Sweet potato is sweet potato, also known as sweet potato, some names of this plant originate from the Americas, brought to the Philippines by the Spaniards, and brought to India, China and Japan by the Portuguese until to become popular all over the world. . It is a tropical plant, a staple food and an important source of energy, providing dietary fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin B6. there is a lot of kinds of sweet potatoes in the world and each of them has unique characteristics.
For this reason, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you about the main types of sweet potatoes that exist and their characteristics.
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Nutritional properties
Its properties can also be compared to those of the potato, since both are an excellent source of carbohydrates, although the sweet potato provides fewer calories per roasted or cooked edible serving. Sweet potatoes are a little sweeter and contain more natural sugarsbut they stand out for their resistant starch, which provides satiety and lowers the glycemic index of meals, making them an excellent source of energy.
It is also a source of fiber, antioxidant vitamins and essential minerals, highlighting its vitamin C content, especially vitamin A (retinol), which doubles the potato, especially in orange varieties. It also provides good amounts of potassium, magnesium and calcium.
Sweet potatoes are often touted as a healthy alternative to potatoes, Although both are healthy products in their own right: what matters is how you cook them, what to serve with them, and the portion size. In general, it is a well tolerated and very digestible food, unless we consume it with a lot of fat or other heavy ingredients.
Prepared in a healthy way, Introducing this tuber into our diet is an excellent way to vary our diet, take advantage of its antioxidant vitamins and achieve greater satiety, which is why sweet potato is an excellent companion in a weight loss diet.
kinds of sweet potatoes
large-branched californian
As the name suggests, it originates from California, USA. It is used for roasting and baking. Its main characteristic is its thick stem, as well as its branches. Tubers of medium size in the form of elongated balloons. The skin is red and the flesh pale. From the crossing of this plant with Beuregard, the Pepita sweet potato was born in Malaga.
Sweet potato nugget
To obtain the variety, Viveros Santana, from Malaga, the largest producer of sweet potato plants in Europe, partnered for five years with the Institute of Health in São Paulo, Brazil. It’s a sweet potato with purple skin and inside, and the novelty is that it has a roasted chestnut flavor that is perfect for roasting and frying, as well as mashing.
O’Henry
Variety of sweet potato with white flesh very popular in eastern and northern Spain. Its greatest characteristic is its sweetness, which is why it is widely used in sweets.
Malaga Rose
The sweet potato is pink, with pale yellow pulp, high sugar content, strong aroma, high starch content, high carotene and vitamin C content, early production and high yield. Its roots are variable, oblong, one end protrudes, and there are longitudinal grooves.
centenary
American variety sweet potato. It is very vigorous, of early production, well adapted to climatic conditions but adapts well to high temperatures. It has high yields and excellent fruit quality.
Jasper
Highly recommended for its high yield, as well as the shape, size and color of the tuber.
Red purple
Smooth and purplish skin. Small flesh slightly pink and white, sweet and fragrant. It has long and thin tuberous roots. It is cultivated all over the world.
Lisa from Tucuman
Native to Argentina, it is uniform in size, with a smooth surface and spindle-shaped roots. Premature birth and high performance. Very sweet taste. Resistance to high temperatures and drought. Keep excess moisture inside.
georgia squirt
The surface is smooth, the pulp is orange-yellow in color and the yield is high. Its origin is in the United States. It has positive characteristics ahead of other sweet potato varieties and is widely consumed in Spain. Fast thickening with a harvest time of 90 days.
eland
Native to Africa, it is very productive and very adaptable to climatic conditions, but it is sensitive to conservation, so care must be taken when transporting it, as its handling and shocks can cause damage.
yellow sweet potato
It’s another name for sweet potatoes, the sweetest and best-known variety of this plant. This variety is also known as the orange sweet potato because although its rind is yellow, the inside is orange.
white sweet potato
rich in starch, it looks more like conventional potatoes due to its pale yellow color.
sweet potato from the hill
Most closely related to the Dioscorea (yam) genus of sweet potatoes, it has a wood-colored skin that resembles a tree trunk. It comes from Mexico and is also found in Central America and the Caribbean.
wild sweet potato
It grows wild in North and Central America and the Caribbean, also belongs to the genus Yam, and has dark brown and white flesh. Although it can be used as a food, it is used to relieve symptoms of menopause.
How to Cook Types of Sweet Potatoes
Once we know the different types of sweet potatoes that exist, we will see how to cook them. One of the characteristics of sweet potatoes is that they are between potato and pumpkin. The orange and red varieties, which are sweeter if cooked at low temperatures for a long time, are perfect substitutes for other autumn vegetables in desserts, pastries or bread recipes.
Sweet potatoes can be prepared in countless ways, just like potatoes: steamed, poached, baked or microwaved, grilled, roasted, slow-cooked, stewed or fried. It can also be cooked whole, brushed or washed with the skin on, or raw peeled.
If we make it harder it can be cut into discs or cubes and put it in a roasting pan to cook it on low heat or fry it. Cut into strips, it is an excellent alternative to fries, it can also be baked and in thin plates it is ideal for dehydrating or turning into crispy fries.
With the very cooked or grilled pulp, we can prepare vegetable cream or puree it and it will taste very good if we enrich it with a little cream, cheese or butter and some fresh herbs. Finely ground, it can be used as pumpkin puree in recipes for muffins, cakes, cookies, brownies and other sweets.
Hopefully, with this information, you can learn more about the different types of sweet potatoes and their characteristics.