December 11, 2011 Amy Louise Southorn11 Comments
This recipe is for a traditional food Fermented Sweet Potato which I discovered recently. I was reading the book Cure Tooth Decay by Ramiel Nagel (no I don’t have tooth decay but still very good book and covers TMJ jaw disorder) and they mentioned fermented sweet potato, I then discovered a recipe for it in my Nourishing Traditions book by Sally Fallon.
The end product is so delicious and so nutritious, a great snack food and a superfood for the gut. The sweet potato contains prebiotic fibers which feed the good bacteria in the gut and the addition of either yogurt or kefir to ferment the sweet potato makes it a strong probiotic. This snack or condiment is perfect for the Vata dominant type in Ayurvedic terms because of its sweet, slightly sour, unctuous, heavy characteristics.
Recipe
Ingredients
You can halve or quarter the recipe if you like
1 kilo of sweet potato (I use the sweeter type gold sweet potato)
1 tablespoon of unrefined sea salt
4 tablespoons of coconut kefir or natural yogurt
Method
Peel potato, chop into large chunks and dry bake for around 45 minutes.
After the sweet potato is cooked place into a bowl with sea salt and blend well with a stab mixer. Add in coconut kefir or yogurt. Blend well.
Place mixture into large glass jar with a lid with room for it to expand. Leave in a warm place for 24 to 48 hours then place in refrigerator.
Best served chilled with some more yogurt or kefir.
There you have it fermented sweet potato. When made with coconut kefir as I do it actually tastes like apricot slice, I have no idea why!
Enjoy x
Wouldn’t it go bad?
The recipe looks so easy and delicious! I will definitely try these like…tonight! Although my saurkraut-making has been delayed till the christmas break, this one doesn’t look so difficult at all!
Can you steam the sweet potatoes? I think it would be much easier that way 😉LikeLike
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I am sure you could steam them. Roasting does make them sweeter and the end result contains less water content than steaming. The lactic acid in the yogurt or kefir preserves the sweet potato stopping it from going off. Just the same as it preserves the yogurt and kefir. I would eat within a few days left in the fridge. Good Luck 🙂
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Thank you for the quick reply! I’m roasting my potatoes (1/2 the recipe – 1lb) in the oven right now 😉
I’m planning to use coconut yogurt (So Delicious Brand) and I really hope it works.
I actually used the brand for homemade-coconut yogurt last week! I used canned lite coconut milk, which turned out quite watery. It was still delicious though! Next time, I’ll try with full-fat. Thank you! I really love your blog!LikeLike
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Cool. Looked for this through google. Thx 🙂
Should help my Crohns a bit. It’s very hard to get a good source of glucose when you follow the SCD diet. (google it if your curious)
Looks like I need another yogurt maker though. (I don’t have an oven with a light like you do so I’d probably have to ferment this in my yogurt maker)
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If you’re suffering from Crohn’s, please research Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride’s GAPS diet. I’ve read testimonials of people who have had there Crohns and Celiac totally disappear by adopting this diet.
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Have you tried to fermented raw, uncooked? I have been fermenting cabbage, carrots, cauliflower..so I was wondering if I could add sweet potato to this mixture. Have you fermented any fruits?
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Hey! I have made sauerkraut with raw carrots. I have never thought of adding the sweet potato to raw vegetables sorry. You might have to get your experiment ON!
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Great recipe and great site. Very informative. I struggle digesting starches/heavy carbs but find them so important for exercise recovery. Hopefully this can help me. Has anyone had success with fermenting starch as an alternative to the strict gaps/fodmaps diet? Im just starting my first batch and i decided to slow cook the sweet potato first as that, apparently, breaks it right down. Ill then add coconut kefir or soya yogurt and see how i go. Thanks again
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Hi,
I just made this recipe today. I am wondering how long can I keep it in the fridge for. I read that you would eat it within days. But I want to if I can keep it for a longer period. Also, do I need I tighten the lid .
Thanks.
ShanLikeLike
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Hey Shan.
Because it is fermented it should be preserved for quite a long time in the fridge. But I am not expert on food safety, I tend to be pedantic
when it comes to it though!
Keep an eye on the smell and any growths forming. And yes I would tighten the lid.LikeLike
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After I made it, I put it on a bowl with a lid covering it but not tightened. So now, after 30 hours, I am planning to transfer it to a jar to store it in the fridge. When I taste it, it’s quite salty. Isn’t it suppose to be sour? After 30 hours of fermentation? Should I leave it out at room temp. longer? Or I should have put it in a jar at the beginning? For that part, I followed what it says in the book” Nourishing Traditions”.
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