Until recently, the Russian consumer knew sweet potatoes only by hearsay from books or films. But this tropical root vegetable is considered one of the most popular and widespread food products in the whole world.
The so-called sweet potatoes (yam) from tropical countries gradually began to move to the tables of Europeans. It is not so rare that sweet potatoes are found on the menus of various restaurants and on store shelves. Unfortunately, this root vegetable is so unknown to Russians that few consumers dare to include it in their diet.
What kind of vegetable is this - sweet potato?
By their appearance, sweet potato tubers are very similar to the well-known potatoes. Hence the colloquial name for this vegetable is sweet potato. Sweet potato is a climbing creeping plant with edible tubers that grow on the rhizomes. This plant is perennial, but in agriculture it is cultivated as an annual crop. Sweet potatoes are grown in countries with tropical and subtropical climates, moreover, more than 80% of the world's cultivation of this plant comes from China.
The sweet potato tubers are used for food, and the ground part is used for livestock feed. Tubers weigh on average about 300-500 g. But individual large specimens can weigh up to three kilograms. In the context of the sweet potato has a dense, homogeneous flesh of white, pinkish or various shades of orange. The taste of sweet potatoes is most reminiscent of frozen potatoes, which led to its colloquial name - "sweet potato".
Useful properties and use
They use the product in all kinds of cooking options. It is rubbed raw on salads and mashed potatoes, stewed, boiled, fried and baked. Sweet potato is an excellent side dish for meat dishes and is good as a separate vegetable stew. The industry produces flour, molasses, sugar and even alcohol from sweet potato tubers. And the seeds of this plant serve as raw materials for the preparation of a drink similar to coffee.
Sweet potato tubers are rich in proteins and carbohydrates, amino acids and compounds of calcium, phosphorus and iron necessary for the human body. In terms of starch and sugar content, sweet potatoes are 1/5 times higher than potatoes, which makes them more nutritious and high in calories.
In addition, this plant is rich in vitamins B, C, PP, A, and also contains carotene. Due to its rich chemical composition, sweet potato is good as a general tonic and vitamin agent, and a high starch content has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and has enveloping properties in the treatment of gastric ulcer.
Combined with its taste, nutritional and beneficial properties for the body, sweet potatoes occupy a worthy place in the diet of people who care about their health.
