The Sweet Potato:
More than a Common Tater
By Jocelyn McCall
Fall has arrived in North Carolina and that means that Sweet Potato time is here again! Few NC foods are as well loved as the sweet potato. Our state accounts for 43% of the total 2007 U.S. Production. In fact, North Carolina grew more than 700 million pounds of sweet potatoes last year. By anyone’s standards, that is a lot of spuds! It is certainly fortunate that our state’s hard working farmers are able to produce such a bountiful crop, since the average person eats nearly five pounds of them each year. That number is up nearly a pound from 10 years ago.
It is no wonder that sweet potatoes are gaining in popularity. They are nutritious, economical, easy to store, and quick to prepare. And talk about Flavor! It is hard to think of another vegetable that is as versatile. Sweet Potatoes are great baked or in pies and casseroles. Their sweet, moist flesh is also a perfect addition to breads, cakes and waffles.
In addition to being tasty, Sweet Potatoes are an excellent source of nutrition. They are rich in Beta Carotene, Vitamins C and E, Potassium and Fiber. When you consider that they are also Fat Free, Cholesterol Free, and have a low Glycemic Index, it is easy to see that there is no vegetable food on earth that provides the nutrition of the sweet potato. Perhaps that is why it is has been recognized as a beneficial food by both the American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association.
The value of the sweet potato is something that the famed scientist George Washington Carver recognized while running Agricultural Department at the Tuskegee Institute. During extensive research of this humble vegetable, he demonstrated that the sweet potato, along with his beloved peanuts, could provide rural communities with an inexpensive source of nutrition. An innovator ahead of his time, Carver developed 118 new products derived from sweet potatoes. These products included breakfast foods, flour, molasses, vinegar, coffee substitutes, after dinner mints, fabric dyes, 14 different candies and even postage stamp glue! Clearly this is one versatile veggie.
There is simply no better state than North Carolina to buy delicious, fresh sweet potatoes any time of the year. Now that all this talk of sweet potatoes has got your salivary glands in overdrive, I have included a few recipes that are sure to please your palette.