Just recently on my drive to work I noticed all the Fall and Halloween decorations that have been put up (which I LOVE) and think it's a beautiful way of saying "Welcome Fall to Johnston County!" There are other things, besides decorations, around Johnston County that show that the Fall season has arrived...Fall Festivals! Football! Humidity Relief! Smell of Burning Fires! And especially...Sweet Potatoes!
I love sweet potatoes. Being one of my favorite vegetables, I get excited when this time of year finally arrives! Johnston County is known for the amount of sweet potatoes it produces and now that it is harvesting time, I decided to do some research on this tasty vegetable and here are some facts I discovered.
- North Carolina is the #1 producer of sweet potatoes in the United States and Johnston County is in the top 3 of all the counties in the state.
- It became North Carolina's official state vegetable in 1995.
- They prefer sandy soil and temperate climate to grow in.
- Sweet Potatoes can be white, yellow, red, purple, or orange.
- One of the most versatile vegetables, can be eaten raw, steamed, boiled, microwaved, fried, baked, candied, etc.
- To take in the amount of Vitamin A that is in one sweet potato, you would have to eat 23 cups of broccoli.
Now on to the best thing about sweet potatoes...cooking them! To help you get started on sweet potato recipes, we will start with the basics. Here is a list of ways to cook them, from baking to fried to roasted. All of them are easy and a great way to start simple.
For more sweet potato recipes and local places to get your sweet potatoes click here. We are also always adding new recipes to our pinterest page so go ahead and start following us. You won't regret it.
