Sweet potatoes are trying to be something they are not. They might be the trendy choice when it comes to eating a serving of starch, but there is no way for them to ever be as good as the almighty potato. Sweet potatoes are only distantly related to potatoes, which makes them the estranged aunt who no one talks to at the family party.
Photo by Amanda Gajdosik
The bright orange color might draw you in initially, but hiding behind that colorful facade is just a rock hard, weirdly sweet starch. Plus potatoes have other colors available: yellow, red, and blue varieties are easy to find if a colorful dish is what you’re looking for.
A potato is a blank canvas for any topping, not just marshmallows and brown sugar. It allows for diversity in terms of what can be made with the spuds, which are sometimes overlooked and don’t get the credit they deserve. Sweet potatoes may be the trendy choice right now but in the long run, the original potato will prevail.
Mashed potatoes are not meant to be substituted with a substance that degrades the quality of the food. Adding foods, such as cauliflower, is acceptable because they enhance the potato whereas the sweet potato is attempting to replace the original.
Photo by Bernard Wen
Bacon, chives, cheese, butter, sour cream, garlic, the list is endless. All of these toppings are tasty by themselves but are also able to elevate potatoes to create a delicious side dish (or main course).
The common toppings for sweet potatoes are not even really foods: marshmallows, brown sugar, cinnamon. Those condiments can be complimentary in many ways but even they are not enough to bring a sweet potato to the level of a regular potato.
Photo by Carrie Eager
Breakfast potatoes are a guaranteed way to make any day awesome. Sweet potatoes sounds like a terrible way to start the day but regular potatoes are always a good go-to choice when trying to make a bad morning better.
Photo by Emily Palmer
Potatoes can be used in so many creative ways. Fried, roasted, boiled, or even combined with whatever is left in the fridge; use any of these methods and your taters are guaranteed to be delicious. Boiled sweet potatoes might be slightly more flavorful than plain boiled potatoes but still resemble an overripe orange.
Leftover servings of regular spuds are often better than the first night which is something that cannot be said for the orange variety.
There is nothing like eating a fried potato. Whether it is cut thinly like chips or has a chewier consistency like french fries, no imitation starch can have the same effect. Sweet potatoes fries are misleading; you think you are getting the real thing but instead you have a low-quality side dish made from fake potatoes.
Photo by Emily Palmer
Cheese and sweet potatoes should never be mixed whereas cheese and regular potatoes are soul mates. Why would anyone want to eat something that cannot be paired well with cheese? It just doesn’t make sense.
Sweet potato pie is an exception to this anti sweet potato crusade. Even though it is technically a glorified pumpkin pie, there is a certain charm that comes with this dish. The impostor spuds are acceptable for Thanksgiving but for the other 364 days of the year, they should stay out of the kitchen and off of people’s plates.
Photo by Emily Palmer
The difference between the two types is no small potatoes. Potato passionate people understand the major differences between the superior regular potato and the inferior sweet option. Forget the trendy sweet potatoes, embrace your inner Idaho and eat spuds like you’ve never eaten before.
Want to make the best of an already amazing food? Check out these articles: