Some Trivia on Sweet Potatoes

The sweet potato is the 6th principal world food crop, and approximately 90 percent of the worlds' crop is grown in Asia.
Vardaman, Mississippi claims to be the Sweet Potato Capital of the World.
1. 6 billion pounds of sweet potatoes were produced in the U.S. in 2003.

2. North Carolina (588 million pounds) produced more than any other state.

3. It was followed by Louisiana and California (each with about 310 million pounds), and Mississippi (238 million pounds).US Census Bureau, October 2004

4. In 2004, 98,300 acres of sweet potatoes were planted in the U.S.

5. In 2004, approximately 4.2 pounds of sweet potatoes per capita were consumed annually in the U.S.

6. In 1943, per capita consumption was 21.7 pounds.Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission http://www.sweetpotato.org/

Despite a physical similarity and a frequent confusion with their names, yams and sweet potatoes are not even distantly related. They are in two different botanical families. Yams are actually related to grasses and lilies.

Although sweet potatoes are harvested in August through October, they are available in supermarkets all year. Many stores feature them at Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are two varieties of sweet potatoes; the pale yellow with a dry flesh and the dark orange with a moist flesh. The dark orange variety is plumper in shape and somewhat sweeter than the yellow variety.