Welcome to our blog! Are you looking for a delicious way to prepare sweet potatoes?

If so, you’re in the right place!

Today we’ll be discussing two popular ways to prepare sweet potatoes – sous–vide and deep fried.

We’ll be exploring the differences between these two methods, and what makes them so delicious.

We’ll also be looking at the advantages and disadvantages of each approach and sharing some tips on how to make the most out of sous–vide sweet potatoes and deep fried sweet potato fries.

So, if you’re ready to tantalize your taste buds, let’s dive right in and learn all about these two irresistible recipes!

I mean think of it: a vegetable that combines the greenness of a veggie and the sweetness of fruits, perfect combo!

So when did humans start consuming sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes history:

“Potato” as a word appeared for the first time back in 1599 and it was derived from the Spanish word “batata”.

The Spanish word itself was inspired by the native languages of the Arawaks. (1)

At that time, Arawaks were living in the West Indies AKA Caribbean and they consumed Sweet potatoes.

During the Spanish conquests, Europeans discovered sweet potatoes and took them back to Europe.

Nowadays, the botanical (scientific) name of sweet potatoes is “Ipomoea batatas”, which is still inspired by the Arawaks. (2)

However, to distinguish these vegetables we add an adjective that best describes them.

Hence, the word “sweet” is often what we use to differentiate sweet potatoes from classical potatoes.

For a long time, people believed that sweet potatoes originated in India and some people still claim that today.

Most likely because sweet potatoes were cultivated in India before the 16^th century.

Nonetheless, archaeological excavations in Peru find remains of this vegetable that dates 8,000 BC ago. (3)

Thus, sweet potatoes come originally from South America and then they spread across the world.

Archaeology can’t define if the plant was wild or cultivated.

But, if it was cultivated 8,000 BC that would make it the first plant to ever be cultivated in the world!

Sweet potatoes cooking tips :

Before cooking sweet potatoes, clean them with a brush under cold water then remove damaged areas.

In case you want to benefit from sweet potatoes fibers you can keep the skin on, don’t worry it’s edible! (4)

For a lower calorie intake, stick to the healthiest cooking methods such as boiling, steaming, or barbecuing.

Even though it may seem odd to use sweet potatoes in a savory dish but it really blends perfectly with almost every recipe.

Sous vide sweet potatoes:

Sous vide cooking technique:

“Sous vide” is a French expression that means “under-void” or “under vacuum”.

The process of creating a void by vacuuming dates back to the times of the famous mathematician, physician, and philosopher “Blaise Pascal”.

Back in 1672, Pascal had his first experience in creating a void in a metallic sphere by vacuuming the air inside. (5)

Nowadays, chefs around the world are using the same technique to cook food that is placed in a void in a low-temperature water bath.

Sous vide cooking is placing the food in a vacuum seal bag, then sucking all the air out.

After that, the bag is placed in hot water.

The temperature of the water differs depending on the items cooked for example: (6)

• 212 °F (100°C): for fruits and vegetables.
• 194°F (90°C): for seafood and fish.
• 176°F (80°C°): for white meat and certain types of fishes.
• 158°F (70°C): for pork, beef, steaks, or any red meat.

This process ensures that nothing gets lost in terms of nutrients or flavor as everything is sealed in a bag with no water or air to react with food!

Sous vide sweet potatoes are a perfect side dish to serve with almost anything!

It could be served with chicken, steaks, or even seafood.

This side dish has a very flavorful soft texture and is packed with nutrients.

Making sous vide sweet potatoes at home:

Here’s how to make Sous vide sweet potatoes in 6 easy steps:

• Peel your sweet potatoes then cut them in half, then cut each half crosswise to get 4 quarters.
• Keep cutting the resulting cuts until you end up with cubic shapes that are ½ to 1 inch in size.
• Place the cubes of sweet potatoes in a bowl, add olive oil, pepper, salt, and any seasoning you wish to have then mix them all together.
• Put the seasoned sweet potato cubes in a sealed bag, then seal the bag all but one corner.
  Squeeze as much air as you can out of the bag.
• Heat water until it starts boiling, place the sealed bag of sweet potatoes in the boiling water while making sure that the sealing line is not submerged in the hot water.
• Leave it for 2 minutes, this technique is called “water displacement” and it is used to vacuum the sealed bag.
• When you notice there is not much air left inside the sealed bag, go ahead and seal the open corner you left open earlier.
• Set the oven on 212°F (100°C), or just medium heat, and leave the sweet potato seal bag in the hot water bath for 25 to 30 minutes.

You will end up with incredibly delicious cubes of sweet potato that are full of flavor and almost taste like nature, enjoy it!

That is sous-vide sweet potato cooking and it’s the same method if you want to try it with different food, the only things that change are the temperature of the water and the cooking time, pretty easy right?

Deep fried sweet potato fries:

Deep frying cooking technique:

Have you ever seen those chips or chicken wings ads when they submerge them fully in hot oil and the outcome is a golden color with a crispy texture?!

Yep, that’s deep-frying!

We all grow up thinking that sweet potatoes are only good for a holiday sweet potato casserole, but there is more to this amazing vegetable.

Sweet potato fries are so delicious and they can indeed replace the classic French fries.

These finger chips made from sweet potatoes are also slightly more nutritious than the ones made with ordinary potatoes.

In terms of calories and carbs, sweet potatoes have almost the same amount as regular potatoes.

Comparing nutrients, sweet potatoes contain more antioxidants, like beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E. (7)

They also contain less glucose and therefore have less influence on blood sugar. (8)

Making deep fried sweet potato fries:

Here are 10 easy steps to make delicious deep-fried sweet potato fries:

• Peel the potatoes until they are fully skinless then cut off both ends.
• Place the skinless potatoes in hot boiling water for 10 minutes then remove them.
• This will add tenderness to the inside of the fries.
• Put the partially boiled potatoes on a paper towel until they become completely dry.
• Cut each sweet potato in half lengthwise, then cut each half crosswise to have 4 quarters from each potato.
• Now slice the quarters into finger shapes then put them in a bowl.
• Fill your deep-fryer or even a deep pan with oil as much as it’s necessary to cover the potato slices when you put them in.
• Heat the oil till it reaches 350 F (175 C°), if you don’t use a kitchen thermometer don’t worry, I got that part figured out for you!
• After 8 minutes of heating the oil, put a wooden spoon in the hot oil, if bubbles start to form around the wooden spoon but are still attached to the spoon, wait a little longer until the bubbles start leaving the spoon and go towards the surface.
• When you reach that point you’re good to start frying!!
• Place your potato slices in the hot oil and let them fry for 4 minutes or until they start turning brown.
• Remove the potato fries and place them on a paper towel and leave them for 10 minutes.
• This will drain the fries and will enhance their crispiness.
• After resting them for 10 minutes, place the sweet potato slices in the hot oil again and leave them for 3 minutes until they become brown.
• Remove the fries and place them in a bowl then spread them with pepper, salt, and cinnamon while they’re still hot, this will ensure that the remaining oil absorbs more flavors.

You’ll end up with golden sweet potato chips that have an unbelievable combination of sweetness and crispiness, enjoy it!

Sweet potatoes nutrition and health benefits:

Sweet potatoes nutrition:

These are the nutrients found in one average raw sweet potato: (4oz/114g): (9)

• Calories: 103
• Dietary Fiber: 3.8g
• Fats: 0.17g
• Total Carbohydrate: 23.6g
• Protein: 2.3g
• Starch: 8.0g
• Sugars: 7.4g
• Water: 86.4g
• Ash: 1.5g
• A vitamin: 438%
• C vitamin: 37%
• E vitamin: 4%
• K2 Vitamin: 3%
• B1 vitamin: 8%
• B2 vitamin: 7%
• B3 vitamin: 8%
• B6 vitamin: 16%
• Calcium: 4%
• Iron: 4%
• Magnesium: 8%
• Phosphorus: 6%
• Potassium: 15%
• Sodium: 2%
• Zinc: 2%
• Copper: 9%
• Manganese: 28%

Sweet potatoes health benefits:

These are our top 7 benefits you can get from sweet potatoes: (10)

• Lowers cholesterol: Due to its phenolic components, sweet potatoes can lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and therefore reduce the risks of heart diseases.
• Better skin health: Most people know that carrots are good for the skin, sweet potatoes also contain large amounts of beta-carotene.
  This nutrient makes your skin look fresh and has more pigment (color).
• May prevents cancer: Some researchers proved that women with menopause who consume more sweet potatoes have lower risks of developing cancer.
• Helps control diabetes: Sweet potatoes have the ability to stabilize insulin and help control blood sugar for people who have type 2 diabetes.
• Enhances your memory: some pigments in sweet potatoes can lower the risk of cell deterioration, including brain cells, and therefore enhance our memory.
• Boosts the immunity system: The polysaccharide (also referred to as Glycan) in this sweet vegetable has major benefits on our immunity system. (11)
  It increases the lymphocytes, white cells that are essential for a good immunity system.
• Good for babies: Sweet potatoes contain a lot of vitamins including vitamin A which is necessary for the healthy growth of a baby.
• This vegetable is also beneficial for nursing moms.

Precautions before you consume sous vide sweet potatoes or deep fried sweet potato fries:

Sweet potatoes are delicious, beneficial, and irresistible!

Nonetheless, like most of our foods, they can have side effects related to allergies and excessive consumption.

For instance, eating too many sweet potatoes may:

Increase risk of kidney failure and heart diseases:

Eating too many sweet potatoes raises the level of potassium in the blood which reduces blood pressure.

In case the person is taking beta-blockers to lower blood pressure, eating sweet potatoes will interfere with the drug.

If you are taking beta-blockers, ask your doctor to regulate the dose of your medication before you eat this vegetable.

In addition, patients with kidney issues have a lower capacity for potassium liquidation and should avoid sweet potatoes. (12)

Increase blood sugar levels:

One average sweet potato offers more than 8% of our daily needs in carbohydrates.

But, the carbohydrates of sweet potatoes have special effects as it raises blood sugar levels.

Diabetics must consult their doctors before consuming sweet potatoes. (13)

Cause skin irritations:

These vegetables are very high in vitamin A with more than 100% of our daily need per one average sweet potato.

Even though vitamin A has a large list of health benefits thanks to its powerful antioxidant properties.

However, an excessive intake of vitamin A could lead to skin issues such as dryness, peeling, and rashes.

You may not notice but the food you eat also contains vitamin A.

For instance, eating just one carrot and a sweet potato gives your body 300% of vitamin A which is too much.

Thankfully, even if you start experiencing excessive vitamin A skin issues, these symptoms will disappear as soon as you reduce your vitamin A intake. (14)

Raises the risk of kidney stones:

Sweet potatoes are high in oxalate, a harmful compound found in many foods. (15)

When oxalate makes it to the digestive system, it bounds to calcium and prevents the body from absorbing it.

Later on, the body flushes those oxalate-calcium bounds through urination.

Usually, the body is able to detox itself from oxalate, however, an excessive intake could lead to kidney stones.

In this case, sweet potatoes offer about 20mg of oxalate per one vegetable which is almost half of the safe daily dose.

Because of that, eating too many sweet potatoes often lead to a higher risk of developing kidney stones.

Contain harmful chemicals & insecticides:

Finally, we should also know those sweet potatoes are often sprayed with insecticides and chemicals.

These chemicals are toxins which is why you must bleach and wash your sweet potatoes properly before you eat them.

Storing sweet potatoes:

Storage of cooked sweet potatoes:

We all love sweet potato casseroles, but we mostly rarely make them.

It would be so amazing if we can store cooked sweet potatoes to enjoy eating them in the future.

Cooked sweet potatoes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a maximum of 6 days.

However, make sure they still look the same and have no weird odor otherwise you should throw them.

In addition, you can even freeze cooked sweet potatoes and it doesn’t matter if they are deep-fried, boiled, or steamed.

To do that, put your cooked sweet potatoes in an airtight container then add a bit of lemon juice on top and freeze them for up to 12 months!

Storing raw sweet potatoes:

Raw sweet potatoes have a lower lifespan than a classical potato, so they don’t keep as well as potatoes.

To store them, make sure you keep the skin on as it provides natural protection and also don’t wash them.

Then, place the raw sweet potatoes in a dark place (pantry) well-aired place, they will remain edible for 20 days. (16)

Nonetheless, avoid storing them in the refrigerator as sweet potatoes don’t do well in cold environments and they will spoil faster.

In addition, you can freeze raw sweet potatoes for 6 months by placing them unpeeled and unwashed in an airtight container.

Buying sweet potatoes:

The first thing you need to know is that sweet potatoes are different from “yam”, a very similar-looking vegetable.

To get rid of the confusion, sweet potatoes usually have sharper tips and smooth skin.

When you are buying sweet potatoes, choose the ones that are firm, smooth, and free of bruises, soft spots, and cracks.

In most cases, pre-bagged sweet potatoes are a better choice than those sold in a bulk.

Tips:

Try including sweet potatoes more in your daily intakes, eat them when you feel hungry whether mashed or boiled they will provide lower calories and a more filling feeling.

Just make sure it’s not the only thing you eat.

 

 

 

References:

(1): (Patate douce) | AZ Martinique
(2): Plant, Root, Description, Uses, & Facts | Britannica
(3): History – Food News (foodnewsnews.com)
(4): Should I Be Eating The Skin Of The Potato? | Idaho Potato Commission
(5): The History of the Vacuum | KNF History
(6): A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking (douglasbaldwin.com)
(7): Sweet Potato vs. Potato: What’s the Difference? (healthline.com)
(8): Potatoes and Diabetes: Should You Eat Them? (verywellhealth.com)
(9): Generic – Sweet Potato – F.D.A. Nutrition Facts calories, carbs & nutrition facts | MyFitnessPal
(10): Sweet potatoes: Health benefits and nutritional information (medicalnewstoday.com)
(11): 4 Health Benefits of Japanese Sweet Potato + Nutrition – SelfDecode Supplements
(12): Are Sweet Potatoes Harmful to the Kidneys? (sfgate.com)
(13): Sweet potato for diabetes: Here’s how this veggies can control blood sugar (healthshots.com)
(14): Vitamin A and Skin Health | Linus Pauling Institute | Oregon State University
(15): Sweet Potatoes Vs. Potato Oxalates (livestrong.com)
(16): How To Store Sweet Potatoes So They Last | Glad® Food Storage Containers & Trash Bags