What is sweet potato?

The sweet potato is a tuber, just like carrot or celery. It is obtained from a climbing plant native to warm climates, so the right point to collect and taste it is usually between autumn and winter.

Columbus first encountered the sweet potato in Haiti, where they called it sweet potatoand when he brought it to Europe it was more successful than the potato, but not too successful.

The passage of centuries does it justice and today it is a highly appreciated food, especially because we know the details of its great health benefits.

Nutritional values ​​of sweet potato

How many calories does sweet potato have?

Contrary to what it may seem, eating sweet potato does not make you fat. It is a very nutritionally balanced food and its high fiber content can even help you lose weight. In 100 grams of sweet potato we find:

• Calories: 115 kcal
• Proteins: 1.6g
• Fats: 0.6g
• Carbohydrates: 24g
• Fiber: 3.1g

Sweet potato properties

The nutritional density of sweet potatoes is very high. Its main nutrients are carbohydrates, composed equally of complex starches and simple sugars. These are more abundant the riper it is and the longer it has been stored.

Despite its sweetness, its estimated glycemic load (cooked or roasted) is 7, which indicates that glucose passes slowly into the blood. without causing sudden increases in insulin. So much so that it is recommended, in moderate quantities, in case of diabetes.

As revealed by orange color of the pulp, the sweet potato is rich in provitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. Two hundred grams of sweet potato cover twice the daily needs of this vitamin, essential for skin, visual health and bone development.

Its content also stands out in vitamins C, B6, B5, B1 and B2. In terms of minerals, its contribution of manganese, potassium, copper and iron.

Sweet potatoes are rich in one of the so-called essential amino acids, methioninenormally scarce in the plant kingdom. It is also a source of fiber and antioxidants.

Sweet potato benefits

The peculiar composition of the sweet potato is associated with a series of important health benefits.

1. It is a powerful antioxidant

One of the most notable properties of sweet potato for health is its aforementioned antioxidant effect. The best known is the beta carotenethat prevents cataracts, immune disorders and even some types of cancer thanks to its stimulating effect on the immune system.

In addition to beta-carotene, it is rich in phenols and flavonoids which, together with proteins such as glutathione and its vitamins and minerals, reinforce its powerful antioxidant effect.

2. Contributes to the good condition of bones

Its manganese content is notable: A serving of 100 grams provides a quarter of what is needed per day. This mineral intervenes in the bone and cartilage formationas well as in blood coagulation.

Additionally, manganese is part of an enzyme that protects from free radicals.

3. Helps detoxify the body

Glutathione, in addition to being an antioxidant, is detoxifying and helps eliminate cadmium, paracetamol or some environmental contaminants.

It also enhances the activity of other antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, and helps to regenerate the latter.

4. It has an anti-inflammatory effect

The violet sweet potatoes are rich in anthocyaninspigments that also have a sharp antioxidant action and reduce inflammation in certain disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis or asthma.

5. Activate the spleen and lung

For the traditional chinese medicinethe sweet potato tones the chi and the xuebenefits the spleen and lung, and strengthens the kidney; It also warms and strengthens the body.

Contraindications of sweet potato

People with kidney disorders, such as the propensity to form stones, or with deficiencies of certain minerals, they should moderate the intake of this food due to its content in oxalates.

The sweet potato in the kitchen

Sweet potato has a flavor between potato, carrot, chestnut and almonds, and a sweet palate between carrot and pumpkin.

The first thing to emphasize is that you should never cook raw sweet potatoes. Those who have never cooked it can do the same as with a potato.

It is usually roasted or It is cooked whole and with the skin, which is then removed, although it can also be peeled beforehand.

As waxes or similar products are usually applied to improve its preservation, the skin should be discarded.

As for the types of recipes that can be made with it, it can be tried in soups and creams; warm or cold in salad; in tortillas and scrambled eggs; with legumes and in stews and stews of all kinds; cut into small pieces, blanched and sautéed in an oriental style; in doughs to fill vegetables, zucchini or eggplant, empanadas, crepes, terrines, fritters, croquettes, quiches, curls…

To get started, take a look at the following sweet potato recipes.

Favorite on tables around the world

The popular recipe book is as extensive as the number of countries in which it is consumed.

• In Peru It is part of typical dishes such as ceviche or escabeches and is also made sweet.
• In Cuba It is eaten with cheese, coconut, honey and cinnamon.
• In Indonesia They make a banana and sweet potato sweet, kolak Pisang Ubi.
• In Japan It is usually consumed cooked, alone or with rice, but also in tempura, and they make shoshu, a fermented alcohol obtained from sweet potato and rice.
• In New Zealand They roast them in hangi, ovens dug into the ground, tightly wrapped in leaves for several hours.
• In Korea, With their starch they make cellophane noodles, shiny and translucent.
• And here, in Spain, In addition to roasting the chestnut trees, sweet potato desserts are common, especially in the Levante area.

Typical are the sweet potato pastissos that are eaten in Valencia at Christmas, the sweet sweet potato that is watered with mistela in Murcia, on the day of San Fulgencio, the tomaset or arnadí that is prepared with pumpkin and sweet potato in Valencia during Easter or the sweet potato trout from the Canary Islands, some sweet dumplings that are also Christmas.

Sweet potato chips, foam and air

The new haute cuisine, which experiments with all the possibilities of food, is prepared in the form of chips, cutting them into very thin slices and frying them in oil or leaving them in the oven for a few four hours at 70 ºC.

To obtain a crispy sweet potato, prepare a very loose puree and paint several sheets of filo or brik dough with it. It is then dried in the oven for five minutes at 170ºC.

If you have a kitchen siphon, it produces excellent foams. After pureeing it, pass it through a siphon and add a little agar agar.

With that same puree, reducing it with water or milk, and 1% lecithin, work it on the surface with the blender, let it rest for a minute and obtain sweet potato air.

Purchase and conservation

When buying them, they should be chosen with the skin in good condition, without wounds, bumps or bruises, because if it has begun to deteriorate, even if the damaged part is healed, the rest will also have a bad taste.

They must be firm and handled with care, without hitting them. They should not be left in plastic bags and They are stored in a somewhat humid place, ventilated and cool, where they can be stored for up to a week.