Sweet Potato

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General Description/History

  • Tuberous, root vegetable, oval or elongated in shape
  • Grow on a vine with long stems and oval leaves
  • The root does not have eyes like a potato
  • Possesses the ability to develop buds or sprouts from vine cuttings

Choose clean, smooth, well shaped sweet potato. Avoid bruised, cracked or soft product.

Wash and scrub. There is no need to peel. Bake whole with the skin on, then cut in half and scoop the flesh out leaving a refillable shell. Combine the flesh with chopped shallots and grated cheese and spoon back into the shell. Sweet potatoes can be bolted, mashed or fried to make chips. Sweet potatoes add flavour, colour and goodness to cakes, scones, and fritters. Raw sweet potato can be grated into salads, coleslaw or sandwich fillings.

Sweet potatoes grow from the roots of a running vine. They thrive in warm to hot, humid conditions. Fertile well drained soil is required. Tip cuttings taken from established crops or sprouts produced from roots are used to propagate sweet potato. Irrigation is essential for the production of high yields and before harvesting to soften the soil for digging.

The sweet potato is native to Central America and the Pacific Islands. The vegetable was documented in Columbus’ fourth voyage to South America and the West Indies.

Nutritional Value

An excellent source of vitamin C, a good source of complex carbohydrate, folic acid, vitamin E, potassium and dietary fibre, when consumed with the skin on. Contains some calcium, iron and phosphorus. Orange and yellow varieties are an excellent source of vitamin A.

Storage/Handling

15°C and 85 – 95% relative humidity. Store away from ethylene producing products as sweet potato is ethylene sensitive.

Consumer Storage: Store in a cool, dark, well ventilated place.

Season: 

Botanical Name: Ipomoea batatas (Convolvulaceae)

Alternative Names: ubi keledek, Faan sue, kumara, man thet, khoai lang

Availablity: 

Growing Areas: 

QLD – Atherton Tablelands, Bundaberg, Burdekin, Childers, Lockyer Valley, Redland Bay NSW – Far North Coast
SA – Riverland
WA – Perth Metropolitan Outer Areas
NT – Darwin