This list of sweet potato cultivars provides some information about varieties and cultivars of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). Sweet potato was first domesticated in the Americas more than 5,000 years ago. As of 2013, there are approximately 7,000 sweet potato cultivars. People grow sweet potato in many parts of the world, including New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, Hawaii, China, and North America. However, sweet potato is not widely cultivated in Europe.
Sweet potatoes are a surprisingly nutritious vegetable. They are especially high in vitamins A, C, E, and B6, fiber and manganese. They are also starchier and drier than sweet potatoes. In the United States, the firm varieties came first. When soft varieties were first grown commercially, there was a need to differentiate the two kinds. African slaves began calling the soft sweet potatoes "yams" because they resembled the yams they knew in Africa.
Of all the plants that humanity has turned into crops, none is more puzzling than the sweet potato. Indigenous people of Central and South America grew it on farms for generations, and Europeans discovered it when Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean. In the 18th century, however, Captain Cook stumbled across sweet potatoes again - over 4,000 miles away, on remote Polynesian islands. European explorers later found them elsewhere in the Pacific, from Hawaii to New Guinea. The distribution of the plant baffled scientists.
They're sweet, soft, and total nutrition powerhouses. Loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and health-promoting phytonutrients, sweet potatoes are good for you and easy to prepare. They may seem too good to be true, but this colorful root vegetable belongs on your shopping list. We love baking a batch of sweet potatoes for the week and adding them to both sweet and savory meals. Tip: Keep the sweet potato skin on to maximize the fiber content. Switch it up and try making: Mashed sweet potatoes. Roasted sweet potato "fries". Salads with roasted sweet potatoes. Sweet potato brownies. 35+ Best Sweet Potato Recipes You'll Ever Try. Sweet Potato Toast Is the Avocado Toast. 5 Easy Ways to Cook Sweet Potatoes.
Sweet potato leaves a good source of vitamins. Date: January 14, 2015. Source: American Society for Horticultural Science. Analyses revealed differences in total ascorbic acid (AA) content among tissue types. Young leaves contained the highest AA content, followed by mature leaves and buds. Buds also contained significantly higher AA content than sweetpotato roots, vines, and petiole tissues. American Society for Horticultural Science. Sweet potato leaves a good source of vitamins. ScienceDaily, 14 January 2015. 2015, January 14). Retrieved April 20, 2019 from ww. ciencedaily.
Striking the balance between vibrant, versatile and delicious, sweet potatoes have become a pretty common component of the modern diet. From sweet potato fries to casseroles to pies and beyond, there are a myriad of ways to enjoy this tasty tuber. Still, many people have doubts when it comes to the sweet potato nutrition profile. This is because sweet potatoes are usually associated with regular potatoes, which are often served deep-fried, salted and in massive portions that are loaded with extra fat, sodium and calories
Sweet Potato from John Gerard’s Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes (1597). Columbus brought sweet potatoes back to Spain, introducing them to the taste buds and gardens of Europe. It wasn’t until after the 1740’s that the term sweet potato began to be used by American colonists to distinguish it from the white (Irish) potato. England’s John Gerard wrote about the potato (sweet potato) in his 1597 Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes.
Sweet Potato Nutrition: Sweet potatoes are a fantastic source of vitamins and minerals (especially vitamin A, although please note that the type of vitamin A in sweet potatoes is betacarotene, which is not converted well into vitamin A in humans – typically only 3% of betacarotene you intake is converted into vitamin A). Sweet potatoes are also a great source of high-quality protein, meaning that it contains all the essential amino acids your body needs even though the absolute amount of protein is fairly low. They’re also a good source of antioxidants.
