At a recent professional development conference for the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in Raleigh, North Carolina I was able to take part in an in-depth tour of a family operated produce farm in Princeton, North Carolina. While I attended many great sessions at the conference, it was a tour “Locally Sweet: Understanding Local in a Global Food Market” that I told everyone about when I returned to Ohio. We were fortunate to have a tour of the Kornegay Family Farms & Produce facility by Kim Kornegy LaQuire. At this multigeneration operated family farm they grow sweetpotatoes, watermelon, corn, soybeans, cotton, wheat, and butternut squash on 6,000 acres. Kim told us that she is a farmer “who sits behind a desk.” She runs the farm’s human resources, payroll, labor compliance, public relations, and food safety programs. Her brother does more of the physical farming labor.
If you are questioning my use of “sweetpotato” It is not a misspelling. According to the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commision, sweetpotato is one word. Sweetpotatoes are native to the Americas and different from yams. Yams are typically imported from Africa and have a white flesh. Sweetpotatoes can be a variety of colors including the typical orange to yellow, white, or even purple. Both vegetables can vary in size, but yams have been known to grow much larger – up to 100 pounds even.
North Carolina produces more than 65% of the nation’s sweetpotatoes. The farm I toured distributes sweetpotatoes globally across the United States, to Canada, and even Europe. The conference I attended was in September – during sweetpotato harvest, which lasts from early-September to the end of October. Sweetpotatoes are harvested by using special equipment that slides under the potatoes in the ground and pulls them to the surface. They are then gathered by hand into buckets, then dumped into large 
crates for transport and storage. Sweetpotatoes are cured after harvest and often stored for up to a year in huge climate-controlled storage buildings. When it is time to pack them in boxes for distribution, the potatoes are washed, sorted for quality, and packed into large 40-pound box for shipping. Unusual shaped, large, or small sweetpotatoes are sent to facilities where they are canned or turned into fries or even tater tots. Slightly damaged sweetpotatoes will become food for livestock.
The ideal sweetpotato can fit easily into your hand. One cup of cubed sweetpotato contains 114 calories; 12% of the daily recommendation of potassium; 27 grams of carbohydrate; 4 grams of fiber; Vitamins B6, C, A; and magnesium. After selecting your perfect sweetpotato from the garden, farmers market, or grocery – store them in a cool, dry place for the best quality. Avoid storing in the refrigerator where they will develop a hard core and bad taste. Sweetpotatoes are very versatile and can actually even be eaten raw like a carrot stick. My favorite uses are cubed in my chili or taco meat (just try it – it gives a sweet taste and cuts the acid of too much tomato), roasted, or as a cranberry sweetpotato bake that I will show below. My whole family requests this dish for holidays, over the marshmallow or sugar topped versions. I typically cut everything up for it the night before, and then place it all in a slow cooker first thing in the morning. Frees up oven space that is a premium. For other sweetpotato recipes check out https://ncsweetpotatoes.com/recipes/ where the options are almost limitless.
Writer: Lisa Barlage, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Ross County.
Reviewer: Misty Harmon, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Perry County.
Sources:
The North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission, https://ncsweetpotatoes.com/.
Kornegay Family Farms & Produce, https://kornegayfamilyproduce.com/.
Much to Discover About North Carolina’s “Dirty Candy”, Coshocton Tribune, E. Marrison, https://www.coshoctontribune.com/story/news/local/coshocton-county/2022/09/25/much-to-discover-about-north-carolinas-dirty-candy/69509036007/.
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