Orange sweet potato may prove to be a game changer in the battle to reduce vitamin A deficiency in Africa –it’s loaded with provitamin A that the body then converts to vitamin A. Children, who are more vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies, are especially drawn to its sweet taste.

But provitamin A can be lost from orange sweet potato once it is harvested. This is true for most foods. Depending on how they’re stored, processed or cooked, the elements (air, light and heat) can degrade valuable nutrients. Nutritionists have studied how communities that will eat orange sweet potato are likely to store and cook it. Will it be boiled in a pot, or steamed slowly in banana leaves? Is it usually cut into pieces or simply cooked whole? Evaluating these different preparation methods is essential so that nutritionists can assess the best methods for preparing sweet potato. After all, the more provitamin A that is retained, the greater the nutritional benefit.

In an article just published in ‘Sight and Life’ magazine, HarvestPlus nutritionists review the literature on provitamin A retention in orange sweet potato to try and determine which cooking methods ensure the will result in the provitamin A retention. So which is best, boiling, steaming, or even roasting? Read the article to find out. Click below to download the pdf.