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Sweet Potato
Scientific Name: Ipomea batatas
Family:
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The origin of the Sweet potato (Ipmea batatas) causes some confusion. The sweet potato is commonly known in Italy as "American potato," but is not related in any way to the true potato. This name was given to it when Columbus brought it back from America to Europe. However, it cannot be stated definitely that the sweet potato is native to America because some authorities maintain that Asia, where it was extensively cultivated before arriving in Europe, is its true place of origin. Whether American or Asiatic, the sweet potato is a plant of nutritional interest, as it can sometimes substitute for the common potato, with which it shares some properties, such as the high percentage of starch. Although in Europe its use is limited, in some regions of Asia, in particular Indochina, the sweet potato is one of the most important crops from the economic point of view. In the United States it has wide use as a vegetable, cooked, in the same way as yams. It is often featured a lot in Creole cookery, where it is made into cakes and sweet soufflés. [Bianchini, Francesco, Corbetta, Francesco, Pistoia, Marilena, The Complete Book of Fruits and Vegetables, United States Translation: Crown Publishers, New York, 1976; Originally published in Italy as I Frutti della Terra, Arnoldo Mondadori Publisher, Italy, 1973]