Camote – Sweet potato – 蕃薯 = Happy #OneChineseInColombia
Sweet potato is one of the many false expectations I had before coming to Colombia. I had thought it would be abundant in the land of potatoes. According to the International Potato Centre (yea.. It exists..), ‘there are 4,000 varieties of potatoes in the Andean countries’, i.e. Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. I would think Colombia is ‘half Andean’, if not ‘fully Andean’, and being a neighbour of these countries, even if we are deemed not Andean at all, I would think we would still get lots imported. I guess I misconstrued South America as Europe, thinking that there would be lots of trades and cultural exchange here.. Wrong. Actually while sweet potato is a basic find at all supermarkets in England, it is unseen here. I blame it on Colombians’ taste and preference, which tends to be sweet-averse. They eat 2 types of potatoes here. Criolla (yellow, small) and sabanera (waxier, hard, reddish skin). The first time I encountered sweet potatoes was in Lima, where it was everywhere – sweet potato chips (for breakfast!) and bags of sweet potato crisps. So, when I recently came across the sweet orange variety in Paloquemao, I went wild. Ask for the stall Donde Peter!
Paloquemao Avenida Calle 19 #25-04
onechineseincolombia.com 
[…] at the Southern end of Bogota, Paloquemao is THE one stop ‘superstore’ for small restaurant owners’ weekly visits and […]
I was really upset because I couldn’t find sweet potatoes anywhere in Bogota, I wanted to make a puree and top it with marshmellows, I’m sad 😦
I’m Colombian and I’m still looking for sweet potatoes over here hahaha you’re missing one common type of potato that we eat pretty often, I’d say more than the other two you mentioned, that’s the ‘papa pastusa’! Great blog btw 🙂
Thanks Maria! Thank you for the tip! Yes another common potato here is papa pastusa! Thanks for your support! Keep reading!
We, Colombians, still don’t know enough abt food. Si pence I was a child I had sweet potato planted by my father in his small farm close to the Atlantic, but I’m sure people are not planting it anymore as we are forgetting how to eat well and healthy, also because farmers are forced to leave their lands to go to the cities where only the main potatoes, tomatoes or so can be found. Most of the well known veggies are gone from our tables. This is so sad, Sonetimes I feel to cry abt.
😦 so sad 😦
Having lived in China for six years and enjoyed grilled sweet potatoes in winter, I also have been frustrated and surprised that they are very difficult to find in Bogotá, at least. I recently discovered camotes japoneses, which are fairly close, and available in Cundinamarca. I buy them from a local organic orchard that delivers them to my home: https://biotico.co/tienda/
thanks Dana!