Beauregard Sweet Potatoes
Inventory, 40 lbs : 0
This item was last sold on : 10/02/24
Description/Taste
Beauregard sweet potatoes are large in size with a uniform, oblong to an elliptical shape, slightly tapering to small points on both ends. The long tuber has semi-smooth skin that ranges in color from copper, red-brown, to purple-brown, and is firm with a few shallow divots and markings. Underneath the surface, the dark orange flesh is dense, moist, and fine-grained. When cooked, Beauregard sweet potatoes develop a tender, soft, and creamy consistency with a sweet and slightly nutty flavor.
Seasons/Availability
Beauregard sweet potatoes are available year-round.
Current Facts
Beauregard sweet potatoes, botanically classified as Ipomoea batatas ‘Beauregard,’ are large, underground tubers that grow from spreading, semi-trailing vines reaching up to one meter in length and are members of the Convolvulaceae family. Considered to be one of the most popular sweet potato varieties in the United States, Beauregard sweet potatoes are an early season, high yielding, uniform tuber that was created in Louisiana to help save the sweet potato industry with a disease-resistant cultivar. Beauregard sweet potatoes, along with Jewel sweet potatoes, makeup approximately ninety percent of sweet potato production in the United States and are favored by consumers as a sweet, table variety that can be utilized in both sweet and savory culinary applications.
Nutritional Value
Beauregard sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamins C and E and contain iron, fiber, and potassium. The tubers are also a good source of beta-carotene, which is an orange pigment that is converted into vitamin A in the body and helps to protect vision loss and improve the skin.
Applications
Beauregard sweet potatoes are best suited for cooked applications such as baking, frying, boiling, steaming, pureeing, and mashing. The fine-grained tuber has a smooth and tender consistency when cooked, which allows it to be used in a wide variety of culinary applications such as in pies, muffins, bread, crescent rolls, and casseroles. The tubers can also be cubed and blended into soups and curries, mashed and served as a creamy side dish, cooked and tossed into salads, sliced and fried, or cubed and roasted with spices. Beauregard sweet potatoes pair well with herbs such as basil, sage, rosemary, cilantro, and parsley, pomegranate seeds, apples, coconut, pears, oranges, mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, spices such as paprika, cinnamon, curry powder, coriander, cumin, and cayenne pepper, aromatics such as ginger and garlic, goat cheese, honey, molasses, and brown sugar. The tubers will keep whole and uncooked for 2-4 weeks when stored in a cool, dry, and dark place. When cooked, Beauregard sweet potatoes will keep 3-5 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
Beauregard sweet potatoes are rumored to be named after Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard who was a French-Louisiana general in the confederate army that fought during the Civil War. Larry Rolston, the creator of the Beauregard, was believed to have studied the Civil War and derived the name from his studies. Today Beauregard sweet potatoes are still highly cultivated in their home state of Louisiana, and together with North Carolina and Mississippi, the variety encompasses approximately one-hundred thousand acres across the United States. In the southern United States, Beauregard sweet potatoes are popularly used at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and are famously known for their use in candied recipes and pie recipes.
Geography/History
Beauregard sweet potatoes were created at the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station in 1987 by Larry Rolston. During the time of its creation, the Louisiana sweet potato industry was declining from a lack of varieties that could store well and have resistance to common sweet potato diseases. Beauregard was developed in an effort to combat these widespread issues and became one of the most cultivated varieties, used both for fresh production and commercial processing. Recently the variety has decreased in popularity due to the increased production of the Covington sweet potato which was released in 2009, but Beauregard sweet potatoes are still widely grown throughout the United States, especially in Mississippi and Louisiana, and can be found at local farmers markets, specialty grocers, and supermarkets.
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Beauregard Sweet Potatoes. One is easiest, three is harder.
Washington Post | Sweet Potato, Corn and Jalapeno Bisque | |
Recipes Oregon Live | Roasted Beauregard Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup |