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Los camotes de un vibrante morado son una saludable sorpresa en el Día de Acción de Gracias
Los camotes endulzados –chorreando mantequilla, azúcar morena y nueces – o una cacerola de camotes machacados y cubiertos de malvaviscos tostados - son platillos tradicionales en la mesa del Día de Acción de Gracias.
Estos ricos platillos contradicen la naturaleza dulce de los camotes, los cuales son tubérculos ricos en nutrientes y con un bajo nivel glicémico que pueden ser parte de una dieta saludable todo el año.
Un estudio realizado por Scott Stoddard, asesor de Extensión Cooperativa de UC, tiene como objetivo convertir a los camotes en un alimento aún más saludable y atractivo. Stoddard trabaja junto con productores de camotes del condado de Merced para explorar si los camotes de cáscara de tono morado oscuro y pulpa de un morado brillante, conocidos en inglés como purple/purples (morado/morados), pueden ser cultivados por más granjeros en California. El inusual color y mayores beneficios a la salud comandan un mayor precio, abriendo un potencial nicho en el mercado.
“Los camotes de pulpa morada contienen beta-caroteno, como las variedades de color naranja que son más comunes, además de antocianinas”, dijo Stoddard. “Es como comerse un puñado de arándanos azules con su camote”.
California es un importante productor de camotes. Alrededor de un 80 por ciento del cultivo en este estado – 16,000 acres – se realiza en el condado de Merced, en granjas con superficies que van desde cinco acres a varios miles de acres. En el 2015, el valor del cultivo en el condado de Merced fue de 195 millones de dólares. En el condado de Kern existen alrededor de mil acres de cultivo y dos mil en el de Stanislaus. Estas ubicaciones cuentan con suelos arenosos y arenosos limosos ideales para que los camotes puedan desarrollar su distintiva forma y cáscara lisa.
Los camotes de pulpa morada no son comunes, pero han existido desde hace ya un buen tiempo. Por ejemplo, son el principal tipo de camote que se cultiva en Hawaii. Hace varios años, los cultivadores del condado de Stokes, N.C., seleccionaron un cultivar particularmente hermoso y sabroso al que nombraron camote Stokes y lo comercializaron a nivel nacional a través de Frieda's Specialty Produce. En California, A. V. Thomas Produce, de Livingston, adquirió un acuerdo exclusivo con la compañía para cultivar y comercializar el camote Stokes purple/purples.
“El número de acres de Stokes se ha realmente expandido en pocos años”, mencionó Stoddard. "Existe mucho interés en los camotes de pulpa morada por parte del consumidor".
Eso no cierra la puerta del camote purple/purples a otros granjeros de California interesados en el nicho. Stoddard conduce pruebas de campo en cooperación con granjeros locales que incluye el purple/purples. En una de las pruebas, se están cultivando 50 tipos de camotes de colores diferentes, para poder determinar si cuentan con las características claves necesarias para producirlos localmente. De allí, él elige un número limitado para cultivar en pruebas replicadas, con el propósito de determinar su potencial para obtener una producción grande, que puedan ser almacenados bien y desarrollar el tamaño, forma, color y sabor adecuados. De estos, solo uno de los camotes purple/purples pasó a la prueba replicada.
“En algunos purple/purples, el sabor puede ser apagado o amargo”, indicó Stoddard. “De esos nos deshicimos inmediatamente”.
Uno de los cultivares en el estudio de Stoddard, que recibe el código experimental L-4-15-P, fue producido en el 2014 por Don La Bonte, un productor de plantas de la Universidad del Estado de Luisiana, en Baton Rouge. Este camote cuenta con algunos buenos atributos, pero carece del color uniforme e intenso de la variedad Stokes.
“Desafortunadamente, probablemente no es lo suficientemente bueno para desplazar a Stokes”, dijo Stoddard. “Es un buen inicio, pero necesitamos seguir estudiando al purple/purples para encontrar una variedad que ofrezca resistencia a las enfermedades, una buena cosecha y pulpa de color morado intenso y consistente".
Un buen alimento
Los camotes pueden comerse crudos o cocidos. Para comerlos crudos, simplemente quíteles la piel, córtelo en palitos y sírvalos con aderezo ranch bajo en grasa o puré de manzana. Raye camotes frescos sin cocer y agréguelos a burritos, tacos o ensaladas para darle un toque nutritivo y crocante.
Los camotes cocidos pueden comerse durante el desayuno, almuerzo y cena, con cáscara y todo, solos o con un poco de mantequilla.
Una manera rápida de preparar esta verdura es en el microondas. Lávelos y séquelos. Pínchelos con la punta de un cuchillo en dos o tres lugares. Cocine en alta potencia durante cinco minutos. Deles la vuelta. Cocine durante otros cinco minutos, más o menos.
El experto en camotes de Extensión Cooperativa de UC, Scott Stoddard, señaló que él prefiere los camotes horneados.
“Es mucho mejor hornearlos”, mencionó el experto. “Al hornearlos les da tiempo de convertir el almidón en maltosa”.
Los camotes están compuestos en su mayoría de almidón, pero contienen una enzima especial que cuando se les cocina, convierte el almidón en maltosa. Cocerlos lentamente en el horno convencional da tiempo a esta conversión, dándole un sutil sabor dulce acaramelado.
Para hornearlos, precaliente el horno a 400 grados. Cubra la rejilla inferior del horno con papel aluminio, luego pinche los camotes con un tenedor y colóquelos directamente en la rejilla media, arriba de la que está cubierta con papel aluminio. Hornee camotes de dos a tres pulgadas de diámetro, durante 45 minutos.
Developing a taste for fruits and vegetables
If I told you I've found the secret to overcoming picky eaters, you'd probably look at me puzzled. How could I have found the secret and NOT SHARED IT YET?!
Unfortunately, there is no "secret." However, there are many ways to encourage children and even adults to develop a love of fruits and vegetables.
UC CalFresh works with low-income families to encourage healthy food choices through nutrition education and healthy taste testing.
Taste testing has been a helpful tool in providing children and their parents an opportunity to explore foods they wouldn't have otherwise tried. Sometimes they have had the fruit or vegetable before but didn't enjoy the way it was prepared. A fresh approach with a new recipe can mean all the difference!
For great recipes, check out MyPlate's Pinterest page. They offer recipes like:
Green beans with almond gremolata (pictured above) and provide clever ways to prepare foods like watermelon kabobs (pictured below)
Allow children to take part in developing healthy meals and snacks by giving them a fun name. A child participating in our recent Healthy Lifestyles Fitness Camp shared her favorite healthy snack in her nutrition journal. She enjoys eating what she calls "ants on a raft."
Enjoy the bounty of healthy fruits and vegetables available this season. Try something new! Even better yet, try a food you haven't enjoyed in the past, but prepare and serve it in a new way.
Stay healthy all summer long
It’s summertime, which means I am one happy camper. No really - it’s nice and warm, let's go camping! I find most people hate summer: the heat, the AC bill, the kids are out of school and they’re “sooooooooooo… bored.”
Well I’m a summer baby, and I’m here to help you survive the heat wave with healthy recipes and family cooking tips.
- Make a summer salad. Layer chopped cucumber, tomatoes and green beans and top with lettuce and your favorite dressing.
- Cut back on the calories in your dessert by eating fresh fruit instead.
- Search for refreshing, in-season recipes on MyPlate’s Pinterest page.
Summer means the kids are home and they are bored! So let’s get them in the kitchen and cooking. Here are some tips on how to get your little ones involved.
- Give them a choice of healthy recipes. Allowing them to choose means they will be more likely to participate in creating a healthy meal.
- Play with your food! Use a banana, strawberries, peanut butter and pretzels and create a creature or fun face.
- Make fruit pops with the kids. Simply blend up fresh berries, melon or stone fruit and freeze it in an ice cube tray with sticks. You can also use this fruit blend as ice cubes to flavor your water.
At the University of California Cooperative Extension, were helping to build and maintain healthy families! For additional healthy tips, visit our webpage.
Getting to know persimmons
On a wet and gloomy winter afternoon, there are few sights more cheering to my eyes than a persimmon tree loaded with its brilliant fruit, hanging from dark boughs like a mass of orange lanterns. But if you come across this bright spectacle on a winter's walk, don't rush to take a bite of that tempting fruit unless you're sure you know what's what.
See, there are persimmons, and then there are persimmons.
The type of persimmon that you can eat right off the tree is the Fuyu variety (left), a firm-fleshed, yellow- to orange-skinned fruit that is flat on the bottom and wider than it is tall—sometimes twice as wide. You can eat the fresh, sweet fruit like an apple or cut up in salads or you can dry it on the stem or cut in slices for a home dehydrator.
Aunt Pat's Persimmon Cookies
This recipe for Hachiya persimmon cookies has been in my family for generations and is always a special treat in the cold months. The cookies have a moist, cake-like consistency and can be eaten fresh or bagged up by the dozen and stored in the freezer. They're quick to thaw and they taste great. We usually make a double or triple batch just to take advantage of the fruit's availability, so cookie storage can be an issue.
CREAM TOGETHER:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
LIGHTLY BEAT AND ADD:
1 egg
ADD:
1 cup Hachiya persimmon pulp (about 3 ripe [very soft] persimmons)
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
SIFT TOGETHER AND THEN ADD:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Drop the dough in generously rounded teaspoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated 350° oven for 12 to 14 minutes.
More on Persimmons
Check out these links for more information on preserving, preparing, and growing persimmons:
- Persimmon Time (San Joaquin County Cooperative Extension)
- The California Backyard Orchard
(Photos: Wikimedia Commons)
Small changes are a big step towards health
As part of the City of Fresno Parks and Recreation Department’s Healthy Lifestyle and Fitness Camp for Kids, parents and kids participated in a series of nutrition education classes lead by the UC Cooperative Extension’s Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program (FSNEP).
Following several weeks of classes on reducing fat, sugar and salt, and increasing whole grains, low-fat dairy and fruits and vegetables, groups of parents were invited to flex their nutrition muscles by making small changes to some of their family’s favorite recipes. Their goal? Improve the nutritional value of their dishes through small changes like increasing fruits and vegetables while decreasing ingredients high in fat, sugar and salt.
Competition was healthy as teams of parents assembled their entries for the City of Fresno’s Inaugural Healthy Lifestyle and Fitness Camp Parent Cook Off. Think Bravo’s Top Chef meets Food Network’s Challenge, minus all the truffle oil and stage lighting. FSNEP educators were nutrition education partners with the parents to note original recipe and the parents' creative changes.
Fruit and yogurt are a perfect pair.
Judges that lent their palettes to parents’ culinary adventures included: local Kaiser Permanete nurses, fitness camp counselors including Amanda Cogdill, recreation specialist, and UC Cooperative extension’s Jeanette Sutherlin, county director, and Connie Schneider, nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor.
One of the winning recipes was the taffy apple pizza. Parents cut the fat and sugar drastically and paid attention to portion size to make this family favorite a healthy hit! It was so popular, camp counselors prepared it for the parents’ children participating in the Healthy Lifestyle and Fitness camp.
One of the winning parent groups is recognized for their efforts.
Healthy food tastes great!
What small change can you make to your family’s favorites?
Taffy Apple Pizza- Original Recipe
Makes 16 servings
Ingredients
1 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese softened
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
3 medium Granny Smith apples
¼ cup caramel ice cream topping
½ cup peanuts, chopped
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 Slice
Calories: 150
Total Fat: 9g
Sat. Fat: 4g
Cholesterol: 15 mg
Sodium: 85mg
Total Carbohydrate: 16g
Dietary fiber: 1g
Sugars: 10g
Protein: 3g
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Taffy Apple Pizza - Winning Recipe
Healthier substitutions indicated with asterisks**
Makes 32 servings
Ingredients
1 box low-fat graham crackers**
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 package (8 ounces) fat free cream cheese, softened**
¼ cup packed brown sugar**
¼ cup reduced fat creamy peanut butter**
3 medium Granny Smith apples
¼ cup sugar free caramel ice cream topping**
½ cup peanuts chopped
Preparation
1. Mix cream cheese, vanilla, brown sugar and peanut butter in small bowl
2. Spread mixture on graham crackers
3. Thinly slice apples
4. Arrange apple slices on graham crackers
5. Drizzle with caramel sauce
6. Sprinkle with peanuts
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/2 cracker
Calories: 60
Total Fat: 2g
Sat. Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 65mg
Total Carbohydrate: 8g
Dietary Fiber: less than 1g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 2g
