Properties of the sweet potato

Sweet potato is one of the jewels brought to us by the arrival of autumn. This tuber, also called yam, boniato or batata has hundreds of varieties spread throughout the world, although in Spain the most common are the white and red, whose interior is an intense orange colour.  Its season runs from October to March, months in which this vegetable which emerges from the ground is in its optimum time of consumption.

What are the benefits of sweet potato?

The sweet potato has numerous benefits and nutrients for our health.

Amongst its properties is a high folic acid content, an essential vitamin for the good functioning of the immune system, the contribution of folates helps the normal formation of our blood cells and its consumption is ideal for women, before and after pregnancy. 

Another feature is its contribution of minerals such as phosphorus and potassium which keep your bones and muscles healthy.  It is also a source of vitamin A, which contributes to the metabolism of iron, vitamin C, which improves its absorption, and vitamin E protecting cells from oxidative processes. 

Add sweet potato to your diet if you want a strong natural antioxidant rich in beta carotenes!

Tasty ways to cook sweet potato

As with potatoes, sweet potato cannot be eaten raw. With the use of different cooking techniques, we can make dozens of dishes with sweet potato, both savoury and sweet, in which sweet potato is the key ingredient, or an excellent garnish for meats, fish and even rice and other cereals.  

Baked sweet potato is, certainly, the easiest and best known way to enjoy them. You simply need to wash them, wrap them in foil and leave the heat of the oven to do its job.  The result: a sweet, healthy dessert with a pleasant texture which can also be incorporated into cakes and sponges. If you don’t want to switch the oven on, sweet potato can be cut into slices or chunks and be cooked. Cook it peeled and later, with the meat already cooked, grind it until it forms a tasty purée or mix the chunks with other vegetables, meats and cereals.  

The tastiest way to eat sweet potato is as if they were chips. Fry or sauté sticks of sweet potato and you will get a substitute for chips, much more colourful and with an interesting sweet taste that will contrast with other salted foods. To reduce the intake of oil, sweet potato can be griddled once cut into slices which are not too thick. 

Batatas or sweet potatoes are another product which has come to us from the Indies and has quickly become rooted in our culinary culture, especially in the south of Spain.  In fact, at the beginning of the 17th Century, the batata was known throughout the national territory as the “Malaga potato”, since it was in this area of the country that its consumption was first popularised.