old sweet potatoe varieties
I have been told by a friend of mine, who grew up in the Western Cape, SA, of a sweet potatoe variety, which produced long, slender tubers, and was ideal for roasting on the coals, with a lot of "fat" dripping into the coals. Very sweet. Does anybody know under which variety name I can find these? Are they still grown?
It might be difficult to get an answer here because I don't think there are many Africans on this forum. Sweet potatoes have been cultvated a very long time so each country/region has their own history of breeding. SA varieties may have made their way to Europe, but probably not to the Americas. Europe doesn't have the climate for growing many sweet potatoes so it is unlikely that the information would be easily accesible there. I would try asking/emailing someone at local agricultural stations and universities (in Namibia and SA). Some popular vegetables get spread around the world pretty easily (tomatoes and peppers for instance). Potatoes and sweet potatoes not so much.