But in Greater Raleigh, North Carolina's Capital City area, the sweet potato's robust taste, versatility, and high nutritional content are helping to elevate the sweet potato above its traditional role as a marshmallow-topped casserole to be served alongside turkey dinner. Each autumn the sweet potato surfaces as one of North Carolina's most prized crops, harvesting 35,000 to 38,000 acres of the root each year. Because the state produces 40 percent of the nation's sweet potatoes, the rustic root has been adopted as the state vegetable. Consequently, the people of Raleigh don't need a holiday for an excuse to eat and enjoy their harvest.
Raleigh residents celebrate the savory taste of the sweet potato throughout the year.
But word is also getting out about its high nutritional value. They are also rich in vitamins A and E, and contain Vitamin C, iron and potassium. Sweet potatoes are often confused with yams and white potatoes, but these three veggies come from completely different plants. Both sweet potatoes and true yams are roots, but they are not interchangeable in recipes due to the yam's high starch content. The Rathskeller Restaurant, which is particularly popular among college students and vegetarians, has an unusual ravioli Alfredo.