Glossary of food terms: S
Sweet potato
A root vegetable that resembles a potato, although it's quite different in taste and texture (and isn't related to the potato). Sweet potatoes available in the UK usually have a pinkish-orange skin with deep orange flesh; pink-skinned sweet potatoes with creamy white flesh are also widely available. Varieties found the world over also vary in colour and texture, with sweet potatoes that have yellow, red, brown or even purple skins along with yellow, orange or orange-red flesh. They can either be firm and mealy or soft when cooked; the general rule is that sweet potatoes with a deeper orange colour tend to be soft while white or yellow varieties remain firm-fleshed.
Because of their visual similarities, sweet potatoes are also frequently mistaken for yam, though the two are unrelated.
Sweet potatoes can be cooked in a variety of ways. They have a slightly sweet flavour and a lovely creamy flesh, much lighter and fluffier than the potato. They can be cooked in similar ways to the potato - baked, mashed, roasted or used in vegetable soups and bakes, or added to risottos, pasta dishes and curries. Alternatively, the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes can be enhanced with aromatic spices, such as cinnamon or nutmeg, in dessert recipes.
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