweet potato that
increases calories:
1 small, baked in skin ...................141 calories
3 1/2 ounces, candied..................168 calories
3 1/2 ounces, canned, syrup pack...114 calories
A
freshly baked or boiled sweet potato is delicious and
nutritious. You need only to add a pat of butter or
serve it plain. Don't feel that you must add
high-calorie ingredients to make the sweet potato
acceptable.
Rub a
little fat or oil over clean and dry sweet potatoes of
uniform size. Place on baking sheet and bake at 400
degrees F. until soft, 30 to 50 minutes, depending on
size. Sweet potatoes that are greased before baking peel
easily.
Boiled Sweet Potatoes: Drop clean sweet
potatoes into enough boiling water to cover them. Cover
pan and return water to boiling as quickly as possible.
Lower heat and cook until tender. Drain at once. Peel
and season with butter and salt to taste. Use 1 medium
sweet potato per person. Boiled sweet potatoes can be
used for pies, cookies, casseroles, glazed, candied or
frozen.
Charcoal Broiled Sweet Potatoes: Rub a little
fat over clean sweet potato skins. Wrap double foil
loosely around sweet potatoes. Cook in coals for about
45 minutes. Keep warm on edge of grill.
Skillet Sweet Potatoes: In large deep skillet,
heat 1 1/2 inch deep vegetable oil to 365 degrees F. Add
sweet potato strips to cover bottom of skillet; fry 5
minutes or until brown and tender. Remove from hot oil
and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt or
powdered sugar.
Microwave Sweet Potatoes: For best results,
choose uniform size sweet potatoes. Pierce washed sweet
potatoes with a fork. Place on paper towel on shelf of
microwave oven 1 inch apart. Turn sweet potatoes over
and rearrange after half of cooking time. Cook on HIGH
power level. Cooking time will vary, depending on the
number of sweet potatoes.
|
Sweet Potatoes |
Minutes |
|
1 |
4 to 6 |
|
2 |
6 to 8 |
|
3 |
8 to 12 |
|
4 |
12 to 16 |
|
5 |
16 to 20 |
Sweet
potatoes may still feel firm when done. Let stand 5
minutes to soften.
(Courtesy of the
Aggie-Hort site at Texas A&M University).
Recipes
You can find a variety of
creative recipes (along with a bunch of other information) for sweet potatoes/yams at the website of
the
North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission.
Contact
us
You can find
organic sweet potatoes/yams, along with a rich variety of
other organic
fruits and vegetables from Goodness Greeness, at your local market.
Email us
at
newsletter@goodnessgreeness.com if you can't find them and we'll help you
locate them.
Past
issues online
As you know if you've
been reading this weekly newsletter each week, there is a
lot of information provided on organic fruits and vegetables, their
nutritional qualities, availability, shopping and
preparation tips, as well as some recipes.
You can now access most of
the past issues of Organics for you on our web site (www.goodnessgreeness.com).
Click on the Newsletter link at the top of any page on the
site. There you'll find a quick index to most of the past
issues.
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