Like purple carrots or blood oranges, purple sweet potatoes
are
more healthy, less common and more expensive than their more
conventionally hued cousins. There are six chief
varieties of purple sweet potatoes: Batas, Japanese
Purple, Korean
Purple, Mokuau, Okinawan and Stokes Purple. All are rich in antioxidants and more
flavorful than your run-of-the-mill sweet potato.
Like blueberries and cranberries, purple sweet
potatoes contain antixodiant/pigments known as anthocyanins such as peonidins and cyanidins. Purple sweet potatoes may have more than three
times as many antioxidants than some blueberries!
Look for them in farmer's markets or your local Asian or health food
store. Pick ones that are firm and without blemishes. You may pay
as much as ten dollars for two potatoes, but they are worth the cost
for the taste alone if you don't care about the health
benefits. Store them the same way you would any other type of potato:
in a cool, dark, dry place (below 60 degrees F).
The easiest
way to prepare them is to roast them in a hot oven oven (over 400
degrees F) and bake for forty to sixty minutes. You'll know they're
done when you can stick a fork in 'em.
Sources:
& experience