Our house – Sweet potatoes are not just for Thanksgiving | Connect

Sweet potato is one of the oldest vegetables grown by mankind. It was domesticated for the first time in Central America more than 5,000 years ago. Columbus and his team were the first Europeans to taste sweet potatoes. They loved them and brought them back to Europe. From there, they spread to Asia and Africa.

Sweet potatoes are not related to white potatoes, although they are native to Central and South America and have a similar history. They are in the family of morning glory and the potatoes are in the nightshade family with tomatoes. Sweet potatoes are botanically rooted and potatoes are tubers: a stem structure.

In addition, sweet potatoes are not the same as yams, although some use the names interchangeably. Yams belong to a distinct yam family and are native to Africa and Asia. They are usually larger, drier, starched and white-fleshed. In terms of nutrition, sweet potatoes are classified as high in fiber, complex carbohydrates, vitamins A and C and low in fat.

A historical footnote on sweet potatoes – George Washington Carver, born a slave, became the director of the Tuskegee Institute Agricultural Experiment Station in Alabama from 1890 to 2020. He is best known for his work with peanuts and sweet potatoes. He recognized the value of sweet potatoes and did a lot of work, inventing more than 100 new uses, synthetic rubber dyes, in addition to their nutritional value.

Cotton, the main crop of the South at that time, was very harmful to the soil. Carver encouraged rotation of cotton with sweet potatoes, peanuts and other legumes to improve soil and diversify agriculture. He was well ahead of his time.

The United States ranks 10th in the world for sweet potato production (3.1 billion pounds). China is the first with three African countries and Vietnam in front of all the United States. Alabama is the first producing state. Farms can produce up to 2,000 pounds of sweet potatoes per acre, versus 4,000 pounds for white potatoes.

Sweet potato consumption in the United States increased from an average of 4.2 per person in 2000 to 7.6 in 2015. This increase was fueled by the growing trend of foods for healthier, more colorful and unique foods, and promotion by the industry of potato chips and other cooked dishes.

Compare that with the US annual consumption of 117 pounds of white potatoes, mostly in the form of chips and fries dipped in salt oil and fries.

So, eat more sweet potatoes. They are not just for Thanksgiving anymore.

Ed Perkins grows sweet potatoes at his farm in the county of Athens.