cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
The Makings of a Good Sweet Potato - USDA
Sweet potatoes, which are native to the Americas, sustained our founding pioneers with beneficial nutrients like beta carotene, calcium, fiber, and a host of vitamins. No wonder it’s a holiday favorite, especially during Thanksgiving. But what makes a good sweet potato?
USDA scientists know what it takes to make a good sweet potato, whether you like it in pies and custards, baked, as chips or French fries, and even juice or smoothies. Together, researchers with the Sweetpotato Breeding Program at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) develop sweet potato varieties for improved color, flavor and texture—testing them for sugar, starch, beta carotene, anthocyanins and other characteristics that appeal to consumers’ appetites.
“Different sweet potato varieties with different flesh color—white, yellow, orange, and purple—are available around the world,” says Van-Den Truong, research leader at the ARS Food Science Research Unit (FSRU) in North Carolina. “But for American consumers, a good sweet potato should have a deep-orange flesh color, a good shape and size with the common skin color of light to medium rose, copper, or red. It also should have good sweetness, flavor, and moist texture.”
Sweet potatoes, which are native to the Americas, sustained our founding pioneers with beneficial nutrients like beta carotene, calcium, fiber, and a host of vitamins. No wonder it’s a holiday favorite, especially during Thanksgiving. But what makes a good sweet potato?
USDA scientists know what it takes to make a good sweet potato, whether you like it in pies and custards, baked, as chips or French fries, and even juice or smoothies. Together, researchers with the Sweetpotato Breeding Program at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) develop sweet potato varieties for improved color, flavor and texture—testing them for sugar, starch, beta carotene, anthocyanins and other characteristics that appeal to consumers’ appetites.
“Different sweet potato varieties with different flesh color—white, yellow, orange, and purple—are available around the world,” says Van-Den Truong, research leader at the ARS Food Science Research Unit (FSRU) in North Carolina. “But for American consumers, a good sweet potato should have a deep-orange flesh color, a good shape and size with the common skin color of light to medium rose, copper, or red. It also should have good sweetness, flavor, and moist texture.”