In Season
SWEET POTATOES
After a famous still life entitled Lemons, Oranges and a Rose by Francisco de Zurbarán – the leading painter in 17th century Andalusia during the reign of Philip III – was radiographed, the results showed the sublimely convincing plate of citrus fruits was originally flanked by a platter of candied sweet potatoes. Quite why he chose to paint over the batata confitada is not known. Perhaps someone ate these rare and tempting, exotic delicacies imported by the Spanish conquistadores from New to Old World shores. When the sweet potato arrived in Europe, the foodies of the day welcomed it with enthusiasm, along with other sweet novelties such as vanilla and chocolate. Spanish historian and navigator Fernández de Oviedo wrote, ‘A batata well cured and well prepared is just like fine marzipan’, and described them as a singular and precious fruit. The 16th century English mariner and slave trader John Hawkins called them ‘the most delicate root that may be eaten’. One contemporary recipe starts with washing them after the harvest and then curing them under light shade for eight to 10 days. The sweet potatoes are then roasted so they will taste ‘as if they had been dipped in a jar of jam, they will be so honey-sweet.’ The shared name invites the wrong assumption that sweet potatoes are related to the potato. In fact, they are not even distantly related. The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is actually a vine in the morning glory family, and was one of the first plants to return with Columbus after his landfall at Haiti.
For the full feature, see the October issue of Food and Travel magazine
