Last night we made chicken in coconut gravy, sauteed green beans and Hawaiian Purple Sweet Potatoes, also known as Okinawan potatoes. The potatoes are native to the Japanese island, Okinawa and are a member of the morning glory family and are called ‘uala in Hawaiian.
Anywhoozle, I went to squeeze some lime on my chicken but accidentally aimed for the purple potatoes and they turned red... right before our eyes. I've been looking online as to what makes the potatoes turn into a mood ring of sorts with lime juice squirted on them, and have yet to find anything. We noticed our garlic turning blue when sauteed in lemon and butter before, but this is just wild. I'll keep you posted should I find anything... and if anyone out there has the answer... we'd love to hear it.
5 comments:
sounds like a little Green Eggs and Ham action goin' on there.
yes, do keep us posted as to other colorful 'mood food'.
oh wow, that is the coolest discovery i've seen in awhiile!! wait till i tell the aunties:D
i'm always on the lookout for these when i visit my asian market - sadly i only found them once.
Rather than a mood ring, it's probably more similar to a litmus test. Remember those strips of paper from high school Chemistry class that test pH? They change color in an acid because of the lichens that the paper is coated in. Lichens are an algea that lives in plants. You could try dropping another acid onto the potato to see if it has the same effect.
Just a guess....
Hi Conｎ and John,
I looked up on the internet in Japanese and it says the pigment of the Okinawan potato makes a chemical reaction and becomes red with acid and becomes green with alkali. So if you make Okinawan sweet potato pancakes, it should come out green (because baking powder is alkali)!
Toko
That is totally cool. I really like Okinawan sweet potatoes (mashed with garlic: yum!) but my kids won't eat them despite their awesome purple color. Now I can see a science experiment meal coming on! Maybe that will get them to eat the potatoes.
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