All You Need to Know About Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a commodity available year-round, but it isn’t until the fall that the category truly gets its time to shine. So, you may ask yourself, what makes sweet potatoes so popular in the fall? The main reason is domestic harvests. Sweet potatoes thrive in the warm heat of summer and often reach their peak throughout the fall. Plus, the sweet and nutty flavor of sweet potatoes pair perfectly with fall trends. Fall is filled with sweet potatoes that meet all of our potato needs. So, the question is, what’s so ‘sweet’ about sweet potatoes? Let’s go through the varieties to find out:

Are Yams & Sweet Potatoes the Same Thing?

The short answer: no. Yams and sweet potatoes are not the same thing, although the words are used interchangeably for the two varieties. Overall, yams are classified as Dioscorea while sweet potatoes belong to the Ipome Botatas family.

Boniato Sweet Potato

 

• What is a Boniato Sweet Potato: Boniato is a sweet potato popular to the Caribbean. It’s less moist than the typical orange sweet potato but known to be fluffier and more airy in texture.
• Flavor: Sweet and nutty with hints of chestnut.
• Appearance: Redish-purple skin with yellow flesh.
• Availability: Year-round
• Professional Uses: Boniato potatoes are usually used in mashes and stews.

Deep Purple Sweet Potato

 

• What is a Deep Purple Sweet Potato: Deep purple sweet potatoes are related to Japanese and Okinawa sweet potato varieties. They’re often confused with ube, a variety of purple yams found in Southeast Asia. The deep purple sweet potato that’s domestic to the US was bred from Japanese varieties with purple flesh.
• Flavor: Sweet, nutty, and earthy.
• Appearance: Purple skin and purple flesh.
• Availability: Year-round
• Professional Uses: Deep purple sweet potatoes maintain their color when cooked, but note they are denser than the orange variety, so recipes must be adapted.

Japanese Sweet Potato

 

• What is a Japanese Sweet Potato: Japanese sweet potatoes are a prized variety for their flavor and texture. When cooked, these potatoes are known to become soft and airy.
• Flavor: Very sweet, sweeter than other sweet potato varieties, with hints of nut and starchiness.
• Appearance: Red skin and cream-colored flesh.
• Availability: Year-round
• Professional Uses: Japanese sweet potatoes are often roasted and served as a popular street food in Japan, Korea, and China.

Okinawa Sweet Potato

• What is an Okinawa Sweet Potato: Okinawa sweet potatoes get their namesake in the region they originate: Okinawa, Japan. They are loved for their purple flesh.
• Flavor: Okinawa potatoes are sweet and earthy, with a dense texture.
• Appearance: White skin, purple fles.h
• Availability: Year-round
• Professional Uses: Okinawa sweet potatoes are most popularly used in tempura, pastries, and ice creams.

Orange Sweet Potato

• What is an Orange Sweet Potato: The quintessential sweet potato. They are the most popular and classic sweet potato variety. Know that orange fingerlings aren’t actually fingerlings, they’re a normal orange sweet potato that’s considered too petite for grocery store shelves.
• Flavor: Sweet and nutty.
• Appearance: The classic brown skin of a potato with orange flesh.
• Availability: Year-round, but domestic product peaks during the fall.
• Professional Uses: Orange sweet potatoes are the classic multi-use sweet potato. They can be fried, mashed, roasted, or baked for a delicious Thanksgiving sweet potato pie.

So, the next time you’re looking to ‘eat the rainbow,’ maybe try sweet potatoes. They come in an array of sizes and colors that is sure to bring something truly special to your shelves (or plate).