Here's How To Choose The Absolute Best Sweet Potatoes This Fall

From sweet potato soup to crispy sweet potato fries, nothing feels more nourishing than this root vegetable rich in vitamin C once the cooler weather hits. Picking out the best sweet potatoes, however, can be a bit tricky, as they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Chowhound spoke with Nisha Vora, founder of the vegan cooking site Rainbow Plant Life, to get some tips on what to look out for when picking out sweet potatoes at the supermarket. She exclusively told us that the most important thing to look for is potatoes that are more or less uniform in size. "When sweet potatoes are of a similar size, they'll cook at a similar rate," she says. "Whereas if you get a hodgepodge of sizes, some sweet potatoes will cook through well before the rest are done cooking."

Vora also recommends thinking ahead to your sweet potato prep, specifically cutting them, and considering the type of potato shape that lends itself to a less awkward experience on the cutting board. "It's easier to cut sweet potatoes when neither end is way thicker or thinner than the other," she says. The best sweet potatoes should feel firm and not soft. If they feel limp at all, that is a sign they are starting to go bad. "If a sweet potato looks as if it's started to dry out, or is spongy or has any visible mold, you should stay away," says Vora.

With so many different ways to cook sweet potatoes, it's not surprising that they are such popular additions to fall and winter holiday meals (for extra warmth, try simmering your sweet potatoes in a compound butter). Nisha Vora advises, however, that if you plan to have them alongside your annual turkey feast, it's best to stock up about a week in advance. "If you arrive at the grocery store the day before, you might find the best ones are already taken," she says. The great thing about getting your sweet potatoes early is that they hold up really well when stored correctly.

Vora advises against storing sweet potatoes in the fridge because they need to be at room temperature when you prepare them to avoid uneven cooking. "The best way to store sweet potatoes is in a cool, dark place like a pantry or cabinet," she says. Pantry partners also make a difference in how long they stay fresh, and onions can be a particularly bad pair. "Onions release a gas (ethylene) that causes sweet potatoes to ripen faster, which can cause them to sprout or become soft, warns Vora. "This is the same reason you'll want to avoid storing onions next to apples or regular potatoes." With these best storage practices, you'll be able to capture the sweet potatoes' unique flavor when it's time to cook them.