D279 Sweet potatoes have long been valued as a food source in third world countries where they are sometimes known as Yams, but in Australia and other developed nations they were once regarded as a vegetable that was fit for nothing other than pigs. In recent years, however, this delicious root crop has gained widespread popularity, and is widely cultivated in Australia on a commercial scale, and grown in home gardens.  Several varieties are grown, some with white flesh, but is the orange fleshed variety, Beauregard, that is most popular with consumers. The edible root is the tuber of a creeping plant that is a member of the Ipomea family and is closely related to Morning Glory, a flowering garden species that has become an environmental pest in some areas of the country where it grows rapidly and smothers native vegetation. Sweet potatoes can be cooked in a variety of ways - boiled, baked, or deep fried like chips, but however they are prepared, one thing remains the same - their delicious sweet flavour.

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