EXTENSION COURSE IN VEGETABLE FOODS. OT 
kets prefer a dry, smooth, yellow type, while in the South the moist 
varieties showing more sugar when baked are the favorites. They 
may be kept in a dry place at a temperature of 50° to 65° F., and are 
sometimes canned and often dried like fruits for family use. A flour 
is also made from the sweet potato. 
Because their sweetness is to some extent lost in water they are 
better steamed than boiled, and baking is the favorite method. 
After cooking they may be pressed through a sieve and used in 
puddings or pies like squash or added to breads. (See Lesson VII.) 
In southern homes it has always been customary to cook sliced 
sweet potato (often first parboiled) with sugar, butter, and other 
seasoning. Such dishes, under a variety of names, are now general 
favorites. 
When the tubers are baked the process should not be too rapid, but 
should continue for an hour, until the skin separates from the pulp, 
and in the case of the varieties moist when cooked, until the sirup 
condenses and the pulp grows moist. The negroes in the Southern 
States bake them in the ashes in the fireplace and as soon as one meal 
is over put in those needed for the next. 
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE, YAM, CASSAVA, AND OTHER STARCH-BEARING TUBERS 
AND ROOTS. 
The Jerusalem artichoke is a kind of sunflower which has a thick- 
ened rootstalk valuable for food. The carbohydrate material in the 
tuber is hke gum rather than starch, which gives a peculiar texture 
after cooking. The tubers were more popular before potatoes came 
into general use. They are crisp in the spring before they begin to 
grow and may be cooked like creamed potatoes, served raw as a salad 
like radishes, or pickled. They are common in many rural regions, 
are found in city markets, and are not expensive. 
Yam is a name carelessly applied to some types of sweet potato. 
The true yams belong to another variety of plants and include many 
species abundant in the Tropics, some of which may also be grown 
in temperate regions. Many are grown in the West Indies and 
Florida. They are rich in starch, though lacking the sugar of sweet 
potatoes, and the flavor is pleasant when they are boiled or cooked 
in other ways. 
Many of these tubers are most satisfactory when baked, but, like 
the potato, they may be prepared in other ways. 
A new tuber which has attracted much attention is the dasheen 
from tropical countries. The dasheens may be served like potatoes, 
boiled, fried, creamed, etc., but to many are, like potatoes, most 
acceptable when baked. They have a rough outer coating, which 
may be partially removed before cooking. If entirely pared there is 
a tendency to discolor, as with potatoes. 
