Tips For Cooking Sweet Potatoes

O

oldfriend

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I just started including Japanese sweet potatoes in my diet and am looking for some feedback to make this a more efficient & consistent staple in my diet.
It appears that baked is more digestible than boiled, and also makes it easier to eat a large volume in one sitting. I’m not too sure about the mechanics of this, but baking purportedly doubles the glycemic index which probably means more starch is broken down?
The only problem is that baking them takes a long time, seemingly longer than the orange variety.
Anyone have any tips for baking sweet potatoes? Is it better to peel and slice them or do they cook better with the skins on? Would pressure or slow cooking them work the same or better? Foil?
 

brix

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Feb 14, 2017
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733
I just started including Japanese sweet potatoes in my diet and am looking for some feedback to make this a more efficient & consistent staple in my diet.
It appears that baked is more digestible than boiled, and also makes it easier to eat a large volume in one sitting. I’m not too sure about the mechanics of this, but baking purportedly doubles the glycemic index which probably means more starch is broken down?
The only problem is that baking them takes a long time, seemingly longer than the orange variety.
Anyone have any tips for baking sweet potatoes? Is it better to peel and slice them or do they cook better with the skins on? Would pressure or slow cooking them work the same or better? Foil?

The best way to cook any potato is to par-boil them for 8-10 minutes, then bake 400 for 40-60 minutes depending..
 

Kingpinguin

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Aug 14, 2019
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586
I just started including Japanese sweet potatoes in my diet and am looking for some feedback to make this a more efficient & consistent staple in my diet.
It appears that baked is more digestible than boiled, and also makes it easier to eat a large volume in one sitting. I’m not too sure about the mechanics of this, but baking purportedly doubles the glycemic index which probably means more starch is broken down?
The only problem is that baking them takes a long time, seemingly longer than the orange variety.
Anyone have any tips for baking sweet potatoes? Is it better to peel and slice them or do they cook better with the skins on? Would pressure or slow cooking them work the same or better? Foil?

just poke some holes in it stick it in the microwave for 10-15 minutes. Then cut the skin open. Salt, butter or creme fraiche with some herbs. Fast, simple and delicious.
 

Barry

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Sep 25, 2019
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I cook them whole with the skins on, in an instant pot, and they come out perfectly every time. But it seems like an expensive way to get your carbs. Why not just eat white rice with sugar?
 

olive

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May 17, 2018
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Peel, slice thickly, lay on tray lined with baking paper, salt heavily on both sides, place in middle oven rack at 180deg C fan forced for 40-60 minutes. Should be extremely soft inside each slice when you pull them out. Top with honey or mash and drop into tomato puree. Better digested mixed with fructose in my experience.

I cook them whole with the skins on, in an instant pot, and they come out perfectly every time. But it seems like an expensive way to get your carbs. Why not just eat white rice with sugar?
Micronutrients. Rice and sugar are largely lacking in micronutrients, with those as staples of the diet you'll quickly run into micronutrient deficiencies.
 

tara

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I like them both sliced and baked in a little coconut oil till soft, or baked whole, or chopped and boiled in soup with leeks and other veges (and meat/stock).
 
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Fried with palm oil and garlic.
 

ExCarniv

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Peel, slice thickly, lay on tray lined with baking paper, salt heavily on both sides, place in middle oven rack at 180deg C fan forced for 40-60 minutes. Should be extremely soft inside each slice when you pull them out. Top with honey or mash and drop into tomato puree. Better digested mixed with fructose in my experience.


Micronutrients. Rice and sugar are largely lacking in micronutrients, with those as staples of the diet you'll quickly run into micronutrient deficiencies.

Mashed sweet potatoes with tomato puree? Never tried that, and seems like a very nutrient dense meal.
 

Waremu

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I mostly just boil my sweet potatoes. I think it makes the starch safer to consume when boiled vs cooked, but probably not the biggest deal. I just make sure to drink the liquid it is boiled in, as many nutrients are in it and you lose some by throwing it out. The liquid I boil the potatoes in is quite sweet and pleasant, almost like a crossover between a juice and a thick tea. I’ve been making mashed sweet potato curry lately with purple or white sweet potatoes. Really loving it. I just boil them then switch them to the frying pan to fry with whatever protein source I eat with it. Definitely worth a try for anyone who loves curry-type food. I’ll usually have a couple ounces of orange juice concentrate or a cup of fresh OJ with it as the fructose helps with the glucose absorption from the sweet potatoes and Vitamin C pairs well with the copper in the sweet potatoes. And the Oj/Vitamin C of course helps with Endotoxin from meals.
 
OP
O

oldfriend

Guest
Peel, slice thickly, lay on tray lined with baking paper, salt heavily on both sides, place in middle oven rack at 180deg C fan forced for 40-60 minutes. Should be extremely soft inside each slice when you pull them out. Top with honey or mash and drop into tomato puree. Better digested mixed with fructose in my experience.
I tried this way today, you must have meant wrapped in baking paper, because they all dried out. Also what do you mean ‘fan forced’? You talking convection oven?
 
OP
O

oldfriend

Guest
I cook them whole with the skins on, in an instant pot, and they come out perfectly every time. But it seems like an expensive way to get your carbs. Why not just eat white rice with sugar?
How long do you do them in the instant pot? Foil wrapped or not? Steam basket and a little water?
 

YamnayaMommy

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Sep 18, 2019
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Simplest way is just to wrap in foil and put in a over for about an hour, and then leave in still hot but turned off oven for a few mod hours.

They get creamy and special. The purple and white sweet potatoes are like eating birthday cake. My seven-month-old baby stuffs his face with them.

But it’s only a convenient method if you’re home and around and can do largely unattended “background” cooking in advance.
 
OP
O

oldfriend

Guest
Simplest way is just to wrap in foil and put in a over for about an hour, and then leave in still hot but turned off oven for a few mod hours.

They get creamy and special. The purple and white sweet potatoes are like eating birthday cake. My seven-month-old baby stuffs his face with them.

But it’s only a convenient method if you’re home and around and can do largely unattended “background” cooking in advance.
Thank you. This has been the best method I’ve tried so far. It’s like the starch just disappears. Very easy to eat tons of this stuff. The first day all potatoes came out perfect. 2nd day I did twice as many and used the middle rack instead of the bottom so results weren’t the same. Will have to experiment some more but I think this is definitely the way to go.
 
OP
O

oldfriend

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You can cook them slowly / keep the temp in a specific zone and it will increase maltose formation from starch.
Food Science: Why Sweet Potatoes Are Sweet
Ahhh. So perhaps the step of wrapping them in foil and leaving them in the oven for a few hours after baking is critical. I took the 2nd batch out early, and probably interrupted the enzyme process. Did a third batch this evening and left them in for about 3 hours. They came out perfect again.
 

YamnayaMommy

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Yeah. The caramelizing process or whatever is going on happens after they’ve been left in there for a while. I discovered this method by mistake, after forgetting I had baked potatoes in the oven.
 

Literally

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It's an enzymatic process, but yeah. Other key is not to exceed the temp that destroys the enzyme.
 
OP
O

oldfriend

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It's an enzymatic process, but yeah. Other key is not to exceed the temp that destroys the enzyme.
Enzymatic process, Literally thanks. I don’t know about the temperature, all I know is that YamnayaMommy’s method works, which leads me to believe the enzyme is not destroyed.
 
OP
O

oldfriend

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That's 275-338F
Well there are several variables / possible explanations here. The foil acts as an insulator, as does the potato itself. The potatoes from the 2nd batch were still starchy in the center. Perhaps the enzyme is still active there, and when allowed to ‘incubate’ in the residual heat for several hours, the enzyme gets to work. The foil also traps in moisture which might facilitate the action of that enzyme on the whole potato during this process. No idea, I just know it works and is pretty hassle free if you have the time.
 
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