Thanks to its sweet taste, many people could eat a sweet potato dish every day of the week. That would be possible, because the variety of preparation methods for the vegetables can hardly be topped. Daily consumption would also be healthy, because there are countless good substances in the tuber. But does that also apply to the skin or should you remove it before eating? And if so, before or after cooking? And what is the easiest way to peel? Questions over questions - here are the answers.

A potato peeler is also great for peeling the sweet potatoes

The sweet potato is also healthy with the skin on

With the exception of young spring potatoes, potatoes must be peeled because their skin contains the toxic substance solanine during storage. But if you apply this rule to batata, you're on the wrong track. Because the name is misleading: while potatoes belong to the nightshade family, the sweet potato is a wind plant. There is no relationship. This also prevents the formation of solanine in the sweet potato. So you don't necessarily have to peel your sweet potato. However, if you prefer this for hygienic reasons, you should know that the bowl contains the substance Caiapo. This is considered to be particularly healthy for the organism and causes the following effects:

  • lowers the risk of diabetes
  • protects against anemia
  • lowers blood pressure

What you need to know before eating

So there is a lot to be said for eating the skin of a sweet potato. Even when cooking, valuable ingredients are hardly lost. You can also use a sweet potato raw without any problems. In this case in particular, you should pay attention to a few things before the batata ends up on the plate:

  • only eat undamaged tubers that do not show bruises or mold
  • wash the sweet potato thoroughly. Not only if you have harvested your own tuber, you have to brush off the soil. Many germs from the supermarket are also deposited on bought vegetables
  • If your sweet potatoes germinate again after a long period of storage, you should definitely remove the new sprouts
  • cut off the ends of the tuber. Most of them taste slightly bitter

Time-saving tip: Depending on the size of the batata, the cooking time is half an hour to three quarters of an hour. Don't want to wait that long? Prick your sweet potato all over with a fork and microwave for five minutes on high power. In this way, too, the pulp becomes wonderfully soft.

Pros and cons of an unpeeled sweet potato

Whether you peel your sweet potato or not is a matter of taste. If you're trying the vegetable for the first time and are still undecided on how to prepare it, these pros and cons will help you weigh it up.

benefits

  • the peel contains large amounts of Caiapo
  • time saving
  • less loss of aroma and nutrients during cooking

disadvantage

  • possibly gritty taste due to insufficient cleaning
  • only the flesh reveals the impressive color of the batata

Various forms of preparation

With or without the skin - here are the tastiest ways to prepare a sweet potato:

  • grated raw in a salad
  • cooked with herb quark
  • as crispy chips
  • Sweet potato fries
  • Kumpir (Stuffed Sweet Potato)
  • as oven vegetables
  • as soup
  • as puree
  • in the casserole
  • as a cake
  • from the grill
  • as toast with a sweet or savory topping or spread
  • or simply as an accompaniment

Peel sweet potato

When cooking a peeled sweet potato, follow these steps:

  1. wash off the tuber
  2. peel the sweet potato with a vegetable peeler
  3. put the sweet potato in boiling water
  4. use a fork to check if the inside is tender
  5. pour off the water. If necessary, collect the brew and use it as the basis for a vegetable soup
  6. now you can process the batata as you wish

tips

Of course you can also peel the sweet potato after cooking. This has the advantage that the vitamins contained are retained. The soft boiled casing can then be peeled off as if by itself.

Store sweet potatoes

For storage, it is essential not to peel the sweet potato. The pulp dries up quickly and loses taste. By the way, the color can also change during cooking. A few squirts of lemon juice will prevent that. Wrap the sweet potatoes individually in newspaper and place them in a place protected from light. It is important that the tubers only come into contact with water immediately before consumption.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:

  • as a free PDF file to print out yourself

Category:

Vegetable garden