Sweet potato

About

Sweet potato is nutritious and a reliable crop, often the first planted after a natural disaster, and is the world's eleventh most-produced crop by tonnage, though output has not been increasing, possibly because its flavor is too pronounced for a starchy vegetable. Its taste is best described as a mix of honey and slight nuttiness, with some varieties tasting close to chestnut. There are roughly 7,000 cultivars, spanning a wide range of colors, textures from dry and starchy to gelatin-like, and sweetness levels, with some no sweeter than an ordinary potato. In Japan, a prized variety with purple skin and pale yellow, creamy flesh is roasted and sold from food carts in winter or cooked in bonfires of fallen leaves.

Pairs well with sweet potato

• SpCinnamonAmerican "candied yams" cook sweet potato with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, which intensifies the sweetness.
• FrAppleSweet potato is sometimes proposed as a stand-in for potato, apple or squash in almost any recipe, though its success in desserts like…
• CrCoconutPanellets, almond-based Catalan cookies eaten on All Souls' Day, sometimes include mashed sweet potato in home versions, despite…
• CiLimeLime suits the sugary orange flesh of both mango and sweet potato.
• RoSesameThe Japanese Murasaki variety of white-fleshed sweet potato turns a pale golden color when cooked and is drier and creamier than the…
• CrDateThe complex flavor of a date, left to melt in the mouth rather than chewed, has been described as combining honey, sweet potato, sugar…
• GrFennelFresh fennel's sharper bite offsets sweet potato's mild, starchy sweetness.
• GrBuckwheatCombined in Korean and Japanese noodles made from buckwheat flour and sweet potato starch, and in tempura-style fried sweet potato slices…
• RoMaple syrupDarker maple syrup, with notes of fennel and fruit, complements sweet potato well, and molasses adds a bitter edge in dishes like sweet…
• EaBlack beanA simple contrast: dark, earthy black beans against sweet, orange sweet potato.
• SpFenugreekFenugreek's strong, musky flavor pairs well with sweet potato when used sparingly.
• WoPecanThomas Jefferson's recipe for sweet potato and pecan scones, rich, nutty, fruity and lightly spiced, has been adapted and served daily at…
• GrGreen teaIn the Japanese tea ceremony, sweet confections called wagashi, sometimes made with sweet potato, are traditionally served to offset…
• FrTamarindTamarind sauce or chutney, with its balancing sourness and dense fruitiness, works better on sweet potato fries than sugary tomato ketchup.
• BeOreganoSweet potato's dense sweetness brings out oregano's rich, verdant, almost herbal-green qualities in a smoky, earthy pairing.
• FfQuinceA Greek dish from the Lefkada region combines quince, sweet potato and eggplant into something like a denser, sweeter ratatouille.
• EaKidney beanSweet potato and kidney beans combine in several dessert traditions.