January 24, 2002

Prairie Fare: What’s in a Name?

By Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist
NDSU Extension Service

"How much sugar do you add to potatoes to make them sweet potatoes?" Imagine being asked that question at 6 a.m. on your birthday – and on live radio. It happened to me several years ago. Anything can happen when you’re a food and nutrition specialist, your birthday falls close to Thanksgiving and you have a couple pranksters in your office.

I was groggy but I did my best to haltingly answer a wide assortment of amazing questions. Being fairly new to my job, I thought perhaps clients regularly called you at home early in the morning. The smooth-voiced announcer finally relented and wished me a happy birthday, and then proceeded to play our "interview" several times that day on the radio station. Someone gave me a "turkey pin" to commemorate the occasion.

Sweet potatoes tend to make guest appearances on the menu mainly during holidays, but they’re so nutritious they should show up far more often. Often the terms "sweet potato" and "yam" are used interchangeably by consumers and by grocery stores, but they’re actually two different vegetables. True yams are starchy root vegetables that originated in West Africa and Asia, and they don’t taste very sweet. The term "yam" comes from an African word, "nyami." Sweet potatoes originated in the tropics of Peru and Ecuador and are a member of the morning glory family.

Yams as we know them in the United States are actually sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have smooth, thin skin and tapered ends, while yams have rough, scaly skins and are longer and more cylindrical. Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are an excellent source of fiber and beta carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. To help clear up the confusion between yams and sweet potatoes, USDA requires the term "yam" appearing on a product label must be accompanied by the term "sweet potato".

When selecting sweet potatoes, examine them closely for bruises or signs of decay. Choose firm, well-shaped sweet potatoes with smooth skins and store them at room temperature.

Sweet potatoes are nutrition powerhouses. A medium-size sweet potato contains only 130 calories and contains 30 percent of the daily recommendation for vitamin C and four times the recommendation for vitamin A as beta carotene. Don’t worry about going over the recommended daily value when you get your vitamins from foods.

Sweet potatoes can be prepared in a variety of ways, but they should be cooked before eating. Try broiling, sautéing them in stir fry or use the old standby method, baking.

Baked sweet potatoes are prepared much the same as baking potatoes. Scrub them well under water, rinse and prick the potatoes with a fork. If desired, wrap with foil. Depending on the size of the potato, bake until potatoes are soft -- for 40 to 60 minutes in a 425-degree oven or for 70 to 80 minutes in a 350-degree oven.

Here’s a tasty and colorful side dish recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens 1989 cookbook. Many recipes for sweet potatoes and other produce items are available at the website: www.aboutproduce.com.

Peachy Sweet Potatoes

3 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound) or 1 18-oz. can of sweet potatoes, drained
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
8 oz. can peach slices, drained
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Cook fresh sweet potatoes, covered, in enough boiling water to cover for 25 to 35 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool slightly. Peel and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. Mix brown sugar and ginger. If using canned sweet potatoes, cut them into slices. In a 1-quart casserole, layer half of the potatoes, half the peach slices, half of the brown sugar mixture and half of the butter. Repeat layers. Bake in 375-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes until potatoes are glazed. Spoon liquid over potatoes twice during baking. Makes four servings. A serving contains 190 calories, 3.2 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of fiber, 47 percent of the recommended daily value for vitamin C and more than a full days’ supply of vitamin A.

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Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu