Sweet Potato: The Root of Humanity
Are you looking for a sweet, wholesome, and humble soulmate to spend time with? Are you a potato lover? Look no further than the sweet potato . Sure, it’s a little rough around the edges and technically doesn’t qualify as a “person” or a mere potato, but rest assured that this hearty root vegetable has been connecting cultures and sustaining civilizations for ages.
Native to Central and South America, the sweet potato ( Ipomoea batata ) thrives in tropical and warm temperate regions. It has evolved to become the most efficient staple food in terms of calorie yield per area of land. The large tuberous root of this plant acts as an energy store to help it survive under stressful conditions . As a result, the edible root is extremely rich in nutrients, making it a true superfood . In addition to the starchy root, which can be easily roasted, boiled, fried or pureed for both sweet and savory dishes , the plant's shoots and leaves can also sometimes be eaten as greens.
Sweet Potato, Rooted in Adventure
While this gift of nature can easily be praised for its taste and nutritional value alone, a quick look at the history of the sweet potato can help us appreciate the important role this humble root vegetable has played over the past two thousand years. Originally cultivated by indigenous peoples of Central and South America, sweet potatoes entered the European diet after being discovered by Christopher Columbus in the late 15th century.
However, almost 300 years later, Captain Cook rediscovered the sweet potato crop on several Polynesian islands, where it had been cultivated for centuries. An important question arose that would confound botanists, historians and anthropologists for decades: how did this plant cross thousands of miles of ocean and establish itself on the remote and uninhabited islands of Polynesia?
One clue that sweet potatoes were transported by people across continents is the similarity between the sound of the Quechua word for sweet potato , Cumar , and its Maori equivalent, Kumara . In this scenario, ancient sailors traveled thousands of miles using only stars, clouds, waves, birds, and floating leaves as clues to their path. In 1947, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl proved that this was possible when he set out on the Kon-Tiki expedition, sailing from South America on a hand-made raft to Polynesia three months later.
Thanks to a genomic study published in the journal Nature two years ago, there is now genetic evidence that Polynesians made contact with Native Americans long before any Europeans did. And what is the one thing we know that both civilizations considered valuable enough to trade? That's right, sweet potatoes . And they were so right!
More than just Sweet
From an agricultural perspective, sweet potatoes are a very easy crop to grow. Instead of seeds, the sweet potato plant can be grown from stem cuttings that quickly develop into broad, edible leaves that cover the ground, suppressing the underlying weeds. It is no surprise that it quickly became a staple of every crop it crossed paths with, and even earned its own place in Maori mythology . One Maori proverb in particular: “ The Kumara does not speak of his own sweetness ” is quite revealing of the plant’s many virtues, not least its nutritional value.
Benefits of sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes have a number of health benefits that set them apart from other starchy vegetables. Best known for their high content of carotenoids and anthocyanins, sweet potatoes are a great source of antioxidants. These pigments give the root its distinctive orange and purple colors, respectively, but they’re also great for neutralizing free radicals that lead to cognitive decline and memory loss. When digested, they’re converted into vitamin A, which plays a crucial role in improving night vision, maintaining healthy cell growth, and immune system function. In fact, one baked sweet potato contains more than your daily recommended dose of vitamin A, along with a good amount of vitamins C and B6.
Sweet potatoes also contain several minerals that regulate processes like hormone and red blood cell production, fluid regulation, bone growth, and nerve function. But perhaps the most notable benefit of this high-energy source is fiber. One sweet potato can contain about 15% of the daily value of both insoluble and soluble fiber. This supply of both types of fiber is crucial for promoting bowel regulation and maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. In fact, soluble fiber has been linked to a reduced risk of serious health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Behind the scenes
The person responsible for bringing these superpowers to our baskets is Daniela Policarpo . Daniela has been sharing her tasty sweet potatoes, pumpkins and spinach with Equal Food since the beginning. Since 2002, she has been growing delicious food locally at A Dos Cunhados in Torres Vedras, and we are so grateful to be able to help her reduce the amount that never makes it to our stomachs.
