Strangely, this winter delicacy was introduced from the new world before the plain, old potato. Columbus brought the sweet potato to Europe and called it batata. But when the plain, old potato was introduced to Europe and also called batata, the original batata was dubbed the sweet one. Makes sense.
Now, while it's tempting to grab about eight of those bright orange tubers with every visit to the store, it's actually best to buy just a few at a time. The sweet potato's high sugar content means they don't keep very well. If stored in a cool, dry place (not the fridge!), they can last one to two weeks. So buy just a couple at the store, there's nothing sadder than throwing out a sweet potato that has turned to a balloon of liquid (I know, I've done it a million times). Nothing sweet about that!
I love to have a sweet potato side at dinner. I spike it several times with a fork, after washing it of course, and stick it in the microwave for 6 to 8 minutes. The perfect, easy side that can be prepared while you work on the rest of the meal. And to me it doesn't need anything on it, though it has been shown beta-carotene is more easily absorbed as vitamin A if taken with a fat, so it's okay to butter that potato a bit if you wish.
Enjoy the season's best!
No comments:
Post a Comment