As we indulged in delicious sweet potato & walnut pancakes this morning, I pondered

[Dover]

all the uses for the versatile sweet potato
as well as how I might grow, store and prepare
them if I added a small crop to my garden.
It is one of my favorite veggies and satisfies
my sweet tooth too. I was particularly
interested in how one makes sweet potato flour,
so I did some googling on that and came up with
this cool site. "Dang!", I thought to myself,
"these taters deserve their own thread". :

_____________________________________________________


HOW THE FARMER CAN SAVE HIS SWEET POTATOES
AND WAYS OF PREPARING THEM FOR THE TABLE

BY GEO. W. CARVER, M. S. AGR., D. Sc.
Director, Experiment Station, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE
Tuskegee Institute Press 1937

http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/recipes/sweetpotatoes.html

Here's a nibble from this page:


HOW TO MAKE SWEET POTATO FLOUR

There are several grades of this product and quite as many ways to manufacture them. Each one of these flours or meals (as most millers insist upon calling them) has a particular character of its own and is therefore, adapted to certain uses the other products are not.

These sweet potato flours are generally speaking of three kinds.

First: Those made from the uncooked potato.

Second: Those made from the cooked potato.

Third: Those made from a careful system of roasting, or from the starch making process. The first two will interest the housewife most so, therefore, I will dwell almost or quite exclusively on these.

FLOUR No. 1. FROM THE RAW POTATO

Here, all that is necessary is to wash, peel and slice the potatoes real thin, dry in the sun, oven or dryer until the pieces are quite brittle, grind very fine in a clean coffee mill, spice mill, or any type of mill that will make wheat flour or corn meal; bolt through fine cloth in the same way as for other flours.


The fine flour-like particles will pass through and the coarse granular meal left on the bolting cloths.

USES

This kind of flour is fine for making mock rye bread, ginger snaps, wafers, waffles, battercakes, custards, pies, etc. Bread can be made with it, but it makes a dough deficient in elasticity, bread dark in color and a loaf which dries out quickly.

The coarser meals can be cooked in a. great variety of ways and make very palatable dishes, they Are to be soaked in warm liquid (whatever is desired. to cook them in) when soft, proceed as for grated potatoes.

FLOUR No. 2. FROM COOKED POTATOES

For the making of this flour the potatoes are broiled, or steamed (preferably the latter) until done, sliced or granulated by mashing or running through a food chopper and dried until they become very brittle, they are made into flour and meal exactly the same as given for Flour No. 1.

USES

This kind of flour is especially fine for bread, cakes, pies, puddings, sauce, gravies, custards, etc.

Indeed, most people consider a loaf made in the proportion of one-third sweet potato flour to two-thirds wheat flour, superior in flavor and appearance to all wheat flour.

Many experiments have proven that either the mashed sweet potato or the sweet potato flour may be used in bread up to as high as 50%, but at this point it becomes decidedly potato-like in texture and flavor but not unplatable or unwholesome.

FLOUR No. 3. FROM PULP

The sugar and starch has been greatly reduced. This flour is made from the pulp after the starch has been removed, it is dried without cooking, ground and bolted exactly the same as recommended for the other flours.

When made into puddings, pies, blancmange, etc., the same as shredded cocoanut, it resembles it very much in taste and texture and is very palatable, and is a most welcome addition to the dietary.

It can also be used in the baking of bread and is especially valuable where people object to a loaf with the least bit of a sweet taste, also where they wish one with as little starch and sugar as possible.

__________________________________________________________




Sweet Potato Pancakes
can be made from fresh potatoes
or using sweet potato flour (or meal)
for a smooth texture.
You can also buy ready-made mixes.
They are great for breakfast, lunch,
dinner and dessert, easily combining
with all kinds of foods.
-------------------------------------



Here's one basic breakfast recipe, but
there are more variations on this theme than
can be listed here. This uses grated potatoes
for a more rustic texture (as seen in photos above):

4-6 servings
Time 20 minutes
Tools: grater or food processor
large bowl
wooden spoon
frying pan
spatula

Ingredients:
1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes or yams, peeled or scrubbed
Chopped walnuts or pecans
3-4 T lemon or apple juice
1 t salt
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 c flour
oil

Grate the sweet potatoes.
Put everything except the oil in the bowl and mix well.

Heat 1-2 t of oil until very hot.

Put some pancake mix on the frying pan and use the spatula to pat it down, forming a thin pancake.

Fry until brown, flip, and repeat, adding more oil as necessary.

These should be served hot, with butter, sour cream, yogurt, apple sauce, or your favorite sweet potato topping.

Bon Appetit!

[Blue Gardener]

1. I Love Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potato pie is better than pumpkin!

[Dover]

3. Me too! I think I could eat some version of those taters at every meal

and never tire of it. There are just so many ways to make them. I love to make
sw. pot. soup in the winter too. So I'd best learn how to grow them.

[Blue Gardener]

6. I grow ornamental sweet potatoes every year

I guess if I can grow those, I can grow the eatin' kind!

[asdjrocky]

2. I've been thinking about sweet potato's.

Even though they are not my favorite thing, the rest of the family likes them, and hell, I didn't like green beans until I grew my own.

I swear, I learn more here, and find more resources on gardening than anywhere else. Thanks!

[Dover]

4. I learn alot here too. I'll bet, because you aren't that fond of sweet potatoes

you haven't experimented with them much...like making breads, soups, pancakes, etc. You might surprise yourself! At the very least it's a great 'hidden' sweetner to use as a substitute for less
healthful choices. And kids usually LOVE LOVE LOVE the pancakes, breads, pies and cakes made with
them, and most anything else so long as they don't scream "VEGETABLE!". And they don't even know that they're eating something healthy. I even made sweet potato frozen popsicles one summer for a kids party and they were a big hit....except for that one kid.....sigh. (mash cooked potatoes really well, add vanilla/plain yogurt or milk or soy milk, a little apple juice and pumpkin spice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Texture is important so mix it till it's really smooth then freeze in cubes or a mold).

[asdjrocky]

7. I am convinced.

Next season, sweet potato is in my garden.

[jillan]

5. Bookmarking this thread.

Next season I will plant potatoes, including sweet potatoes.

:thumbsup:

[K8-EEE]

8. Will this grow in SoCA?

I never thought about it much but nobody seems to grow them here.....this thread is DELICIOUS!!!

[Dover]

9. I think you can. They like warm weather. Check this out >

The Sweet Potato Council of California
http://www.cayam.com/

And this site talks about how to grow them in different parts of the country:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/allaboutsweetpotatoe

And from Wikipedia:

In the U.S., North Carolina, the leading state in sweet potato production, provided 38.5% of the 2007 U.S. production of sweet potatoes. California, Louisiana, and Mississippi compete closely with each other in production. Louisiana has been a long-time major producer, once second only to North Carolina, and closely followed by California until the latter began surpassing it in 2002. In 2007, California produced 23%, Louisiana 15.9%, and Mississippi 19% of the U.S. total. <5> <6>

Opelousas, Louisiana's Yambilee has been celebrated every October since 1946. The Frenchmen who established the first settlement at Opelousas in 1760 discovered the native Attakapas, Alabama, Choctaw, and Opelousas Indian Tribes eating sweet potatoes. The sweet potato became a favorite food item of the French and Spanish settlers and thus continued a long history of cultivation in Louisiana.<7>

Mississippi is also a major sweet potato producing state, with about 150 farmers presently growing sweet potatoes on approximately 8,200 acres (33 km²) and contributing $19 million dollars to the state's economy. Mississippi's top five sweet potato producing counties are Calhoun, Chickasaw, Pontotoc, Yalobusha, and Panola. The National Sweet Potato Festival is held annually the entire first week in November in Vardaman (Calhoun County), which proclaims itself as "The Sweet Potato Capital".

The town of Benton, Kentucky celebrates the sweet potato annually with its Tater Day Festival on the first Monday of April. The town of Gleason, Tennessee celebrates the sweet potato on Labor Day weekend with its Tater Town Special.


Cultivation

The plant does not enjoy frost. It grows best at an average temperature of 24 °C (75 °F), abundant sunshine and warm nights. Annual rainfalls of 750-1000 mm are considered most suitable, with a minimum of 500 mm in the growing season. The crop is sensitive to drought at the tuber initiation stage 50-60 days after planting and is not tolerant to water-logging, as it may cause tuber rots and reduce growth of storage roots if aeration is poor (Ahn, 1993).

Depending 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 northern United States. 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 roots called "slips" that grow out from the tuberous roots during storage. True seeds are used for breeding only.

Under optimal conditions of 85 to 90 % relative humidity at 13 to 16 °C (55 to 61 °F), sweet potatoes can keep for six months. Colder temperatures injure the roots.

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 favourable for the plant (Woolfe, 1992; Ahn, 1993). They can be grown in poor soils with little fertilizer. However, sweet potatoes are very sensitive to aluminium toxicity and will die about 6 weeks after planting if lime is not applied at planting in this type of soil (Woolfe, 1992). 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, and farmers can devote time to other crops. 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 frosts set in.

Cont'd

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato

[Dover]

10. Nutritional Comparison

Wow, I didn't realize just how healthy they are for us:

See Chart Here - http://www.cayam.com/whatis_nutricomp.shtml


Even the leaves can be eaten (Wikipedia):

Sweet potato leaves are a common side dish in Taiwanese cuisine, often boiled with garlic and vegetable oil and dashed with salt before serving. They are commonly found at bento (POJ: piān-tong) restaurants, as well as dishes featuring the sweet potato root.

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 (Abidin, 2004). 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.

[Dover]

11. Growing Sweet Potato Slips

Growing Sweet Potato Slips

August 25, 2007
Submitted by: James Burns

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Growing sweet potato slips is a mystery to many people, and at one time, seemed to have "well guarded secret" status. Well, take it from an old farm boy, it isn't all that complicated, and it can be very rewarding, in many ways!

I. Materials:

A. A growing area. You will need a raised bed 4 to 6 feet wide, and a length that you will determine by the number of plants you want to produce. A bushel will need about 10 or 12 square feet of bed space. An acre of sweet potatoes can yield up to 300 bushels if properly fertilized and irrigated, which will probably be a little more than a home gardener will want to produce. It usually takes 5 or 6 bushels to produce slips for an acre of potatoes, so you will want to scale it down according to your needs.

B. Sweet potatoes 1 to 3 inches, and having no rotten or diseased areas on them.

C. Enough roofing felt or black plastic to cover the bed.

D. Enough sand to cover your entire bed about 2 inches deep.

II. Tools:

A. Whatever you want to use to cover and smooth the bed. A shovel and rake will work.

B. Whatever you choose to cut the felt or plastic to the proper dimensions. A knife or scissors will do the trick.

III. Method:

A. We will be laying the sweet potatoes out, keeping them separated by an inch or two.

B. The felt or black plastic is for providing top heat to encourage the plants to sprout.

IV. The Process: A. Lay the sweet potatoes out on the bed, separate from each other. space them evenly over the bed.

B. Cover them with about two inches of sand or good soil.

C. Water them moderately.

D. Cover them with the felt or plastic.

E. Anchor the plastic or felt along the edges and ends, and a few places in the center by using the sand, or you can use large grass staples if they will hold.

F. Water the plant bed periodically if needed, cover can be removed after the plants start to emerge, and if weather conditions allow. If you expect severe cold, leave it in place.

G. Plants should be pulled when the reach about 8 inches. By the time they reach that stage, they should have a pretty good compliment of roots. They will not all mature at the same time.

V. Follow Up Plant them out by hand, or ride on a potato setter. If you have never done this you should give it a try for a few days at a time!

Note: Digging the potatoes is the fun part, if you like back breaking labor, after you get them out of the ground, store them with lots of good ventilation for a while so they can "cure." Store them in a cool, dry well ventilated place.

Seed Potatoes: You can save seed potatoes from the crop for next years planting. Choose some from "hills" that have several high quality potatoes, and store in a well ventilated box or bag, in a dark room with moderate temperature. Do not wash before storage.

Window Sill Science: If you set a sweet potato in a glass of water, it will sprout at the eyes, and produce a nice decorative piece for your window sill. It is also a good way to show children a little something they don't get to see in nature. There are several varieties of sweet potatoes sold in the landscape business, as decorative vines.