Most people enjoy the taste of sweet potatoes. They work as a side dish or a complete meal in themselves, especially when delicious toppings are added.
Sweet potatoes in some form are eaten across the world. Their demand increases during the winter season. This is probably because their comforting warmth and sweetness are perfect on a cold winter’s evening.
However, sweet potatoes sometimes have a few issues that may put some people off using them. The most common of them are holes in the skin of the sweet potatoes.
It is one of the most common issues faced with this vegetable. This article wants to address the causes and let you know if they are still safe to eat.
What Causes Holes in Sweet Potatoes?
Holes in sweet potatoes are often seen at harvest time when the crop is removed from the ground. This problem can affect the entire crop if the farmer cannot resolve it in the early stages.
The reason we see holes in the sweet potato is usually the activity of wireworms. This type of worm is known to attack root crops and may affect sweet potatoes to the extent that they have to be discarded and cannot be sold.
However, the occasional one sometimes slips through, and you may end up buying sweet potatoes affected by this issue.
Are Sweet Potatoes with Holes Bad?
People may think that those sweet potatoes that possess holes are bad to eat. This is not always the case. Not all of the sweet potatoes that have spots are bad.
Many of you may argue that sweet potatoes with holes are bad as they contain worms and pests. Rest assured that the worms are no longer in the potatoes when you buy them. They are in the soil.
Can You Use Sweet Potatoes with Holes?
When sweet potatoes with holes reach your kitchen, the worms and other pests usually leave the sweet potato. They enter the crop during the harvest season and then leave it after some time. However, the holes they make remain in the sweet potatoes.
So, if you have sweet potatoes with holes in your kitchen and you do not want to waste them, then you must first of all check whether there are worms inside or not.
Most of the time, they’re not present in the sweet potatoes, but there are some rare cases. So, check for the pests and worms while peeling the sweet potato, and if there is nothing like it, you are good to eat them.
Cut away any bad-looking bits and proceed with the rest. There is no need to throw the entire thing away.
What if we don’t want to PEEL the potato (since we want to bake it)?