The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a native American plant found by Columbus and his shipmates, probably from the West Indies islands off the coast of Yucatan and Honduras. In colonial days, George Washington grew sweet potatoes on his Virginia farm. Years later, George Washington Carver developed over 100 different products from sweet potatoes, including an alternative to corn syrup. During World War I, the USDA used sweet potato flour to stretch wheat flour in baked goods.
Despite its name, the sweet potato is not related to the potato. Sweet potatoes belong to the morning glory family, while potatoes are members of the Solanaceae family, which also includes tomatoes, red peppers and eggplant.
Despite a physical similarity, sweet potatoes and yams are not related either. Yams are actually related to grasses and lilies. Most yams marketed in the United States are sweet potatoes with a relatively moist texture and orange flesh. The native sweet potato is dry fleshed and pale yellow. When producers and shippers began growing orange-fleshed sweet potatoes in the southern United States, they needed to distinguish them from the lighter fleshed types. Although “sweet potato” and “yam” are generally used interchangeably, the USDA requires that sweet potatoes labeled “yam” always be accompanied by “sweet potato” to differentiate them from true yams. May 2008 . . . Sweet Potatoes
- Bright Harvest - Example of a large-scale producer offering semi-processed products.
- FarmPak Products Inc - This business was formed in 1969 to market sweet potatoes grown by Barnes Farming in North Carolina.
- International Potato Center (CIP).
- Kenya: Sweet Potato Production and Marketing, FAO, UN - Example of a well-analyzed production, postharvest and marketing system that discusses margins in the supply chain and consumption trends.
- Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission
- Mound Bayou Sweet Potatoes, MAC and Glory Foods, Ag Marketing Resource Center, Iowa State University, 2004 - Chronicles the formation of the Sweet Potato Growers Association.
- North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission
- Sweet Potato, Sustainable Practices for Vegetable Production in the South, North Carolina State University, 2001 - Various topics including history, use and postharvest information.
- Sweet Potato, Another American, Texas A&M University, 2000.
- Sweet Potatoes, LSU Ag Center, Louisiana State University.
- Sweet Potatoes, Vegetables and Melons Outlook, ERS, USDA, 2007.
Links checked February 2008.