Post by macmex on Nov 25, 2021 19:20:21 GMT
Well, we just enjoyed a simple but delicious Thanksgiving meal. I got the job of selecting some sweet potatoes to serve with the meal and we prepared them the way we usually do, simply baked in the skins. Here's a photo of the platter, after we had eaten a few. (Sorry I didn't think to take a picture until we'd eaten some!)
There are two Red Wine Velvets on the platter as well as a Gunlock and two Japanese Whites. This was an opportunity for me to do a bit of a taste test on Gunlock, now that it's had some more time to cure in storage. It was also a chance to compare it with Japanese White.
This is a picture of a baked, crosscut Gunlock sweet potato. 2021 was the first time I grew this variety. I tried one or two several weeks ago and it wasn't all that sweet then. At Thanksgiving Gunlock came out sweet and fairly moist. Most whites are a little drier than the moistest orange varieties or store bought sweet potatoes. I let my wife try a piece of both Gunlock and Japanese White. She approved of both, as did I. I don't believe I converted her to being a white sweet potato lover though. She has stuck to her guns, now, for almost 40 years, saying that Red Wine Velvet is her favorite!
This is a picture of Japanese White, baked and crosscut.
The obvious differences between these two is the skin color, flesh color and skin thickness. Gunlock has a thicker skin than does Japanese White. I still ate it. I almost always eat my baked sweet potatoes, skin and all, without added sweetening. Both were delicious this way. You can see that Japanese White has a slightly whiter appearance when baked and cross cut.
There is a difference in texture and maybe a very slight difference in flavor, but I can't begin to describe it. They both fit into the same niche, in my opinion. They should be more popular in the USA than they are, and most Asian cultures would adore them both.
Gunlock most likely traces way back, hundreds of years, to when American sweet potatoes were more often white than yellow or orange. At this point I wholeheartedly recommend that folk try it.
This was also my first year to grow Japanese White. Its prodigious production and blocky shape have made it a stand out this year. I am excited to grow it again and to offer slips of it in 2022.
Happy Thanksgiving!
There are two Red Wine Velvets on the platter as well as a Gunlock and two Japanese Whites. This was an opportunity for me to do a bit of a taste test on Gunlock, now that it's had some more time to cure in storage. It was also a chance to compare it with Japanese White.
This is a picture of a baked, crosscut Gunlock sweet potato. 2021 was the first time I grew this variety. I tried one or two several weeks ago and it wasn't all that sweet then. At Thanksgiving Gunlock came out sweet and fairly moist. Most whites are a little drier than the moistest orange varieties or store bought sweet potatoes. I let my wife try a piece of both Gunlock and Japanese White. She approved of both, as did I. I don't believe I converted her to being a white sweet potato lover though. She has stuck to her guns, now, for almost 40 years, saying that Red Wine Velvet is her favorite!
This is a picture of Japanese White, baked and crosscut.
The obvious differences between these two is the skin color, flesh color and skin thickness. Gunlock has a thicker skin than does Japanese White. I still ate it. I almost always eat my baked sweet potatoes, skin and all, without added sweetening. Both were delicious this way. You can see that Japanese White has a slightly whiter appearance when baked and cross cut.
There is a difference in texture and maybe a very slight difference in flavor, but I can't begin to describe it. They both fit into the same niche, in my opinion. They should be more popular in the USA than they are, and most Asian cultures would adore them both.
Gunlock most likely traces way back, hundreds of years, to when American sweet potatoes were more often white than yellow or orange. At this point I wholeheartedly recommend that folk try it.
This was also my first year to grow Japanese White. Its prodigious production and blocky shape have made it a stand out this year. I am excited to grow it again and to offer slips of it in 2022.
Happy Thanksgiving!