Featured Fruit Product: Sweet potato puree

Sweet potatoes are native to Central America, but can now be sourced globally. Native Americans were growing sweet potatoes when Columbus arrived in 1492. Sweet potatoes were the main source of nourishment for early US homesteaders and for soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Sweet potatoes are often confused with yams, but yams are large, starchy roots grown in Africa and Asia and the two are not even closely related.

These tuberous roots are among the most nutritious foods in the vegetable kingdom. They are packed with calcium, potassium, and vitamins A and C. This is why one colonial physician called them the "vegetable indispensable." Sweet potatoes are often confused with yams, but yams are large, starchy roots grown in Africa and Asia.

Despite the "sweet" potato name, it is a product beneficial to diabetics. Preliminary studies show that it may help stabilize blood sugars and lower insulin resistance. Sweet potatoes have almost four times the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, 42 percent of the recommendation for vitamin C, four times the RDA for beta carotene, and, when eaten with the skin, they have more fiber than oatmeal. All these health benefits and only about 130 to 160 calories.

Nutritional Information:

• Vitamin A (400% of your daily value)
• Vitamin C
• Manganese
• Copper
• Dietary Fiber
• Vitamin B6
• Potassium
• Iron

They grow well in many farming conditions and have few natural enemies; pesticides are rarely needed. They 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. They can be grown in poor soils with little fertilizer. However, these vegetables 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. Because they are sown by vine cuttings rather than seeds, they 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 they are most often grown on larger farms and are harvested before frosts set in.

They are commercially processed into puree and juice concentrate as a standard ingredient. Encore has developed certified supplies of puree from sweet potatoes for the food, beverage, and supplement industries. Our puree is a sweet, mild tasting and versatile vegetable ingredient that makes a great base for blended mixed fruit and vegetable juices, or as a high fiber vegetable ingredient in dairy, confections or baked goods. Enhance your product's vegetable content for 5 A DAY fruit and vegetable claims using puree from sweet potatoes.