Cold sweetening in potatoes

[stuckmotor]

The sweet potatoes I 've bought and baked this fall have not been sweet, the ones I baked late last winter were. In an effort to find a solution to the problem, I did a search and found there's an undesirable trait in "white" potatoes that they get in cold storage called cold induced sweetening. What Causes Cold Sweetening: Learn About Cold Sweetened Potatoes
My question is this:
Have any of you found a way to bring out the natural sweetness in "yellow/orange" sweet potatoes? I have three in the fridge now and intend to bake one a week to see if that helps.

 

[oosik]

Huh!!! Learn something new every day. I've never had a sweet potato that wasn't sweet.

 

[stuckmotor]

Huh!!! Learn something new every day. I've never had a sweet potato that wasn't sweet.

Maybe I should have said "not as sweet as my memory of last year's potatoes". I threw the last bag out and the jury's not in yet on the bag I started today.

 

[oosik]

A variety that may be naturally less sweet??? I've got sweet potatoes from a local farmer. Straight out of the ground - sweet as ever.

However - one year my two types of squash - butternut & acorn - were cross pollinated. They were an odd looking crop of squash but tasted great.

 

[ericm979]

Sweet potatoes need to be cured in order to be sweet. They need to be warm and humid for a period after harvest. If the climate and weather are right that may happen naturally, or you may need to do it artificially.

 

[ponytug]

The sweet potatoes I 've bought and baked this fall have not been sweet, the ones I baked late last winter were. In an effort to find a solution to the problem, I did a search and found there's an undesirable trait in "white" potatoes that they get in cold storage called cold induced sweetening. What Causes Cold Sweetening: Learn About Cold Sweetened Potatoes
My question is this:
Have any of you found a way to bring out the natural sweetness in "yellow/orange" sweet potatoes? I have three in the fridge now and intend to bake one a week to see if that helps.

I would try a different grocer, and or supplier.

There are more than a few cultivars of sweet potatoes and the sweetness and flavor are all over the map, even if they were harvested at peak ripeness, which isn't always possible. In general, sweet potatoes are not as easy to store, nor as stable as other "true" potatoes, so more of the crop gets harvested and shipped to consumers.

Cold sweetening won't be happening for awhile in normal potatoes, and large producers know how to cold store normal potatoes to keep it from happening.

My favorite sweet potatoes are Okinawan purple sweet potatoes. Flavorful, filling, and just plain delicious. (But hard to find, as not all purple potatoes are Okinawan purple sweet potatoes.)

All the best,

Peter

 

[stuckmotor]

Thanks guys. You've taught me more about sweet potatoes than I ever knew. It must have been luck that I got excellent ones last year. I'll try a different store.