Orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes, such as Beauregard, the primary commercial type, and the smallervolume Jewel and Garnet pictured, are “traditionals” in North American markets. However cooked, they have a soft, sometimes squishy feel in the mouth and a pumpkin flavor. They are always decidedly sweet, but the degree of sweetness “varies with the cultivar, how they are handled after harvest, and the length of time after harvest. As a consequence, sweetness can be quite variable—and a major frustration for consumers”, says Stanley Kays. There are also fairly dry orange-fleshed types, but they seem to have all but disappeared from the market.
