!Sweet potato
 --- 
agk's kitchen
created: 22 April 2023 @ 17:20 UTC
updated: 26 Apr 2023 (removed burgers)
 --- 
"Bake sweet potatoes in their jackets in the oven
 or over coals in foil with butter for 40 minutes.
 Serve one per person."
        --Mary Land 1954, Louisiana Cookery, p.211. 

BAKE: Pierce holes w fork.
 2hr @150C/300F, 1.5hr @175C/350F, 45min @200C/400F
 Cut open, mash w butter and salt.

STEAM whole 30+ mins.

BOIL water to cover. Put in washed, whole unpeeled.
 Cover, cook 20-30 min til tender. Drain, drop in
 cold water, peels slip right off.

GRILL: Steam til tender. Skewer, baste with [miso-
 walnut sauce]. Broil 1-2min, turn, broil 1-2 min.

PUREE: Mash without skin. For young babies, food
 process or blend.

FREEZE: Put puree in icecube trays, dump in wax-
 lined freezer bags. Keeps frozen 2 months.

FERMENT: Bake 1.5kg/3lb slow (2hrs). Peel, mash w
 5mL/1 tsp seasalt & 60mL/4 Tbsp fresh whey. Place
 in bowl, cover, leave room temp 24 hr. Refrigerate
 in airtight container.

3 medium sweet potatoes = 0.5kg/1lb = 700mL/3 cups
 sliced = 600mL/2.5 cups pureed.

NOTES

Baby must be >4 months old to eat cooked & pureed.

Two varieties sold in United States:
 - bright orange flesh, sweet & moist cooked,
 - ivory flesh, dry & mealy like white potato.
Dry-fleshed variety replaces white potatoes in
 most recipes. Cooks faster, reheats better. Try
 (sweet) potato salad & pancakes.
Moist sweet variety often labeled yam. Real yams
 foreign-grown, can't usually find in US market, 
 have virtually no vitamin A. 

Available year round. Peak Oct--Dec.
Buy loose. Get a good look at each one. Choose
 small to medium-sized, thick, chunky, well-shaped,
 tapering toward ends. Skin should be dry, firm, 
 bright, smooth, uniformly colored.
Try to get unwaxed; wax may hold pesticide residue.
 Avoid ones with cuts, worm holes. Decay found
 often: shriveled ends; wet, soft, discolored, or
 sunken spots. Cutting out damage does no good. A
 bad spot ruins it; the rest looks good, tastes
 bad. Discard if serious damage.

Store in cool dark (10C/50F) in perforated plastic
 bag so moisture doesn't build, after loosely wrap-
 ping in wax paper for several weeks.
 - Store room temp <1 week. 
 - Refrigerate cooked <5 days.
   --Ruth Yaron 1996, 2013, Super Baby Food p.215-7

Probably no vegetable has higher beta carotene con-
 tent. Beta carotene protects against cancer, cold,
 infections. Carotene content increases as sweet
 potatoes are stored through winter. Our bodies
 only convert carotene to vitamin A in the presence
 of bile salts. Eat w butter, egg yolks or cream.
 These fats stimulate secretion of bile, help the
 body convert carotenes to vitamin A, & make sweet
 potatoes taste delicious.
Sweet potato's a good source of iron, potassium,
 niacin, vitamin C, fiber. It's rich in vitamin B6
 & magnesium, which protect against heart disease.
   --Sally Fallon 1999, Nourishing Traditions p.405

Cooling thermal nature. Sweet flavor. Strengthens 
 spleen-pancreas. Promotes qi. Increases milk quan-
 tity in lactating women. Removes toxins from body.
 Builds kidney yin capability which benefits dry/
 inflamed conditions.
Helps remedy thinness, diarrhea, night blindness.
 If child swallows metallic object/coin, feed lots
 of sweet potato. Sticks to object, eases passing.
Too much causes indigestion, abdominal swelling.
 Moist red-fleshed variety exceptionally sweet, if
 overeaten may cause weakness.
--P Pitchford 1993, 2002, Healing with Whole Foods

RECIPES

C=cup/240mL, T=Tablespoon/15mL, tsp=teaspoon/5mL

[miso-walnut sauce] for Grilled Sweet Potatoes
 15mL/1T oil, 30mL/2T walnut flour
 250mL/1C hot miso soup, dash nutmeg
 Heat oil, stir in flour 1-2min on low. Take off.
 Briskly stir in soup til smooth. Return to heat,
 add nutmeg, nearly boil. Simmer til thick on low.
                   --Healing with Whole Foods p.602

Sweet Potato Dollars
 serves 4
 3-4 sweet potatoes, 3T melted butter, 3T olive oil
 --
 Peel, slice at 1/4in intervals into rounds. Brush
 2 baking pans w butter/oil mix. Arrange rounds in
 layer, brush w remaining butter/oil. 45min @350F.

Sweet Potato Pancakes
 serves 4-6
 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled & grated
 1 large potato unpeeled, washed & grated
 2T whey or lemon juice, 1T sea salt
 1 medium onion minced, 1 small carrot grated
 3 eggs lightly beaten, 4T spelt or white flour
 1/4C cilantro chopped fine, 3T butter 3T olive oil
 --
 Soak grated sweet potato in water w whey or lemon
 juice overnight. Drain, squeeze dry in tea towel.
 Mix eggs w flour & cilantro, season to taste. Stir
 in grated veggies. Use 1/3-cup measure to scoop
 batter. Saute in butter & oil til both sides gold.
                    --Nourishing Traditions p.405-6

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos
 prep 5min, cook 10min, serves 6-8 
 flour tortillas, 1T canola oil, 1/2C onion chopped
 1 clove garlic minced, 3T peanut butter 
 3C sweet potatoes cooked & chopped
 1.5C black beans cooked & drained
 1tsp cumin, 1/2tsp cinnamon, 1/4tsp cayenne
 1/4C green onions chopped, 2T cilantro chopped
 salsa, sour cream
 --
 Heat oil medium-high. Saute garlic & onions a few
 minutes til tender & onion translucent.
 Stir in peanut butter, sweet potato, black beans,
 mashing slightly.
 Add spices, mix well. Cook a few more mins til 
 everything's heated through. Don't scorch, stir.
 Serve in warm tortillas. Top w salsa, sour cream,
 green onions, cilantro.
      --Ryan Splint 2015, Hot Damn & Hell Yeah p.73

Sweet Potato Bread
 Serves 8
 Mix 1C shortening & 1C brown sugar. Add juice of 1
 orange. Beat 3 eggs, mix well w other ingredients. 
 Beat. Add 6 baked sweet potatoes. Mix 1C cream w
 2C butter & warm. Add to sweet potato mix. Sift 2C
 flour, 1T baking powder, 1tsp salt. Add dry ingre-
 dients. Mix & pour batter in greased baking dish.
 Bake in preheated oven with slow heat ~40min. 
 Remove from dish, cool before cutting. Add shelled
 pecans or fruit if desired.
                        --Louisiana Cookery p.245-6

Sweet Potato Pie
 prep 25min, cook 60min, serves 6-8
 unbaked crust, 1.5C sweet potatoes cooked & mashed
 1T margarine softened, 1tsp baking powder
 1/8tsp ground cloves, 1/8tsp ground nutmeg
 1/2C silken tofu squeezed & pureed or well-mashed
 1C white sugar, 1tsp ground cinnamon
 1/8tsp ground allspice, 1/2tsp vanilla extract
 1/2C soymilk with 2tsp lemon juice mixed in
 --
 Preheat oven to 400F. Line pie plate w unbaked
 crust. In large bowl combine sweet potato, margar-
 ine, dry ingredients. Beat smooth. Stir in tofu, 
 soymilk, vanilla. Pour in pie plate.
 Bake in preheated oven 10min @400F. Reduce heat to
 350F, cook 35 more mins. Serve warm or chilled.
 Garnish w whipped topping and a whole pecan.
                       --Hot Damn & Hell Yeah p.126