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Any way to make sweet potatoes less sweet?


kimberj

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Normally at Thanksgiving I have one bite of yam or sweet potatoe to remind myself why I don't like them. I know it's kind of a cornerstone nutrition wise. Last time I fed it to my family (who love em) I sliced it up and baked it like french fries with a healthy dose of garlic powder and black pepper... and it tasted like a garlic, black pepper sweet stick. :wacko: If I cook it and make mashed potatoes, does that change the sweetness factor at all? I don't think I've ever had a plain yam - are they as sweet as s.p.? I'm about ready to drown it in chili peppers to get it down. :(

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No sense is choking down sweet potatoes if you don't like them! I am fortunate that I do enjoy them. I like to slice them, roast in coconut oil with just salt.

Try other starchy veggies, such as butternut squash, pumpkin, or my favorite, plantains!

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I've discovered I love them grated and cooked in ghee as hash browns, sometimes with zucchini and onions. When I make sweet potato fries, I toss them with chili powder and cumin; and I eat them baked and topped with avocado and hemp seeds. Granted, I pretty much love them anyway, but these are some ideas to make them more savory.

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thanks for the replies! I haven't explored plantains...it's like a tough banana, right? and I will search for white sweet potatoes (and use squash too. I wonder if there's a way to cook them without it turning into mush... ) thanks!

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Make them more spicy to cut the sweetness! I peel them and cube them up. Put them in a big bowl with your choice of fat (melted into liquid), garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes and salt. Mix them up well, then turn them out onto a parchment lined (or not-I hate to scrub) cookie sheet and put them into a cold oven. Turn oven on to 400 degrees and bake about 45 minutes. If you crowd too many onto the cookie sheet, they won't get as crunchy.

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thanks for the replies! I haven't explored plantains...it's like a tough banana, right? and I will search for white sweet potatoes (and use squash too. I wonder if there's a way to cook them without it turning into mush... ) thanks!

Try parsnips, too; the fiancé and I have been enjoying them at brekky diced up like hash browns, then sautéed in coconut oil with garlic powder, cayenne, and cumin. Nom!

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From my experience there are normally 4 types of sweet potato/yams found in US supermarkets/green grocers/farmers markets.

1. The garnet yam - is really dark orange in colour, and a deeper orange skin. This is the really, really sweet one, that are on most thanksgiving dinner menus (although I'm still trying to get my Australian head around why anyone needs to add brown sugar & marshmallows to sweet sweet potato - prior to whole30 of course!)

2. The Jewel yam - is still orange in colour, but more of a browner colored skin. Not as sweet, but still a sweet potato.

3. The Japanese yam - has purple skin, but white flesh. I personally find these really starchy, not sweat all.

4. The Hannah yam - which looks like a white potato, but in the traditional sweet potato shape. These are NOT sweet or overly starchy, & are my favourite to make sweet potato fries in the oven, as they seem to crisp up / brown better than all the other types.

Hope that helps

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I like adding smoked paprika, garlic and cayenne to my sweet potatoes.

Marshmallows and brown sugar are usually for sweet potato souffles, southern tradition. I grew up with it and it was on every Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner table. My Mom didn't use marshmallows but instead sprinkled the top with pecans instead.

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If you like the taste of sweet potatoes, but just want them to be more savory, you might try something I've been doing for ages (I think I got this from Mollie Katzen originally). Roast the sweet potato, mash it up, add the juice of 1/2 a lime, and blend it all together. It's wonderfully fresh and very different.

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