Remove Sweetness from Sweet Potatoes

[sarge_13]

What's up everyone? I've been avoiding high glycemic foods for the past couple of years, and not being able to eat potatoes is killing me!

I tried sweet potatoes but they're just WAY too sweet for me. Is there anyway I can remove that sweetness? I'm getting bored with the food I'm eating, I want to make some mashed "sweet" potatoes and smother them with gravy haha. Can anyone help?

Thanks!

 

[Robo410]

I enjoy a baked sweet potato with balsamic vinegar salt ans pepper. THis makes it much more savory and very delish.

 

[sarge_13]

I just read that cider vinegar might help help reduce sweetness. Would balsamic or cider vinegar work best if I mashed them? How much would I use and how would I prepare it?

I might add some lowfat cheese or cream cheese to them as well. Not sure how it'd taste but that sweetness has to go.

 

[Selkie]

Potatoes are made of starch, which, beginning with our saliva, turns starch into sugar. It's the nature of our digestive chemistry to convert certain types of foods into fats and sugars for storage in our body... and potato starch is one of them.

Now, as to whether you can mask the flavor of the sweetness, I'm certain some of that can be accomplished by previous suggestions, such as the use of vinegar or extreme saltiness to name just two. And some people are more sensitive to sweet things than others. It's a genetic kind of thing. But actually doing away with the sweet/sugar starch flavor that you object to, isn't going to happen... IMHO.

 

[pacanis]

Just to say, I love potatoes, but sweet potatoes ain't one of them. I've tried baked and fried and they are too sweet for me, also. They are one of those foods I've tried to like, but can't get past the texture and sweetness combination.

 

[Claire]

Oh, how funny! I've always wondered why people add sugar (or honey, or whatever) to a root that is plenty sweet.

I have very thinly sliced them (often other kinds of potatoes as well) along with onions and garlic, tossed in olive oil and your favorite seasonings, spread thinly on a baking sheet (or even, more prettily, on a glass pie or quiche pan in coincentric circles), then bake. Nice and crispy, and not too sweet.

Bake a sweet potato as you would any (little longer, they're more fibrous). When ready, cut open, use whatever butter/margarine you like, then some (depending upon your dietary needs), yogurt, sour cream, ranch dressing (I find most bottled too sweet for my taste, so make my own using yogurt or buttermilk and mayo and herbs, dry in winter, fresh in summer). The sour-ness of the buttermilk/sour cream/creme fraiche/ yogurt really works with the sweet potato.

On top of that I read once that a meal of a baked sweet potato and glass of buttermilk is one of the cheapest, most nutritious meals there is. So make your own buttermilk or yogurt dressing. The tart will go great with the sweet and you have a highly nutritious meal. So either would be good to counter a mashed sweet potato.

I'm bad with temps and times, I always refer back to good old Joy for those basics.

 

[Andy M.]

Yellow flesh sweet potatoes and not as sweet as orange fleshed sweet potatoes. Perhaps you could try them instead.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Make yourself some sweet potato fries, and dip them in Kraft Chipotle mayonnaise instead of ketchup. The roasted jalopy pepper flavor will negate a lot of their sweetness.

 

[sarge_13]

Haha man I love that Kraft Chipotle mayo.

Well I'll try the vinegar thing and I have a pretty high tolerance for salt so I'll go heavy on that. Maybe I'll sneak in a regular potato with the other sweet potatoes to kind of spread out all that sweetness.

Worst case I'll pile on the low fat cheese or sour cream and salt to just hide the sweetness.

 

[merstar]

Cut them in wedges, toss them in extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, Cajun seasoning, cumin powder..., and roast them. Sprinkle with lime juice or lemon juice when done.

 

[Zereh]

Sweet potatoes and chipotle are match made in heaven. I don't steam mine, I just throw them in the oven when something else is cooking.


Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (from a can), chopped
1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can of peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Add butter to potatoes and mash with potato masher. Add peppers, sauce, and salt and continue mashing to combine. Serve immediately.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Yellow flesh sweet potatoes and not as sweet as orange fleshed sweet potatoes. Perhaps you could try them instead.

Look for White Sweet potatoes..Not as sweet, somewhat drier...Probably not available in your area however....

 

[sarge_13]

wow the great tips keep on comin! I'll definitely try a bunch of these cooking tips, thanks everyone.