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{{short description|Species of edible plant}}{{about||the musical instrument sometimes called a “sweet potato“|Ocarina|the true yam|yam (vegetable)}}{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}{{speciesbox| name = Sweet potato| image = Ipomoea batatas 006.JPG| image_caption = Sweet potato tubers| image_alt = Several elongated reddish brown tubers| status = {{TNCStatus}}| status_system = TNC! Country! Production(millions of tonnes)

	IPOMOEA BATATAS >URL=HTTPS://EXPLORER.NATURESERVE.ORG/TAXON/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.149769/IPOMOEA_BATATAS	LOCATION=ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA	ARCHIVE-DATE=15 FEBRUARY 2024	URL-STATUS=LIVE, | genus = Ipomoea| species = batatas	Carl Linnaeus>L.) Lam.}}The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable.BOOK, Purseglove, John Williams, 1968, Tropical crops: D, Longman Scientific and Technical, John Wiley and Sons, New York,books.google.com/books?id=rYQ_AAAAYAAJ, 978-0-582-46666-1, {{page needed|date=April 2015}}BOOK, Woolfe, Jennifer A., Sweet Potato: An Untapped Food Resource, 5 March 1992, Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press (CUP) and the International Potato Center (CIP), 9780521402958, The young shoots and leaves are sometimes eaten as greens. Cultivars of the sweet potato have been bred to bear tubers with flesh and skin of various colors. Sweet potato is only distantly related to the common potato (Solanum tuberosum), both being in the order Solanales. Although darker sweet potatoes are often referred to as “yams” in parts of North America, the species is even more distant from the true yams, which are monocots in the order Dioscoreales.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=QIFTVWJH3doC&pg=PA256, Emory Dean, Keoke, Kay Marie, Porterfield, Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World: 15,000 Years of Inventions and Innovations, 2009, Infobase Publishing, 256, 978-0-8160-4052-0, The sweet potato is native to the tropical regions of South America in what is present-day Ecuador.WEB, 2022-01-24, Mystery of sweetpotato origin uncovered, as missing link plant found by Oxford research,www.ox.ac.uk/news/2022-01-24-mystery-sweetpotato-origin-uncovered-missing-link-plant-found-oxford-research, 2024-03-24, University of Oxford, en, 2 September 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230902133431/https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2022-01-24-mystery-sweetpotato-origin-uncovered-missing-link-plant-found-oxford-research, live, JOURNAL, Muñoz-Rodríguez, Pablo, Wells, Tom, Wood, John R. I., Carruthers, Tom, Anglin, Noelle L., Jarret, Robert L., Scotland, Robert W., 22 January 2022, Discovery and characterization of sweetpotato’s closest tetraploid relative, New Phytologist, en, 234, 4, 1185–1194, 10.1111/nph.17991, 0028-646X, 9306577, 35064679, free, Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of Convolvulaceae, I. batatas is the only crop plant of major importance—some others are used locally (e.g., I. aquatica “kangkong” as a green vegetable), but many are poisonous. The genus Ipomoea that contains the sweet potato also includes several garden flowers called morning glories, but that term is not usually extended to I. batatas. Some cultivars of I. batatas are grown as ornamental plants under the name tuberous morning glory, and used in a horticultural context. Sweet potatoes can also be called yams in North America. When soft varieties were first grown commercially there, there was a need to differentiate between the two. Enslaved Africans had already been calling the ‘soft’ sweet potatoes ‘yams’ because they resembled the unrelated yams in Africa.WEB, 2019-11-19, What is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?, Library of Congress,loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/agriculture/item/what-is-the-difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams/#:~:text=When%20soft%20varieties%20were%20first,from%20the%20’firm’%20varieties., Thus, ‘soft’ sweet potatoes were referred to as ‘yams’ to distinguish them from the ‘firm’ varieties. Description File:Genasu gadde (Kannada ಗೆಣಸು ಗಡ್ಡೆ) (49108875711).jpg|thumb|left|Flowers, buds, and leaves that look like morning glorymorning glory(File:Sweet potato seeds.jpg|thumb|Seeds|left)The plant is a herbaceous perennial vine, bearing alternate triangle-shaped or palmately lobed leaves and medium-sized sympetalous flowers. The stems are usually crawling on the ground and form adventitious roots at the nodes. The leaves are screwed along the stems. The leaf stalk is {{Convert|5 to 20|in|cm|abbr=off|order=flip}} long. The leaf blades are very variable, {{Convert|5 to 13|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long, the shape is heart-, kidney- to egg-shaped, rounded or triangular and spear-shaped, the edge can be entire, toothed or often three to seven times lobed, cut or divided. Most of the leaf surfaces are bare, rarely hairy, and the tip is rounded to pointed. The leaves are mostly green in color, but the accumulation of anthocyanins, especially along the leaf veins, can make them purple. Depending on the variety, the total length of a stem can be between {{Convert|0.5 and 4|m|ft|abbr=off|frac=2}}. Some cultivars also form shoots up to {{Convert|16|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in length. However, these do not form underground storage organs.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}The hermaphrodite, five-fold and short-stalked flowers are single or few in stalked, zymous inflorescences that arise from the leaf axils and stand upright. It produces flowers when the day is short. The small sepals are elongated and tapering to a point and spiky and (rarely only 7) {{Convert|10 to 15|mm|frac=8}} long, usually finely haired or ciliate. The inner three are a little longer. The {{Convert|4 to 7|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long, overgrown and funnel-shaped, folded crown, with a shorter hem, can be lavender to purple-lavender in color, the throat is usually darker in color, but white crowns can also appear. The enclosed stamens are of unequal length with glandular filaments. The two-chamber ovary is upper constant with a relatively short stylus.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} Seeds are only produced from cross-pollination.WEB, Pollinating Sweet Potatoes,homeguides.sfgate.com/pollinating-sweet-potatoes-74929.html, 15 October 2021, Home Guides, SF Gate, 11 May 2013, en, 15 April 2016,web.archive.org/web/20160415153410/https://homeguides.sfgate.com/pollinating-sweet-potatoes-74929.html, live, The flowers open before sunrise and stay open for a few hours. They close again in the morning and begin to wither. The edible tuberous root is long and tapered, with a smooth skin whose color ranges between yellow, orange, red, brown, purple, and beige. Its flesh ranges from beige through white, red, pink, violet, yellow, orange, and purple. Sweet potato cultivars with white or pale yellow flesh are less sweet and moist than those with red, pink or orange flesh. Taxonomy File:Sweet potato and wild relatives.png|thumb|450x450px|Roots of the Taizhong6 cultivar compared to those of its two closest wild relatives: I. trifida and I. trilobaJOURNAL, Wu, Shan, Lau, Kin H., Cao, Qinghe, Hamilton, John P., Sun, Honghe, Zhou, Chenxi, Eserman, Lauren, Gemenet, Dorcus C., Olukolu, Bode A., Wang, Haiyan, Crisovan, Emily, 2 November 2018, Genome sequences of two diploid wild relatives of cultivated sweetpotato reveal targets for genetic improvement, Nature CommunicationsNature CommunicationsThe sweet potato originates in South America in what is present-day Ecuador. The domestication of sweet potato occurred in either Central or South America.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=QU3qxpHf4S4C&q=Sweet+Potato+Peru+domesticated&pg=PA21, Geneflow 2009, Bioversity International, 9789290438137, In Central America, domesticated sweet potatoes were present at least 5,000 years ago,WEB,www.cgiar.org/impact/research/sweetpotato.html,www.cgiar.org/impact/research/sweetpotato.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20050207230303www.cgiar.org/impact/research/sweetpotato.html,">web.archive.org/web/20050207230303www.cgiar.org/impact/research/sweetpotato.html, 7 February 2005, Sweet Potato, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, with the origin of I. batatas possibly between the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico and the mouth of the Orinoco River in Venezuela.CONFERENCE,books.google.com/books?id=7Ff-wrcqm1EC&q=The+taxonomy%2C+evolution+and+genetic+diversity+of+sweetpotatoes+and+related+wild+species&pg=PA27, The taxonomy, evolution and genetic diversity of sweet potatoes and related wild species, Daniel F., Austin, 1988, First Sweet Potato Planning Conference, 1987, P. Gregory, Exploration, Maintenance, and Utilization of Sweet Potato Genetic Resources, International Potato Center, Lima, Peru, 27–60, 9789290601159, The cultigen was most likely spread by local people to the Caribbean and South America by 2500 BCE.JOURNAL,sweetpotatoknowledge.org/germplasm/germplasm-collection/cip-genebank/AFLP%20Assessment%20of%20Sweetpotato%20Genetic%20Diversity%20in%20Four%20Tropical%20American%20Regions.pdf, AFLP Assessment of Sweetpotato Genetic Diversity in Four Tropical American Regions, D.P., Zhang, M., Ghislain, Z., Huaman, J.C., Cervantes, E.E., Carey, International Potato Center (CIP) Program Report 1997-1998, International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru, 1999, dead,sweetpotatoknowledge.org/germplasm/germplasm-collection/cip-genebank/AFLP%20Assessment%20of%20Sweetpotato%20Genetic%20Diversity%20in%20Four%20Tropical%20American%20Regions.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20140423062838sweetpotatoknowledge.org/germplasm/germplasm-collection/cip-genebank/AFLP%20Assessment%20of%20Sweetpotato%20Genetic%20Diversity%20in%20Four%20Tropical%20American%20Regions.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20140423062838sweetpotatoknowledge.org/germplasm/germplasm-collection/cip-genebank/AFLP%20Assessment%20of%20Sweetpotato%20Genetic%20Diversity%20in%20Four%20Tropical%20American%20Regions.pdf, 23 April 2014, I. trifida, a diploid, is the closest wild relative of the sweet potato, which originated with an initial cross between a tetraploid and another diploid parent, followed by a second complete genome duplication event.JOURNAL, Morales Rodríguez, Alfredo, Alfredo Morales Tejón, Dania Rodríguez del Sol, Iván J. Pastrana, Claudia A. Méndez, 2017, Origen, evolución y distribución del boniato (Ipomoea batatas (l.) Lam.). Una revisión, Agricultura Tropical, 3, 1, 1–13, 2517-9292, es, The oldest radiocarbon dating remains of the sweet potato known today were discovered in caves from the Chilca Canyon, in the south-central zone of Peru, and yield an age of 8080 ± 170 BC.JOURNAL, Engel, Fréderic, 1970, Exploration of the Chilca Canyon, Current Anthropology, 11, 55–58, 10.1086/201093, 144317617, JOURNAL, Perry, L., 2002, Starch granule size and the domestication of manioc (Manihot esculenta) and Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), Economic Botany, 56, 4, 345–349, 10.1663/0013-0001(2002)056[0335:SGSATD]2.0.CO;2, 32462935, Transgenicity The genome of cultivated sweet potatoes contains sequences of DNA from Agrobacterium (sensu lato; specifically, one related to Rhizobium rhizogenes), with genes actively expressed by the plants.JOURNAL, Kyndt, Tina, Quispea, Dora, Zhaic, Hong, Jarretd, Robert, Ghislainb, Marc, Liuc, Qingchang, Gheysena, Godelieve, Kreuzeb, Jan F., The genome of cultivated sweet potato contains Agrobacterium T-DNAs with expressed genes: An example of a naturally transgenic food crop, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 20 April 2015, 10.1073/pnas.1419685112, 112, 18, 5844–5849, 25902487, 4426443, 2015PNAS..112.5844K, free, The T-DNA transgenes were not observed in closely related wild relatives of the sweet potato. Studies indicated that the sweet potato genome evolved over millennia, with eventual domestication of the crop taking advantage of natural genetic modifications. These observations make sweet potatoes the first known example of a naturally transgenic food crop.WEB, Sweet potato is a natural GMO,www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/sweet-potato-is-a-natural-gmo/81251182/, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, 23 April 2015, 22 April 2015, 25 April 2015,www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/sweet-potato-is-a-natural-gmo/81251182," title="web.archive.org/web/20150425193722www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/sweet-potato-is-a-natural-gmo/81251182,">web.archive.org/web/20150425193722www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/sweet-potato-is-a-natural-gmo/81251182, live, NEWS, Doucleff, Michaeleen, 5 May 2015, Natural GMO? Sweet Potato Genetically Modified 8,000 Years Ago, en, NPR,www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/05/05/404198552/natural-gmo-sweet-potato-genetically-modified-8-000-years-ago, 15 January 2022, 15 January 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220115142149/https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/05/05/404198552/natural-gmo-sweet-potato-genetically-modified-8-000-years-ago, live, BOOK, Lebot, Vincent, Tropical Root and Tuber Crops : Cassava, Sweet Potato, Yams And Aroids, CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International), Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK Boston, USA, 2020, 978-1-78924-336-9, 1110672215, 541, {{rp|141}}JOURNAL, Soucy, Shannon M., Huang, Jinling, Gogarten, Johann Peter, Horizontal gene transfer: building the web of life, Nature Reviews Genetics, Nature Portfolio, 16, 8, 17 July 2015, 1471-0056, 10.1038/nrg3962, 472–482, 26184597, 6794788, JOURNAL, Andersen, Martin Marchman, Landes, Xavier, Xiang, Wen, Anyshchenko, Artem, Falhof, Janus, Østerberg, Jeppe Thulin, Olsen, Lene Irene, Edenbrandt, Anna Kristina, Vedel, Suzanne Elizabeth, Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark, Sandøe, Peter, Gamborg, Christian, Kappel, Klemens, Palmgren, Michael G., Feasibility of new breeding techniques for organic farming, Trends in Plant Science, Cell Press, 20, 7, 2015, 1360-1385, 10.1016/j.tplants.2015.04.011, 426–434, 26027462, 205454618, free, Cultivation {{See also|Sweet potato storage}} Dispersal history {{further|Sweet potato cultivation in Polynesia}}File:Leiden University Library - Seikei Zusetsu vol. 20, page 014 - 度奴久和宇藷 - Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. - 赤藷, 白藷 - idem., 1804.jpg|thumb|left|Seikei ZusetsuSeikei ZusetsuBefore the arrival of Europeans to the Americas, sweet potato was grown in Polynesia, generally spread by vine cuttings rather than by seeds.WEB, Batatas, Not Potatoes,www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Ipomoea/index.html,www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Ipomoea/index.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20080519142258www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Ipomoea/index.html,">web.archive.org/web/20080519142258www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Ipomoea/index.html, 19 May 2008, 12 September 2010, Botgard.ucla.edu, Sweet potato has been radiocarbon-dated in the Cook Islands to 1210–1400 CE.JOURNAL, Wilmshurst, Janet M., Hunt, Terry L., Lipo, Carl P., Anderson, Atholl J., Atholl Anderson, 27 December 2010, High-precision radiocarbon dating shows recent and rapid initial human colonization of East Polynesia, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, en, 108, 5, 1815–1820, 2011PNAS..108.1815W, 10.1073/pnas.1015876108, 0027-8424, 3033267, 21187404, For example, the earliest presence of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) in Mangaia, Cook Islands, dated to A.D. 1210–1400 and was regarded as a late occurrence, free, A common hypothesis is that a vine cutting was brought to central Polynesia by Polynesians who had traveled to South America and back, and spread from there across Polynesia to Easter Island, Hawaii and New Zealand.BOOK, van Tilburg, Jo Anne, Easter Island: Archaeology, ecology, and culture, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994, Washington, D.C., WEB, Bassett, Gordon, etal, Gardening at the Edge: Documenting the limits of tropical Polynesian kumara horticulture in southern New Zealand,www.geol.canterbury.ac.nz/people/kari/2004%20Bassett,%20Gordon,%20et%20al.pdf,www.geol.canterbury.ac.nz/people/kari/2004%20Bassett,%20Gordon,%20et%20al.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110724015520www.geol.canterbury.ac.nz/people/kari/2004%20Bassett,%20Gordon,%20et%20al.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110724015520www.geol.canterbury.ac.nz/people/kari/2004%20Bassett,%20Gordon,%20et%20al.pdf, 24 July 2011, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, Genetic similarities have been found between Polynesian peoples and indigenous Americans including the Zenú, a people inhabiting the Pacific coast of present-day Colombia, indicating that Polynesians could have visited South America and taken sweet potatoes prior to European contact.JOURNAL, Lizzie Wade, 8 July 2020, Polynesians steering by the stars met Native Americans long before Europeans arrived,www.science.org/content/article/polynesians-steering-stars-met-native-americans-long-europeans-arrived, Science, 10.1126/science.abd7159, 225642378, 30 June 2022, 17 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200717034835/https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/polynesians-steering-stars-met-native-americans-long-europeans-arrived, live, Dutch linguists and specialists in Amerindian languages Willem Adelaar and Pieter Muysken have suggested that the word for sweet potato is shared by Polynesian languages and languages of South America: Proto-Polynesian *WEB, Greenhill, Simon J., Clark, Ross, Biggs, Bruce, 2010, Entries for KUMALA.1 [LO] Sweet Potato (Ipomoea),pollex.org.nz/entry/kumala1/, dead,pollex.org.nz/entry/kumala1/," title="web.archive.org/web/20130208114223pollex.org.nz/entry/kumala1/,">web.archive.org/web/20130208114223pollex.org.nz/entry/kumala1/, 8 February 2013, 16 July 2013, POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online, (compare Rapa Nui , Hawaiian uala}}, Māori ) may be connected with Quechua and Aymara ~ . Adelaar and Muysken assert that the similarity in the word for sweet potato is proof of either incidental contact or sporadic contact between the Central Andes and Polynesia.BOOK, Adelaar, Willem F. H., The Languages of the Andes, Muysekn, Pieter C., 10 June 2004, Cambridge University Press, 978-1-139-45112-3, 41, Genetic relations of South American Indian languages,books.google.com/books?id=UiwaUY6KsY8C&pg=PA41, Some researchers, citing divergence time estimates, suggest that sweet potatoes might have been present in Polynesia thousands of years before humans arrived there.NEWS, 12 April 2018, Sweet potato history casts doubt on early contact between Polynesia and the Americas, EurekaAlert! Cell Press,www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/cp-sph040518.php, 23 September 2018, 23 September 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180923123941/https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/cp-sph040518.php, live, JOURNAL, Muñoz-Rodríguez, Pablo, Carruthers, Tom, Wood, John R.I., Williams, Bethany R.M., Weitemier, Kevin, Kronmiller, Brent, Ellis, David, Anglin, Noelle L., Longway, Lucas, Harris, Stephen A., Rausher, Mark D., Kelly, Steven, Liston, Aaron, Scotland, Robert W., 2018, Reconciling conflicting phylogenies in the origin of sweet potato and dispersal to Polynesia, Current Biology, 28, 8, 1246–1256.e12, 10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.020, 0960-9822, 29657119, free, 2018CBio...28E1246M, However, the present scholarly consensus favours the pre-Columbian contact model.JOURNAL, Barber, Ian, Higham, Thomas F. G., 14 April 2021, Archaeological science meets Māori knowledge to model pre-Columbian sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) dispersal to Polynesia’s southernmost habitable margins, PLOS One, 16, 4, e0247643, 2021PLoSO..1647643B, 10.1371/journal.pone.0247643, 8046222, 33852587, free, WEB, Matisoo-Smith, Lisa, 13 April 2018, When did sweet potatoes arrive in the Pacific – Expert Reaction,www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2018/04/13/when-did-sweet-potatoes-arrive-in-the-pacific-expert-reaction/, 30 March 2019, www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz, Science Media Centre, We would like to see more robust data, ideally from multiple sources, presented before we can accept the data and reconsider the current interpretation that the sweet potato was brought to Polynesia by humans at some point around 1000-1200 AD., 29 March 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190329223537/https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2018/04/13/when-did-sweet-potatoes-arrive-in-the-pacific-expert-reaction/, live, The sweet potato arrived in Europe with the Columbian exchange. It is recorded, for example, in Elinor Fettiplace’s Receipt Book, compiled in England in 1604.BOOK, Fettiplace, Elinor, Elinor Fettiplace’s Receipt Book: Elizabethan Country House Cooking, 1986, Viking, Spurling, Hilary, Hilary Spurling, 1604, Dickson Wright, 2011. Pages 149–169Sweet potatoes were first introduced to the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period (1521–1898) via the Manila galleons, along with other New World crops.BOOK, Loebenstein, Gad,www.researchgate.net/publication/226217377, The Sweetpotato, Springer, 2009, 9781402094743, Loebenstein, Gad, Origin, Distribution and Economic Importance, Thottappilly, George, 18 May 2019, 24 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240324172320/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226217377_Origin_Distribution_and_Economic_Importance, live, It was introduced to the Fujian province of China in about 1594 from Luzon, in response to a major crop failure. The growing of sweet potatoes was encouraged by the Governor Chin Hsüeh-tseng (Jin Xuezeng).BOOK, Spence, Jonathan D.,books.google.com/books?id=M7LAH8ggQvAC&pg=PA167, Chinese Roundabout: Essays in History and Culture, W. W. Norton & Company, 1993, 978-0393309942, illustrated, reprint, revised, 167, 28 November 2015, 24 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240324172323/https://books.google.com/books?id=M7LAH8ggQvAC&pg=PA167#v=onepage&q&f=false, live, Sweet potatoes were also introduced to the Ryukyu Kingdom, present-day Okinawa, Japan, in the early 1600s by the Portuguese.BOOK, Goodman, Grant K., Japan and the Dutch 1600-1853, Routledge, 2013, 9781315028064, London, 66–67, 10.4324/9781315028064, JOURNAL, Gunn, Geoffrey C., 2003, First Globalization: The Eurasian Exchange, 1500-1800, The Sixteenth Century Journal, 36, 3, 932–933, 10.2307/20477565, 20477565, JOURNAL, Obrien, Patricia J., 1972, The sweet potato: Its origin and dispersal, American Anthropologist, 74, 3, 342–365, 10.1525/aa.1972.74.3.02a00070, free, Sweet potatoes became a staple in Japan because they were important in preventing famine when rice harvests were poor.NEWS, Itoh, Makiko, 22 April 2017, The storied history of the potato in Japanese cooking, The Japan Times,www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2017/04/22/food/storied-history-potato-japanese-cooking/#.WsaQ6ojwaUk, 5 April 2018, 27 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200727024534/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2017/04/22/food/storied-history-potato-japanese-cooking/#.WsaQ6ojwaUk, live, Aoki Konyō helped popularize the cultivation of the sweet potato in Japan, and the Tokugawa bakufu sponsored, published, and disseminated a vernacular Japanese translation of his research monograph on sweet potatoes to encourage their growth more broadly.BOOK, Ro, Sang-ho, Neo-Confucianism and Science in Korea: Humanity and Nature, 1706-1814, Routledge, 2021, 978-0-367-44100-5, Oxon, 58, English, Sweet potatoes were planted in Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshimune’s private garden.BOOK, Takekoshi, Yosaburō,books.google.com/books?id=ZoV8ti9RZBgC&pg=PA352, Economic Aspects of the History of the Civilization of Japan, Taylor & Francis, 1930, 9780415323802, 352, 28 November 2015, 24 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240324172204/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZoV8ti9RZBgC&pg=PA352#v=onepage&q&f=false, live, It was first introduced to Korea in 1764.BOOK, Kim, Jinwung,books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA255, A History of Korea: From ‘Land of the Morning Calm’ to states in conflict, Indiana University Press, 2012, 978-0253000781, 255, 28 November 2015, 24 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240324172259/https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA255#v=onepage&q&f=false, live, Kang P’il-ri and Yi Kwang-ryŏ embarked on a project to grow sweet potatoes in Seoul in 1766, using the knowledge of Japanese cultivators they learned in Tongnae starting in 1764. The project succeeded for a year but ultimately failed in winter 1767 after Kang’s unexpected death.Ro (2021), 59. Names {{See also|List of sweet potato cultivars}}Although the soft, orange sweet potato is often called a “(wikt:yam|yam)” in parts of North America, the sweet potato is very distinct from the botanical yam (Dioscorea), which has a cosmopolitan distribution,WEB, Dioscorea,powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:328349-2, 13 October 2019, Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 10 August 2019,powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:328349-2," title="web.archive.org/web/20190810160204powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:328349-2,">web.archive.org/web/20190810160204powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:328349-2, live, and belongs to the monocot family Dioscoreaceae. A different crop plant, the oca (Oxalis tuberosa, a species of wood sorrel), is called a “yam” in many parts of the world.WEB, Oca,cipotato.org/genebankcip/genebankcip/process/oca/, 30 April 2021, International Potato Center (CIP) Genebank, en-US, 24 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240324172318/https://cipotato.org/genebankcip/process/oca/, live, Although the sweet potato is not closely related botanically to the common potato, they have a shared etymology. The first Europeans to taste sweet potatoes were members of Christopher Columbus’s expedition in 1492. Later explorers found many cultivars under an assortment of local names, but the name which stayed was the indigenous Taino name of (wikt:batata|batata). The Spanish combined this with the Quechua word for potato, , to create the word for the common potato.BOOK, Herrero, María Antonieta Andión,books.google.com/books?id=wwI4nMg5r70C&pg=PA78, Los indigenismos en la Historia de las Indias de Bartolomé de las Casas, 2004, Editorial CSIC - CSIC Press, 978-84-00-08266-6, 78, es, 2 February 2021, 24 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240324172324/https://books.google.com/books?id=wwI4nMg5r70C&pg=PA78#v=onepage&q&f=false, live, Though the sweet potato is also called (|rtl=yes}}) in Hebrew, this is not a direct loan of the Taino word. Rather, the Spanish was loaned into Arabic as (|rtl=yes}}), owing to the lack of a {{ipa|/p/}} sound in Arabic, while the sweet potato was called (|rtl=yes}}); literally (’sweet potato’). The Arabic was loaned into Hebrew as designating the sweet potato only, as Hebrew had its own word for the common potato, |rtl=yes}} (, literally ‘earth apple’; compare French (wikt:pomme de terre|pomme de terre)).Some organizations and researchers advocate for the styling of the name as one word—sweetpotato—instead of two, to emphasize the plant’s genetic uniqueness from both common potatoes and yams and to avoid confusion of it being classified as a type of common potato.WEB, 12 November 2014, Sweetpotato: One Word or Two?,cipotato.org/research/sweet-potato/sweetpotato-one-word-or-two/, 29 December 2019, International Potato Center (CIP), 28 December 2019,web.archive.org/web/20191228015852/https://cipotato.org/research/sweet-potato/sweetpotato-one-word-or-two/, live, WEB, Averre, Charles W., Wilson, L. George, Sweetpotato — Why one word?,projects.ncsu.edu/cals/plantpath/extension/commodities/sweetpotato-one-word.html, 29 December 2019, NCSU Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University Department of Plant Pathology, 30 December 2019,web.archive.org/web/20191230002128/https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/plantpath/extension/commodities/sweetpotato-one-word.html, live, BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=5Wu-4sqzOD8C, The Sweetpotato, 2009, Springer Science & Business Media, 9781402094750, Loebenstein, Gad, 298, Thottappilly, George, 30 December 2019, 24 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240324172319/https://books.google.com/books?id=5Wu-4sqzOD8C, live, In its current usage in American English, the styling of the name as two words is still preferred.{{citation |title=What is a Sweetpotato? |date=October 2010 |url=https://vric.ucdavis.edu/pdf/SWEETPOTATO/What_is_a_sweetpotato.pdf |website=UC Vegetable Research & Information Center |page=2 |access-date=29 December 2019 |publisher=Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California |archive-date=27 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927122350vric.ucdavis.edu/pdf/SWEETPOTATO/What_is_a_sweetpotato.pdf |url-status=live }}In Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, the sweet potato is called . In Brazil, the sweet potato is called . In Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Central America, and the Philippines, the sweet potato is known as (alternatively spelled in the Philippines), derived from the Nahuatl word .NEWS, Nahuatl influences in Tagalog, El Galéon de Acapulco News, Embajada de México, Filipinas,elgaleon.weebly.com/page-18.html, dead, 16 February 2012,elgaleon.weebly.com/page-18.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20130427213956elgaleon.weebly.com/page-18.html,">web.archive.org/web/20130427213956elgaleon.weebly.com/page-18.html, 27 April 2013, {{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ().|date=March 2024}}In Peru and Bolivia, the general word in Quechua for the sweet potato is , but there are variants used such as , (Ayacucho Quechua), and (Bolivian Quechua),WEB, Diccionario Quechua Simi Taqe AMLQ, Quechua: apichu,www.runa-simi.org/simitaqe/id-327-apichu.html, 2 February 2021, www.runa-simi.org, Spanish, {{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} strikingly similar to the Polynesian name and its regional Oceanic cognates (, , , etc.WEB, Ipomoea batatas,www.hear.org/pier/species/ipomoea_batatas.htm, 2023-07-01, Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk: Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk, 1 July 2023,www.hear.org/pier/species/ipomoea_batatas.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20230701075629www.hear.org/pier/species/ipomoea_batatas.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20230701075629www.hear.org/pier/species/ipomoea_batatas.htm, live, ), which has led some scholars to suspect an instance of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact.NEWS, Doucleff, Michaeleen, 23 January 2013, How The Sweet Potato Crossed The Pacific Way Before The Europeans Did, en, NPR,www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/01/22/169980441/how-the-sweet-potato-crossed-the-pacific-before-columbus, 15 October 2021, 15 October 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211015120513/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/01/22/169980441/how-the-sweet-potato-crossed-the-pacific-before-columbus, live, This theory is also supported by genetic evidence.WEB, Timmer, John, 21 January 2013, Polynesians reached South America, picked up sweet potatoes, went home,arstechnica.com/science/2013/01/polynesians-reached-south-america-picked-up-sweet-potatoes-went-home, 8 July 2020, Ars Technica, 8 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200708155215/https://arstechnica.com/science/2013/01/polynesians-reached-south-america-picked-up-sweet-potatoes-went-home/, live, {{anchor|Beauregard}}In Australia, about 90% of production is devoted to the orange cultivar ‘Beauregard’,JOURNAL, Rolston, L. H., Clark, C. A., Cannon, J. M., Randle, W. M., Riley, E. G., Wilson, P. W., Robbins, M. L., December 1987, Beauregard’ Sweet Potato,journals.ashs.org/hortsci/downloadpdf/journals/hortsci/22/6/article-p1338.xml, HortScience, 22, 6, 1338–1339, 10.21273/HORTSCI.22.6.1338, 89381179, 13 September 2023, 24 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240324172741/https://journals.ashs.org/downloadpdf/view/journals/hortsci/22/6/article-p1338.pdf, live, which was originallyWEB,www.mafes.msstate.edu/publications/bulletins/b1221.pdf, Main, Jeffrey L., Silva, Juan, Arancibia, Ramon, May 2016, Mississippi Sweetpotato Variety Trial, 2013, Mississippi Agricultural & Forestry Experiment Station, 29 December 2023, 11 October 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231011052244/https://www.mafes.msstate.edu/publications/bulletins/b1221.pdf, live, WEB, 9 November 2022, State of Success: Louisiana,www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/blogs/state-success-louisiana, 13 September 2023, nifa.usda.gov National Institute of Food and Agriculture, 6 September 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230906214935/https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/blogs/state-success-louisiana, live, developed by the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station in 1981.WEB, Dominic Jolimont, Margaret Jolimont, Sweet potato,slater.ncg.org.au/sweet-potato/, 10 July 2019, Slater Community Gardens, 10 July 2019,slater.ncg.org.au/sweet-potato/," title="web.archive.org/web/20190710122359slater.ncg.org.au/sweet-potato/,">web.archive.org/web/20190710122359slater.ncg.org.au/sweet-potato/, live, In New Zealand, the Māori varieties bore elongated tubers with white skin and a whitish flesh,JOURNAL, Yen, D. E., 1963, The New Zealand Kumara or Sweet Potato,www.jstor.org/stable/4252401, Economic Botany, 17, 1, 31–45, 10.1007/BF02985351, 0013-0001, 4252401, 32823869, 17 October 2020, 20 October 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201020151953/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4252401, live, which points to pre-European cross-Pacific travel.WEB, Field, Michael, 23 January 2013, Kumara origin points to pan-Pacific voyage,www.stuff.co.nz/editors-picks/8213421/Kumara-origin-points-to-pan-Pacific-voyage, 10 July 2019, stuff.co.nz, 10 July 2019,www.stuff.co.nz/editors-picks/8213421/Kumara-origin-points-to-pan-Pacific-voyage," title="web.archive.org/web/20190710122356www.stuff.co.nz/editors-picks/8213421/Kumara-origin-points-to-pan-Pacific-voyage,">web.archive.org/web/20190710122356www.stuff.co.nz/editors-picks/8213421/Kumara-origin-points-to-pan-Pacific-voyage, live, Known as kumara (from the Māori language ), the most common cultivar now is the red ‘Owairaka’, but orange (’Beauregard’), gold, purple and other cultivars are also grown.JOURNAL, Yen, D. E., 1963, The New Zealand Kumara or Sweet Potato, Economic Botany, 17, 31–45, 10.1007/bf02985351, 4252401, 32823869, 1, WEB, Types of kumara grown in New Zealand,www.kumara.co.nz/types-of-kumara.html, Kaipara Kumara, 10 July 2019, 10 July 2019,www.kumara.co.nz/types-of-kumara.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20190710122354www.kumara.co.nz/types-of-kumara.html,">web.archive.org/web/20190710122354www.kumara.co.nz/types-of-kumara.html, live, Habitat The plant does not tolerate frost. It grows best at an average temperature of {{cvt|24|°C|°F|0}}, with abundant sunshine and warm nights. Annual rainfalls of {{cvt|750|-|1000|mm|in|0}} are considered most suitable, with a minimum of {{cvt|500|mm|in|0}} in the growing season. The crop is sensitive to drought at the tuber initiation stage 50–60 days after planting, and it is not tolerant to waterlogging, which may cause tuber rots and reduce the growth of storage roots if aeration is poor.BOOK, Ahn, Peter, 1993, Tropical soils and fertilizer use, Intermediate Tropical Agriculture Series, Longman Scientific and Technical Ltd., UK, 978-0-582-77507-7, {{page needed|date=April 2015}}(File:Sweet potato sprouting slips.jpg|thumb|Sweet potato sprouting “slips”)File:Sweetpotato harvest in Nash County, North Carolina.jpg|thumb|Sweet potato harvest in Nash County, North CarolinaNash County, North CarolinaDepending on the cultivar and conditions, tuberous roots mature in two to nine months. With care, early-maturing cultivars can be grown as an annual summer crop in temperate areas, such as the Eastern United States and China. Sweet potatoes rarely flower when the daylight is longer than 11 hours, as is normal outside of the tropics. They are mostly propagated by stem or root cuttings or by adventitious shoots called “slips” that grow out from the tuberous roots during storage. True seeds are used for breeding only.They grow well in many farming conditions and have few natural enemies; pesticides are rarely needed. Sweet potatoes are grown on a variety of soils, but well-drained, light- and medium-textured soils with a pH range of 4.5–7.0 are more favorable for the plant. They can be grown in poor soils with little fertilizer. However, sweet potatoes are very sensitive to aluminum toxicity and will die about six weeks after planting if lime is not applied at planting in this type of soil. Because they are sown by vine cuttings rather than seeds, sweet potatoes are relatively easy to plant. Because the rapidly growing vines shade out weeds, little weeding is needed. A commonly used herbicide to rid the soil of any unwelcome plants that may interfere with growth is DCPA, also known as Dacthal. In the tropics, the crop can be maintained in the ground and harvested as needed for market or home consumption. In temperate regions, sweet potatoes are most often grown on larger farms and are harvested before first frosts.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}Sweet potatoes are cultivated throughout tropical and warm temperate regions wherever there is sufficient water to support their growth.BOOK,www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/V1-424.html, Tropical root and tuber crops, O’Hair, Stephen K., Janick, J., Simon, J.E., Advances in New Crops, Timber Press, Portland, OR, 424–428, 1990, 26 September 2014, 5 October 2014,www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/V1-424.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141005190418www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/V1-424.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141005190418www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/V1-424.html, live, Sweet potatoes became common as a food crop in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, South India, Uganda and other African countries.JOURNAL, Roullier, Caroline, Duputié, Anne, Wennekes, Paul, Benoit, Laure, Fernández Bringas, Víctor Manuel, Rossel, Genoveva, Tay, David, McKey, Doyle, Lebot, Vincent, 2013-05-27, Disentangling the Origins of Cultivated Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.), PLOS ONE, 8, 5, e62707, 10.1371/journal.pone.0062707, free, 23723970, 3664560, 2013PLoSO...862707R, 1932-6203, A cultivar of the sweet potato called the boniato is grown in the Caribbean; its flesh is cream-colored, unlike the more common orange hue seen in other cultivars. Boniatos are not as sweet and moist as other sweet potatoes, but their consistency and delicate flavor are different from the common orange-colored sweet potato.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}{| class=“wikitable” style="float:right; clear:left text-align:center;“|+ Sweet potato production – 2020
| 48.9
| 6.9
| 4.4
| 1.7
| 1.6
World >| 89.5
Source: FAOSTAT of the United NationsHTTP://WWW.FAO.ORG/FAOSTAT/EN/#DATA/QC >PUBLISHER=FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS	TITLE=SWEET POTATO PRODUCTION IN 2019; WORLD REGIONS/PRODUCTION QUANTITY FROM PICK LISTS	ACCESS-DATE=24 MARCH 2021	ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20231016103427/HTTPS://WWW.FAO.ORG/FAOSTAT/EN/#DATA/QC, live,

Sweet potatoes have been a part of the diet in the U.S. for most of its history, especially in the Southeast. The average per capita consumption of sweet potatoes in the United States is only about {{cvt|1.5|-|2|kg|lb|1}} per year, down from {{cvt|13|kg|lb|0}} in 1920. “Orange sweet potatoes (the most common type encountered in the US) received higher appearance liking scores compared with yellow or purple cultivars.“JOURNAL, Leksrisompong, P.P., Whitson, M.E., Truong, V.D., Drake, M.A., Sensory attributes and consumer acceptance of sweet potato cultivars with varying flesh colors, Journal of Sensory Studies, 27, 1, 2012, 59–69, 10.1111/j.1745-459x.2011.00367.x, Purple and yellow sweet potatoes were not as well liked by consumers compared to orange sweet potatoes “possibly because of the familiarity of orange color that is associated with sweet potatoes.“In the Southeastern U.S., sweet potatoes are traditionally cured to improve storage, flavor, and nutrition, and to allow wounds on the periderm of the harvested root to heal.WEB,www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/, Sweet potatoes, North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission (NCSPC), 22 July 2006, 27 April 1999,www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/," title="web.archive.org/web/19990427215218www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/,">web.archive.org/web/19990427215218www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/, live, Proper curing requires drying the freshly dug roots on the ground for two to three hours, then storage at {{cvt|85|-|90|°F|°C|0|order=flip}} with 90 to 95% relative humidity from five to fourteen days. Cured sweet potatoes can keep for thirteen months when stored at {{cvt|55|-|59|°F|°C|0|order=flip}} with >90% relative humidity. Colder temperatures injure the roots.WEB,attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/sweetpotato.html, Sweetpotato: Organic Production, National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, 3 November 2010, 26 May 2011,attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/sweetpotato.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110526063807attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/sweetpotato.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110526063807attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/sweetpotato.html, dead, WEB,postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Produce/ProduceFacts/Veg/sweetpotato.shtml, Sweet potato, Produce Facts, UC Davis,postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Produce/ProduceFacts/Veg/sweetpotato.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20101105211935postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Produce/ProduceFacts/Veg/sweetpotato.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20101105211935postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Produce/ProduceFacts/Veg/sweetpotato.shtml, 5 November 2010,

Production

In 2020, global production of sweet potatoes was 89 million tonnes, led by China with 55% of the world total (table). Secondary producers were Malawi, Tanzania, and Nigeria.

Diseases

Sweet potato suffers from Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (a Crinivirus). In synergy with other any of a large number of other viruses, Untiveros et al., 2007 finds SPCSV produces an even more severe symptomology.

Uses

Nutrition

{{nutritionalvalue| name = Sweet potato, cooked, baked in skin, without salt| kJ = 378| protein = 2.0 g| fat = 0.15 g| carbs = 20.7 g| fiber = 3.3 g| sugars = 6.5 g| starch = 7.05 g| calcium_mg = 38| iron_mg = 0.69| magnesium_mg = 27| phosphorus_mg = 54| potassium_mg = 475| sodium_mg = 36| zinc_mg = 0.32| manganese_mg = 0.5| vitC_mg = 19.6| thiamin_mg = 0.11| riboflavin_mg = 0.11| niacin_mg = 1.5| vitB5_mg = 0.9| vitB6_mg = 0.29| folate_ug = 6| vitA_ug = 961| betacarotene_ug = 11509| vitE_mg = 0.71| water = 75.8 gSERIES=USDA DATABASE, | source_usda = 1}}{{nutritionalvalue| name = Raw sweet potato| kJ = 359| protein = 1.6 g| fat = 0.1 g| carbs = 20.1 g| fiber = 3 g| sugars = 4.2 g| starch = 12.7 g| calcium_mg = 30| iron_mg = 0.61| magnesium_mg = 25| phosphorus_mg = 47| potassium_mg = 337| sodium_mg = 55| zinc_mg = 0.3| manganese_mg = 0.258| vitC_mg = 2.4| thiamin_mg = 0.078| riboflavin_mg = 0.061| niacin_mg = 0.557| pantothenic_mg = 0.8| vitB6_mg = 0.209| folate_ug = 11| vitA_ug = 709| betacarotene_ug = 8509| vitE_mg = 0.26| water = 77.3 gWEBSITE=USDA DATABASE, | source_usda = 1}}Cooked sweet potato (baked in skin) is 76% water, 21% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). In a 100 gram reference amount, baked sweet potato provides 90 calories, and rich contents (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin A (120% DV), vitamin C (24% DV), manganese (24% DV), and vitamin B6 (20% DV). It is a moderate source (10-19% DV) of some B vitamins and potassium.Sweet potato cultivars with dark orange flesh have more beta-carotene (converted to a higher vitamin A content once digested) than those with light-colored flesh, and their increased cultivation is being encouraged in Africa where vitamin A deficiency is a serious health problem.JOURNAL, Neela, Satheesh, Fanta, Solomon W., 17 May 2019, Review on nutritional composition of orange-fleshed sweet potato and its role in management of vitamin A deficiency (Review), Food Science and Nutrition, 7, 6, 1920–1945, 10.1002/fsn3.1063, 2048-7177, 6593376, 31289641, Sweet potato leaves are edible and can be prepared like spinach or turnip greens.WEB, Dyer, Mary H., Are sweet potato leaves edible?,www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/sweet-potato/are-sweet-potato-leaves-edible.htm, 23 April 2018, Gardening Know How, Potato vine plant leaves, 21 May 2015, 23 March 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180323102952/https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/sweet-potato/are-sweet-potato-leaves-edible.htm, live,

Comparison to other food staples

The table below presents the relative performance of sweet potato (in column){{ref label|reference_name_G|G|G}} to other staple foods on a dry weight basis to account for their different water contents. While sweet potato provides less edible energy and protein per unit weight than cereals, it has higher nutrient density than cereals.BOOK, Scott, G.,www.cipotato.org/publications/pdf/002468.pdf, Roots and tubers in the global food system: A vision statement to the year 2020, Best, R., Rosegrant, M., Bokanga, M., International Potato Center, and others, 2000, 978-92-9060-203-3, 22 January 2012, 10 July 2012,www.cipotato.org/publications/pdf/002468.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20120710185547www.cipotato.org/publications/pdf/002468.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20120710185547www.cipotato.org/publications/pdf/002468.pdf, live, According to a study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, sweet potatoes are the most efficient staple food to grow in terms of farmland, yielding approximately {{convert|70,000|/ha||adj=pre|kcal}} / day.WEB, Roots, tubers, plantains and bananas in human nutrition,www.fao.org/docrep/t0207e/T0207E04.htm, 29 October 2017, Food and Agriculture Organization, 29 October 2017,www.fao.org/docrep/t0207e/T0207E04.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20171029173241www.fao.org/docrep/t0207e/T0207E04.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20171029173241www.fao.org/docrep/t0207e/T0207E04.htm, live, {{Comparison of major staple foods}}

Culinary

{{more citations needed section|date=January 2016}}The starchy tuberous roots of the sweet potato are by far the most important product of the plant. In some tropical areas, the tubers are a staple food crop. The tuber is often cooked before consumption as this increases its nutrition and digestibility, although the American colonists in the Southeast ate raw sweet potatoes as a staple food.WEB, Alicia, 19 February 2019, Can You Eat Sweet Potato Raw?,www.enkiverywell.com/raw-sweet-potato.html, 14 March 2021, EnkiVeryWell, en, 12 April 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210412071812/https://www.enkiverywell.com/raw-sweet-potato.html, live, The vines’ tips and young leaves are edible as a green vegetable with a characteristic flavor. Older growths may be used as animal fodder.

Africa

{{Cleanup lang|section|date=July 2023}}File:A seller peeling a sweet potato.jpg|thumb|A seller peeling a sweet potato in GhanaGhanaAmukeke (sun-dried slices of root) and inginyo (sun-dried crushed root) are a staple food for people in northeastern Uganda. The young leaves and vine tips of sweet potato leaves are widely consumed as a vegetable in West African countries (Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, for example), as well as in northeastern Uganda, East Africa. According to FAO leaflet No. 13 - 1990, sweet potato leaves and shoots are a good source of vitamins A, C, and B2 (riboflavin), and according to research done by A. Khachatryan, are an excellent source of lutein.In Kenya, Rhoda Nungo of the home economics department of the Ministry of Agriculture has written a guide to using sweet potatoes in modern recipes.BOOK, Nutritious Kenyan Sweet Potato Recipes, Nungo, Rhoda A., Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kakamega, Kenya, 1994, This includes uses both in the mashed form and as flour from the dried tubers to replace part of the wheat flour and sugar in baked products such as cakes, chapatis, mandazis, bread, buns and cookies. A nutritious juice drink is made from the orange-fleshed cultivars, and deep-fried snacks are also included.In Egypt, sweet potato tubers are known as (|rtl=yes}}) and are a common street food in winter, when street vendors with carts fitted with ovens sell them to people passing time by the Nile or the sea.NEWS, The batata man,ww.egyptindependent.com/batata-man/, 15 July 2019, Egypt Independent, 19 October 2011, 15 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190715111248/https://ww.egyptindependent.com/batata-man/, live, The cultivars used are an orange-fleshed one as well as a white/cream-fleshed one. They are also baked at home as a snack or dessert, drenched with honey.In Ethiopia, the commonly found cultivars are black-skinned, cream-fleshed and called bitatis or mitatis. They are cultivated in the eastern and southern lower highlands and harvested during the rainy season (June/July). In recent years,{{When|date=January 2020}} better yielding orange-fleshed cultivars were released for cultivation by Haramaya University as a less sugary sweet potato with higher vitamin A content.JOURNAL, Tekalign, Tsegaw, Nigussie, Dechassa, Registration of Adu and Barkume: Improved sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) varieties for eastern Ethiopia, East African Journal of Sciences, 2008, 2, 2, 189–191, 10.4314/eajsci.v2i2.40382,haramayajournals.org/index.php/ej/article/view/63/57, free, 20 April 2018, 21 September 2017,haramayajournals.org/index.php/ej/article/view/63/57," title="web.archive.org/web/20170921215339haramayajournals.org/index.php/ej/article/view/63/57,">web.archive.org/web/20170921215339haramayajournals.org/index.php/ej/article/view/63/57, live, {{Registration required}} Sweet potatoes are widely eaten boiled as a favored snack.In South Africa, sweet potatoes are often eaten as a side dish such as soetpatats.

Asia

{{further|Roasted sweet potato|Sweet potato soup}}In East Asia, roasted sweet potatoes are popular street food. In China, sweet potatoes, typically yellow cultivars, are baked in a large iron drum and sold as street food during winter. In Korea, sweet potatoes, known as , are roasted in a drum can, baked in foil or on an open fire, typically during winter. In Japan, a dish similar to the Korean preparation is called yaki-imo (roasted sweet potato), which typically uses either the yellow-fleshed “Japanese sweet potato” or the purple-fleshed “Okinawan sweet potato”, which is known as .Sweet potato soup, served during winter, consists of boiling sweet potato in water with rock sugar and ginger. In Fujian cuisine and Taiwanese cuisine, sweet potato is often cooked with rice to make congee. Steamed and dried sweet potato is a delicacy from Liancheng County. Sweet potato greens are a common side dish in Taiwanese cuisine, often boiled or sautéed and served with a garlic and soy sauce mixture, or simply salted before serving. They, as well as dishes featuring the sweet potato root, are commonly found at bento ({{zh|poj=piān-tong}}) restaurants. In northeastern Chinese cuisine, sweet potatoes are often cut into chunks and fried, before being drenched into a pan of boiling syrup.WEB,www.ttmeishi.com/CaiPu/2c2ec442ae902a40.htm,www.ttmeishi.com/CaiPu/2c2ec442ae902a40.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20071004141104www.ttmeishi.com/CaiPu/2c2ec442ae902a40.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20071004141104www.ttmeishi.com/CaiPu/2c2ec442ae902a40.htm, 4 October 2007, CaiPu, zh, ttmeishi.com, In some regions of India, sweet potato is roasted slowly over kitchen coals at night and eaten with some dressing, while the easier way in the south is simply boiling or pressure cooking before peeling, cubing and seasoning for a vegetable dish as part of the meal. In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, it is known as . It is boiled and consumed as evening snack. In some parts of India, fresh sweet potato is chipped, dried and then ground into flour; this is then mixed with wheat flour and baked into chapatti (bread). Between 15 and 20 percent of the sweet potato harvest is converted by some Indian communities into pickles and snack chips. A part of the tuber harvest is used in India as cattle fodder.BOOK, The sweetpotato,archive.org/details/sweetpotato00thot, limited, Gad, Loebenstein, George, Thottappilly, 2009, 391–425, Springer, 978-1-4020-9475-0, In Pakistan, sweet potato is known as and is cooked as a vegetable dish and also with meat dishes (chicken, mutton or beef). The ash-roasted sweet potatoes are sold as a snack and street food in Pakistani bazaars especially during the winter months.WEB,www.dawn.com/news/771928, Exploiting sweet potato potential, Mohiuddin, Aazim, 17 December 2012, 12 July 2019, Dawn (newspaper), Dawn, InpaperMagazine, 11 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190711215914/https://www.dawn.com/news/771928, live, In Sri Lanka, it is called , and tubers are used mainly for breakfast (boiled sweet potato is commonly served with sambal or grated coconut) or as a supplementary curry dish for rice.The tubers of this plant, known as in Dhivehi, have been used in the traditional diet of the Maldives. The leaves were finely chopped and used in dishes such as mas huni.BOOK, Xavier Romero-Frias, Romero-Frias, Xavier, 1999, The Maldive Islanders: A study of the popular culture of an ancient ocean kingdom, Barcelona, ES, 978-84-7254-801-5, File:茨城名産の干し芋.jpg|thumb|Dried sweet potatoes, a specialty of Ibaraki Prefecture, dried in the sun in ÅŒarai Japan ]]In Japan, both sweet potatoes (called (:ja:サツマイモ|satsuma-imo)) and true purple yams (called or ) are grown. Boiling, roasting and steaming are the most common cooking methods. Also, the use in vegetable tempura is common. ((:ja:大学芋)) is a baked and caramel-syruped sweet potato dessert. Because it is sweet and starchy, it is used in imo-kinton and some other traditional sweets, such as ofukuimo. What is commonly called “sweet potato” ((:ja:スイートポテト)) in Japan is a cake made by baking mashed sweet potatoes.ShōchÅ«, a Japanese spirit normally made from the fermentation of rice, can also be made from sweet potato, in which case it is called . Imo-gohan, sweet potato cooked with rice, is popular in Guangdong, Taiwan and Japan. It is also served in nimono or nitsuke, boiled and typically flavored with soy sauce, mirin and dashi.In Korean cuisine, sweet potato starch is used to produce (cellophane noodles). Sweet potatoes are also boiled, steamed, or roasted, and young stems are eaten as namul. Pizza restaurants such as Pizza Hut and Domino’s in Korea are using sweet potatoes as a popular topping. Sweet potatoes are also used in the distillation of a variety of Soju. A popular Korean side dish or snack, , also known as Korean candied sweet potato, is made by deep-frying sweet potatoes that were cut into big chunks and coating them with caramelized sugar.In Malaysia and Singapore, sweet potato is often cut into small cubes and cooked with taro and coconut milk () to make a sweet dessert called bubur cha cha. A favorite way of cooking sweet potato is deep-frying slices of sweet potato in batter, served as a tea-time snack. In homes, sweet potatoes are usually boiled. The leaves of sweet potatoes are usually stir-fried with only garlic or with and dried shrimp by Malaysians.In the Philippines, sweet potatoes (locally known as or ) are an important food crop in rural areas. They are often a staple among impoverished families in provinces, as they are easier to cultivate and cost less than rice. The tubers are boiled or baked in coals and may be dipped in sugar or syrup. Young leaves and shoots (locally known as or ’ tops) are eaten fresh in salads with shrimp paste () or fish sauce. They can be cooked in vinegar and soy sauce and served with fried fish (a dish known as ), or with recipes such as sinigang.WEB,archives.manilatimes.net/national/2008/mar/16/yehey/opinion/20080316opi1.html, Fusion kamote, 16 March 2008, The Manila Times (The Sunday Times) Editorials, 20 February 2011, dead,archives.manilatimes.net/national/2008/mar/16/yehey/opinion/20080316opi1.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110723201951archives.manilatimes.net/national/2008/mar/16/yehey/opinion/20080316opi1.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110723201951archives.manilatimes.net/national/2008/mar/16/yehey/opinion/20080316opi1.html, 23 July 2011, The stew obtained from boiling ’ tops is purple-colored, and is often mixed with lemon as juice. Sweet potatoes are also sold as street food in suburban and rural areas. Fried sweet potatoes coated with caramelized sugar and served in skewers (camote cue) or as French fries are popular afternoon snacks.WEB,www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/feature/elections-and-banana-cue, Elections and banana cue, Nicole J. Managbanag, Sun.Star, 25 October 2010, sunstar.com.ph/, 20 February 2011, 7 January 2011,www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/feature/elections-and-banana-cue," title="web.archive.org/web/20110107140211www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/feature/elections-and-banana-cue,">web.archive.org/web/20110107140211www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/feature/elections-and-banana-cue, dead, Sweet potatoes are also used in a variant of halo-halo called , where they are cooked in coconut milk and sugar and mixed with a variety of rootcrops, sago, jackfruit, and (glutinous rice balls).WEB,ruby.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/paskongpinoy2005/articles/120205/wine_2.php, A recipe that supported a brood of 12, Daluz, Susan G., 2005, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inquirer News Service, INQ7 Interactive, Inc. an Inquirer and GMA Network Company, 20 February 2011, dead,ruby.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/paskongpinoy2005/articles/120205/wine_2.php," title="web.archive.org/web/20110723154932ruby.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/paskongpinoy2005/articles/120205/wine_2.php,">web.archive.org/web/20110723154932ruby.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/paskongpinoy2005/articles/120205/wine_2.php, 23 July 2011, Bread made from sweet potato flour is also gaining popularity. Sweet potato is relatively easy to propagate, and in rural areas can be seen abundantly at canals and dikes. The uncultivated plant is usually fed to pigs.In Indonesia, sweet potatoes are locally known as (lit: “spreading tuber“) or simply and are frequently fried with batter and served as snacks with spicy condiments, along with other kinds of fritters such as fried bananas, tempeh, tahu, breadfruit, or cassava. In the mountainous regions of West Papua, sweet potatoes are the staple food among the natives there. Using the method of cooking, rocks that have been burned in a nearby bonfire are thrown into a pit lined with leaves. Layers of sweet potatoes, an assortment of vegetables, and pork are piled on top of the rocks. The top of the pile then is insulated with more leaves, creating a pressure of heat and steam inside which cooks all food within the pile after several hours.In Vietnamese cuisine sweet potatoes are known as and they are commonly cooked with a sweetener such as corn syrup, honey, sugar, or molasses.BOOK, Bác sÄ© Nguyá»…n Ý Đức, Dinh dưỡng và thá»±c phẩm, Tủ sách Rá»™ng mở tâm hồn, vi,books.google.com/books?id=LsU9WOMU6LAC&pg=PA212, 19 March 2023, 22 April 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230422012028/https://books.google.com/books?id=LsU9WOMU6LAC&pg=PA212, live, Young sweet potato leaves are also used as baby food, particularly in Southeast Asia and East Asia.JOURNAL, South Pacific Commission, Leaflet No. 13, Sweet Potato, South Pacific Foods, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1990, 1018-0966,www.fao.org/wairdocs/x5425e/x5425e0d.htm, 22 July 2012, 17 December 2014,www.fao.org/WAIRdocs/x5425e/x5425e0d.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20141217125322www.fao.org/WAIRdocs/x5425e/x5425e0d.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20141217125322www.fao.org/WAIRdocs/x5425e/x5425e0d.htm, dead, WEB,www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=49, 10 Best Foods for Babies, Ma, Idelia, Glorioso, G., January–December 2003, Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Department of Science and Technology (Philippines), Department of Science and Technology, Republic of the Philippines, 22 July 2012, dead,www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=49," title="web.archive.org/web/20130527133110www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=49,">web.archive.org/web/20130527133110www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=49, 27 May 2013, Mashed sweet potato tubers are used similarly throughout the world.BOOK, Ember, Carol R., Ember, Melvin, Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology, Cultures, Springer, 2004, 596, 9780306477546,books.google.com/books?id=nrMRezmNrPcC&q=sweet%20potato%20leaves%20baby%20food&pg=PA596, 6 October 2020, 24 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240324172708/https://books.google.com/books?id=nrMRezmNrPcC&q=sweet%20potato%20leaves%20baby%20food&pg=PA596#v=onepage&q=sweet%20potato%20leaves%20baby%20food&f=false, live, File:Jjin-goguma.jpg| (steamed sweet potatoes)File:Gungoguma (roasted sweet potatoes) 2.jpg|, roasted sweet potatoesFile:Gungoguma drum can (sweet potato roaster) 2.jpg|” drum” for roasting sweet potatoesFile:Goguma-mattang.jpg| (candied sweet potatoes)File:Sweet from Sweet Potato.jpg|Fried, sweetened sweet potato, IndiaFile:Sweet potato flaky pastry.jpg|Taiwanese pastryFile:Shochu 001.jpg|upright|Imo JōchÅ« (Japanese spirits made with sweet potato)File:SweetpotatoTongsui.jpg| ‘sugar water’, a sweet potato–based soup popular in China during winterFile:Camote tops (talbos ng kamote).jpg| tops, a Philippine salad made from young sweet potato leaves ()

United States

(File:Veggie burger flickr user bandita creative commons.jpg|thumb|Sweet potato fries with a vegetarian burger)Candied sweet potatoes are a side dish consisting mainly of sweet potatoes prepared with brown sugar, marshmallows, maple syrup, molasses, orange juice, marron glacé, or other sweet ingredients. It is often served in the US on Thanksgiving. Sweet potato casserole is a side dish of mashed sweet potatoes in a casserole dish, topped with a brown sugar and pecan topping.WEB,southernfood.about.com/od/sidedishcasseroles/r/bl90911u.htm, Sweet potato casserole recipe with crunchy pecan topping, Diana Rattray, About.com, Southern Food, 26 November 2010, 16 November 2010,southernfood.about.com/od/sidedishcasseroles/r/bl90911u.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20101116004202southernfood.about.com/od/sidedishcasseroles/r/bl90911u.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20101116004202southernfood.about.com/od/sidedishcasseroles/r/bl90911u.htm, dead, The sweet potato became a favorite food item of the French and Spanish settlers, thus beginning a long history of cultivation in Louisiana.WEB,www.yambilee.com/content/view/12/26/, History of the Louisiana Yambilee, Yambilee.com, 14 April 2008, 13 May 2008,www.yambilee.com/content/view/12/26/," title="web.archive.org/web/20080513140217www.yambilee.com/content/view/12/26/,">web.archive.org/web/20080513140217www.yambilee.com/content/view/12/26/, live, Sweet potatoes are recognized as the state vegetable of Alabama,WEB, Ivey OKs Naming Sweet Potato as Alabama’s State Vegetable, usnews.com, 17 April 2021,www.usnews.com/news/best-states/alabama/articles/2021-04-17/ivey-oks-naming-sweet-potato-as-alabamas-state-vegetable, 20 April 2021, 20 April 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210420110134/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/alabama/articles/2021-04-17/ivey-oks-naming-sweet-potato-as-alabamas-state-vegetable, live, Louisiana,WEB, RS 49:170.11, Revised Statutes, Louisiana State Legislature,legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=181346, 28 July 2018, 28 July 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180728221322/https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=181346, live, and North Carolina.WEB,www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/symbols/sy-sweet.htm, Sweet Potato - North Carolina State Vegetable, State of North Carolina, 17 February 2014, 22 April 2012,www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/symbols/sy-sweet.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120422140045www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/symbols/sy-sweet.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20120422140045www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/symbols/sy-sweet.htm, live, Sweet potato pie is also a traditional favorite dish in Southern U.S. cuisine. Another variation on the typical sweet potato pie is the Okinawan sweet potato haupia pie, which is made with purple sweet potatoes.File:McDonald’s sweet potato fries.jpg|thumb|right|Sweet potato fries served at a McDonald’sMcDonald’sThe fried sweet potatoes tradition dates to the early nineteenth century in the United States.WEB,hearttohearthcookery.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/sweet-potato-fries-are-not-new/, Sweet potato fries are not new, October 2011, hearttoearthcookery.com, Historical Society of York County, Pennsylvania, McLellan Plaisted, S., 3 May 2018, 4 May 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180504012759/https://hearttohearthcookery.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/sweet-potato-fries-are-not-new/, live, {{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ().|date=March 2024}} Sweet potato fries or chips are a common preparation and are made by julienning and deep-frying sweet potatoes in the fashion of French fried potatoes. Roasting sliced or chopped sweet potatoes lightly coated in animal or vegetable oil at high heat became common in the United States at the start of the 21st century, a dish called “sweet potato fries”. Sweet potato mash is served as a side dish, often at Thanksgiving dinner or with barbecue.John Buttencourt Avila is called the “father of the sweet potato industry” in North America.BOOK, Johns, Stephanie Bernardo, 1981, The Ethnic Almanac, Doubleday, 9780385141437, 373, BOOK, Hook, Julius Nicholas, 1983, Family Names: The Origins, Meanings, Mutations, and History of More Than 2,800 American Names, Collier, 9780020800002, 178,

Oceania

{{See also|Māori cuisine|Sweet potato cultivation in Polynesia}}Māori grew several varieties of small, yellow-skinned, finger-sized kÅ«mara (with names including ,WEB,www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz/assets/Marketing/Research/Current-working-papers/MaoriKumara.pdf, A guide to growing pre-European Māori kumara, Burtenshaw, M., 2009, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, 17 February 2011, 22 May 2011,openpolytechnic.ac.nz/assets/Marketing/Research/Current-working-papers/MaoriKumara.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110522094638openpolytechnic.ac.nz/assets/Marketing/Research/Current-working-papers/MaoriKumara.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110522094638openpolytechnic.ac.nz/assets/Marketing/Research/Current-working-papers/MaoriKumara.pdf, live, , , , and WEB,www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/documenVolume_56_1947/Volume_56,_No._4/Original_kumara,_by_Enid_Tapsell,_p_325-332/p1, Original Kumara, Enid, Tapsell, 1947, TJPS, 56, 4, 325–332, 17 February 2011, 24 July 2011, https:web.archive.org/web/20110724191414www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/documenVolume_56_1947/Volume_56,_No._4/Original_kumara,_by_Enid_Tapsell,_p_325-332/p1, dead, ) that they had brought with them from east Polynesia. Modern trials have shown that these smaller varieties were capable of producing well,NEWS, http:www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/2371731/Heritage-kumara-shows-its-worth, Heritage kumara shows its worth, Wilson, Dee, 29 April 2009, The Marlborough Express, 15 November 2011, 14 June 2011,www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/2371731/Heritage-kumara-shows-its-worth," title="web.archive.org/web/20110614131642www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/2371731/Heritage-kumara-shows-its-worth,">web.archive.org/web/20110614131642www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/2371731/Heritage-kumara-shows-its-worth, live, but when American whalers, sealers and trading vessels introduced larger cultivars in the early 19th century, they quickly predominated.NEWS,www.thegrower.co.nz/article_view.php?aid=263, Waitangi tribunal and the kumara claim,www.thegrower.co.nz/article_view.php?aid=263," title="web.archive.org/web/20110724194448www.thegrower.co.nz/article_view.php?aid=263,">web.archive.org/web/20110724194448www.thegrower.co.nz/article_view.php?aid=263, 24 July 2011, The Grower, Horticulture New Zealand, NEWS,www.nzherald.co.nz/agriculture/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=10421870, Kumara claim becomes hot potato, Stokes, Jon, 1 February 2007, The New Zealand Herald, 15 November 2011, 22 January 2012,www.nzherald.co.nz/agriculture/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=10421870," title="web.archive.org/web/20120122075430www.nzherald.co.nz/agriculture/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=10421870,">web.archive.org/web/20120122075430www.nzherald.co.nz/agriculture/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=10421870, live, NEWS,www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10422951, DNA analysis expected to solve kumara row, 8 February 2007, NZPA, The New Zealand Herald, 15 November 2011, 30 January 2012,www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10422951," title="web.archive.org/web/20120130142635www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10422951,">web.archive.org/web/20120130142635www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10422951, live, ENCYCLOPEDIA,www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/kumara, Kumara, An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, A. H. McLintock, 1966, 2005, 978-0-478-18451-8, Douglas Ernest, Yen, 11 February 2011, 25 April 2013,www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/kumara," title="web.archive.org/web/20130425070347www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/kumara,">web.archive.org/web/20130425070347www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/kumara, live, Prior to 2021, archaeologists believed that the sweet potato failed to flourish in New Zealand south of Christchurch due to the colder climate, forcing Māori in those latitudes to become (along with the Moriori of the Chatham Islands) the only Polynesian people who subsisted solely on hunting and gathering. However, a 2021 analysis of material excavated from a site near Dunedin, some {{cvt|250|km|mi}} further south, revealed that sweet potatoes were grown and stored there during the 15th century, before the industry was disrupted by factors speculated to be due to the Little Ice Age.Māori traditionally cooked kÅ«mara in a hāngÄ« (earth oven). This is still a common practice when there are large gatherings on marae.In 1947, black rot (Ceratocystis fimbriata) appeared in kÅ«mara around Auckland and increased in severity through the 1950s.JOURNAL, Slade, D. A., Black rot an important disease of Kumaras, New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, 1960, 100, 4, A disease-free strain was developed by Joe and Fay Gock. They gave the strain to the nation, earning them the Bledisloe Cup in 2013.NEWS, Loren, Anna, Bledisloe Cup for service to horticulture,www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/9012161/Bledisloe-Cup-for-service-to-horticulture, 24 December 2018, Manukau Courier, 8 August 2013, 25 December 2018,www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/9012161/Bledisloe-Cup-for-service-to-horticulture," title="web.archive.org/web/20181225031119www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/9012161/Bledisloe-Cup-for-service-to-horticulture,">web.archive.org/web/20181225031119www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/9012161/Bledisloe-Cup-for-service-to-horticulture, live, WEB,www.nzonscreen.com/title/loading-docs-how-mr-and-mrs-gock-saved-the-kumara-2016, Loading Docs 2016 - How Mr and Mrs Gock Saved the Kumara, NZ On Screen, Loading Docs, 10 July 2019, 10 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190710132015/https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/loading-docs-how-mr-and-mrs-gock-saved-the-kumara-2016, live, There are three main cultivars of kÅ«mara sold in New Zealand: ‘Owairaka Red’ (“red“), ‘Toka Toka Gold’ (“gold“), and ‘Beauregard’ (“orange“). The country grows around 24,000 metric tons of kÅ«mara annually,WEB,www.freshfacts.co.nz/files/freshfacts-2018.pdf, Fresh Facts: New Zealand Horticulture, 2018, Plant & Food Research, 1177-2190, 4 August 2019, 7 July 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190707053253/https://www.freshfacts.co.nz/files/freshfacts-2018.pdf, live, with nearly all of it (97%) grown in the Northland region.NEWS,www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/ohakune-has-its-carrot-and-dargaville-has-its-kuma/3676978/, Ohakune has its carrot ... and Dargaville has its kumara, The Northern Advocate, Mike, Barrington, Robyn, Downey, 18 March 2006, 24 July 2012, 24 July 2011,www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/ohakune-has-its-carrot-and-dargaville-has-its-kuma/3676978/," title="web.archive.org/web/20110724193541www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/ohakune-has-its-carrot-and-dargaville-has-its-kuma/3676978/,">web.archive.org/web/20110724193541www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/ohakune-has-its-carrot-and-dargaville-has-its-kuma/3676978/, live, KÅ«mara are widely available throughout New Zealand year-round, where they are a popular alternative to potatoes.NEWS,www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/recipes/1397627, How to cook with kumara, 3 March 2009, Taranaki Daily News, 15 November 2011, 14 June 2011,www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/recipes/1397627," title="web.archive.org/web/20110614131620www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/recipes/1397627,">web.archive.org/web/20110614131620www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/recipes/1397627, live, KÅ«mara are often included in roast meals, and served with sour cream and sweet chili sauce.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} They are served alongside such vegetables as potatoes and pumpkin and as such, are generally prepared in a savory manner. They are ubiquitous in supermarkets, roast meal takeaway shops and hāngÄ«.File:Papes de moniato (País Valencià, 1951).jpg|thumb|right|Drying sweet potatoes (Ribera Alta, 19511951Among the Urapmin people of Papua New Guinea, taro (known in Urap as ) and the sweet potato (Urap: ) are the main sources of sustenance, and in fact the word for ‘food’ in Urap is a compound of these two words.JOURNAL, Joel, Robbins, 1995, Dispossessing the Spirits: Christian Transformations of Desire and Ecology among the Urapmin of Papua New Guinea, Ethnology (journal), Ethnology, 34, 3, 211–24, 3773824, 10.2307/3773824,

Europe

In the Veneto (northeast Italy), sweet potato is known as in the Venetian language ( in Italian, meaning “American potato“), and it is cultivated above all in the southern area of the region;WEB,www2.regione.veneto.it/videoinf/rurale/prodotti/pat_americana.htm, Mondo agricolo veneto, la patata americana di Anguillara,www2.regione.veneto.it/videoinf/rurale/prodotti/pat_americana.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20100112083605www2.regione.veneto.it/videoinf/rurale/prodotti/pat_americana.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20100112083605www2.regione.veneto.it/videoinf/rurale/prodotti/pat_americana.htm, 12 January 2010, it is a traditional fall dish, boiled or roasted.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}In Spain, sweet potato is called . On the evening of All Souls’ Day, in Catalonia (northeastern Spain) it is traditional to serve roasted sweet potato and chestnuts, panellets and sweet wine. The occasion is called .(:es:Castanyada#Castañada){{Better source needed|date=November 2018|reason=}} Sweet potato is also used to make cakes or to eat roasted through the whole country.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

South America

In Peru, sweet potatoes are called and are frequently served alongside ceviche. Sweet potato chips are also a commonly sold snack, be it on the street or in packaged foods.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}Dulce de batata is a traditional Argentine, Paraguayan and Uruguayan dessert, which is made of sweet potatoes. It is a sweet jelly, which resembles a marmalade because of its color and sweetness but it has a harder texture, and has to be sliced in thin portions with a knife as if it was a pie.

Globally

Globally, sweet potatoes are now a staple ingredient of modern sushi cuisine, specifically used in maki rolls. The advent of sweet potato as a sushi ingredient is credited to chef Bun Lai of Miya’s Sushi, who first introduced sweet potato rolls in the 1990s as a plant-based alternative to traditional fish-based sushi rolls.WEB,www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a22396/truth-is-in-the-muck-invasive-species-delicacies/, The Sushi Chef Turning Invasive Species Into Delicacies, Ryan, Knighton, 6 October 2016, Popular Mechanics, 22 April 2019, 22 April 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190422160326/https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a22396/truth-is-in-the-muck-invasive-species-delicacies/, live, WEB,yaledailynews.com/blog/2019/02/01/sushis-role/, Sushi’s Role, Kleiner, Matthew, Yale Daily News, 1 February 2019, 12 July 2019, 22 April 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190422160328/https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2019/02/01/sushis-role/, live, WEB,yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/4337-sushi-celebrity, New Haven: Sushi celebrity, Arnott, Christopher, Yale Alumni Magazine, September–October 2016, 12 July 2019, 22 April 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190422160330/https://yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/4337-sushi-celebrity, live,

Molecular gastronomy

Freezing a sweet potato until solid, baking at a low temperature, then increasing to a high temperature brings out the sweetness by caramelizing converted sugars.WEB, Sontag, Elazar, For a ‘Proper Proper Proper’ Baked Sweet Potato, Freeze It First,www.eater.com/22219076/why-you-should-freeze-your-sweet-potatoes-recipe, Eater, 1 November 2022, en, 8 January 2021, 1 November 2022,web.archive.org/web/20221101064013/https://www.eater.com/22219076/why-you-should-freeze-your-sweet-potatoes-recipe, live, WEB, The Best Way to Cook Whole Sweet Potatoes,www.seriouseats.com/frozen-roasted-sweet-potato-5210149, Serious Eats, 1 November 2022, en, November 19, 2021, 1 November 2022,web.archive.org/web/20221101064007/https://www.seriouseats.com/frozen-roasted-sweet-potato-5210149, live, JOURNAL, Chan, Chin-Feng, Chiang, Chih-Ming, Lai, Yung-Chang, Huang, Che-Lun, Kao, Shu-Chen, Liao, Wayne C., Changes in sugar composition during baking and their effects on sensory attributes of baked sweet potatoes, Journal of Food Science and Technology, 5 December 2012, 51, 12, 4072–4077, 10.1007/s13197-012-0900-z, 25477683, 4252450, en, 0022-1155, JOURNAL, Nabubuya, Agnes, Namutebi, Agnes, Byaruhanga, Yusuf, Schuller, Reidar B., Narvhus, Judith, Wicklund, Trude, Viscoelastic properties of sweet potato complementary porridges as influenced by endogenous amylases, Food Science & Nutrition, 16 July 2017, 5, 6, 1072–1078, 10.1002/fsn3.492, 29188034, 5694867, 2048-7177,

Ceramics

File:Camotemuseolarco.jpg|thumb|Sweet potato, Moche culture, 300 CE, Larco Museum Collection ]]Ceramics modeled after sweet potatoes or are often found in the Moche culture.BOOK, Berrin, Katherine, Larco Museum staff, 1997, The Spirit of Ancient Peru: Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera, New York, NY, Thames and Hudson, Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera,

Dyes

In South America, the juice of red sweet potatoes is combined with lime juice to make a dye for cloth. By varying the proportions of the juices, every shade from pink to black can be obtained.BOOK, Verrill, Alpheus Hyatt, Barrett, Otis Warren, Foods America gave the World: The strange, fascinating and often romantic histories of many native American food plants, their origin, and other interesting and curious facts concerning them, 1937, Boston, MA, L.C. Page & Co., 47,books.google.com/books?id=lIlCAAAAIAAJ, 11 September 2020, 24 March 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240324172709/https://books.google.com/books?id=lIlCAAAAIAAJ, live, Purple sweet potato color is also used as a natural food coloring.WEB,www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2013/september/purple-sweet-potatoes-among-new-naturals-for-food-and-beverage-colors.html, Purple sweet potatoes among “new naturals” for food and beverage colors, September 2013, 6 May 2017, 9 May 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170509053537/https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2013/september/purple-sweet-potatoes-among-new-naturals-for-food-and-beverage-colors.html, live,

Aquariums

Cuttings of sweet potato vine, either edible or ornamental cultivars, will rapidly form roots in water and will grow in it, indefinitely, in good lighting with a steady supply of nutrients. For this reason, sweet potato vine is ideal for use in home aquariums, trailing out of the water with its roots submerged, as its rapid growth is fueled by toxic ammonia and nitrates, a waste product of aquatic life, which it removes from the water. This improves the living conditions for fish, which also find refuge in the extensive root systems.{{citation needed|date= June 2021}}

Ornamentals

(File:Sweet potato flower.jpg|thumb|An ornamental sweet potato flower)Ornamental sweet potatoes are popular landscape, container, and bedding plants. Grown as an annual in zones up to USDA hardiness Zone 9, they grow rapidly and spread quickly. Cultivars are available in many colors, such as green, yellow, and purple.WEB, 12 June 2017, Sweet Potato Vine: How to Grow These Gorgeous Flowing Vines,www.epicgardening.com/sweet-potato-vine/, 15 October 2021, Epic Gardening, en-US, 13 October 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211013215058/https://www.epicgardening.com/sweet-potato-vine/, live, Some ornamental varieties, like ‘Blackie’, flower more than others.WEB, Growing Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas) - Garden Design,www.gardendesign.com/vines/sweet-potato-vine.html, 15 October 2021, GardenDesign.com, 21 October 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211021155018/https://www.gardendesign.com/vines/sweet-potato-vine.html, live, These ornamental cultivars are not poisonous, and although the leaves are edible, the tubers do not have a good taste.WEB, Ipomoea batatas (Edible Sweetpotato, Ornamental Sweetpotato, Sweetpotato, Sweetpotato Vine, Water Spinach),plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ipomoea-batatas/, 15 October 2021, North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 27 October 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211027181921/https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ipomoea-batatas/, live, WEB, 14 August 2020, Are Ornamental Sweet Potatoes Edible? {{!, Gardener’s Path|url=https://gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/ornamental-sweet-potatoes-edible/|access-date=15 October 2021|website=Gardener’s Path|language=en-US|archive-date=26 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026204844gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/ornamental-sweet-potatoes-edible/|url-status=live}}{{clear}}

See also

• Ipomoea aquatica (kangkong), another edible member of the morning glory family
• List of sweet potato dishes

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{EB1911 poster|Sweet Potato}}{{Wiktionary|Sweet potato}}{{Commons|Sweet potato}}{{cookbook|Sweet Potato}}

• WEB,www.fao.org/WAIRdocs/x5425e/x5425e0d.htm, FAO Leaflet 13, 1990, Sweet Potato, fao.org, 21 June 2007, 17 December 2014,www.fao.org/WAIRdocs/x5425e/x5425e0d.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20141217125322www.fao.org/WAIRdocs/x5425e/x5425e0d.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20141217125322www.fao.org/WAIRdocs/x5425e/x5425e0d.htm, dead,

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