Cinnamon: It enhances the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes.Nutmeg: Adds a slight earthy, nutty flavor that complements sweet potatoes well.Maple Syrup: Its warm, sugary flavor pairs perfectly with mashed sweet potatoes.Brown Sugar: Enhances sweetness and creates a caramel-like flavor.
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Cinnamon: It enhances the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes.
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Nutmeg: Adds a slight earthy, nutty flavor that complements sweet potatoes well.
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Maple Syrup: Its warm, sugary flavor pairs perfectly with mashed sweet potatoes.
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Brown Sugar: Enhances sweetness and creates a caramel-like flavor.
What Does Sweet Potato Taste Like?
Flavour: It would be safe to assume that sweet potatoes are sweet and they most certainly are. Its flavour resembles that of carrots although the levels of sweetness vary between the different varieties.
It also has nutty undertones and sometimes even a sugary sweetness that is out of this world!
Texture: Sweet potatoes are generally long root vegetables with tapered ends. Their skin is smooth and there are a ton of different types with colours ranging from white to yellow, to even reddish purple.
Even the colour of the flesh can vary and sometimes the skin does not reflect the colour of the flesh.
When cooked, the sweet potato transforms significantly. Soft enough to puree into a mash or it can be roasted which gives us a crunchy outer layer and a silky-smooth inner flesh. Some sweet potatoes can be a bit stringy too.
What is Sweet Potato?
Sweet potatoes are not the sweet versions of potatoes. In fact, they are not even the same type of vegetables. Potatoes are tubers while sweet potatoes are root vegetables. Perhaps the only similarity they have is the fact that they both grow under the soil.
Sweet potatoes are also commonly mistaken for yams. Although they are both root vegetables, they belong to different plant families. Sweet potatoes are from the morning glory family while yams are from the lily family.
I grew up eating sweet potatoes. My mother absolutely loves it and in Southeast Asia, it’s a very popular street food. Perfectly steam or baked over hot coals, you can buy a whole sweet potato, that gets wrapped up in a newspaper, and eat them as is.
Mum would use the back of her thumbs to peel off the soft skin and pinch out a big portion for me to munch on.
I remember very clearly that it would be so hot, I couldn’t even hold it for long and in the scorching heat of Kuala Lumpur, it was like a double hit of heat!
I also remember giving my daughter her first taste of sweet potato puree when she was a baby. Did those eyes light up or what??
One of the great things about sweet potato is that it can be stored for such a long time. Store it in a dry, cool part of your kitchen or pantry and it will last for up to 2 weeks.
Sweet Potatoes’ Flavor is More Complex Than You Think
FAQ
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