Students learn about in-season produce

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. — This winter, the Northeast Indiana Farm to School Team sourced and distributed over 850 pounds of sweet potato grown by Berry Hill Farm to 20 schools in 11 different school districts across northeast Indiana.

Over 3,400 PreK-12 students enjoyed the locally grown sweet potatoes, some as part of classroom activities and others in their school cafeteria.

Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Sweet Potato Tips

• Store in a cool, dark area in an open container or bag that allows air flow. Use within two weeks for best quality. Refrigeration of raw sweet potatoes can cause a hard center and an unpleasant taste.

• Scrub under cool running water just before using.

There are many ways to serve sweet potatoes, including:

Fresh/Raw: Serve sticks or thin rounds with your favorite dip, or grate and toss in a salad.

Bake/Roast: Prick the skin of whole sweet potatoes several times with a fork. Bake until tender. Depending on size and oven temperature, whole sweet potatoes take 45 to 60 minutes; cubes or sticks take 20 to 30 minutes.

Microwave: Prick the skin of whole sweet potatoes several times. Microwave on high until tender, 5 to 8 minutes for whole sweet potatoes depending on size and amount.

Steam: Steam in a basket over boiling water until tender, about 40 to 50 minutes for whole sweet potatoes and 15 to 30 minutes for cubes.

Boil: Cook in boiling water until tender, about 35 to 40 minutes for whole sweet potatoes and 12 minutes for cubes.

Sauté: Peel and slice or cube. Sauté in a small amount of oil until tender, about 10 minutes.

Grill: Slice lengthwise into halves or thick slices. Grill until tender, turning once.

Indiana schools can utilize the Indiana Grown for Schools Network Harvest of the Month Database to celebrate in-season, locally grown foods each month.

The database provides access to classroom and cafeteria activities, lesson plans, videos highlighting Indiana producers, recipes, promotional material and more.

All of the classroom lessons and activities are aligned with Indiana Academic Standards for kindergarten to fifth grade classrooms. Learn more at http://tinyurl.com/bdeked4m.

Savory Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Servings: 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Mix the sweet potato cubes with the oil, salt, sugar, Italian seasoning and pepper so that each piece is coated.

Arrange cubes in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir or turn cubes. Bake and additional 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Note: No Italian seasoning? Use 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.