A little taste of purple: Mashed Coconutty Purple Sweet Potatoes
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| Mashed Coconutty Purple Sweet Potatoes |
What does purple taste like? According to Lucky Charms' horseshoe marbits (that's what the marshmallows are called - did you know? I just learnt it by researching for this post), they're a burst of pasty, magical sugar. But wouldn't it be crazy wonderful if you could take a mouthful of rainbow and taste every shade? (Yeah, no, Skittles don't cut it)
...Some people can actually do that (I also JUST learnt that. It blew my mind!)
They're magical human beings with a neurological condition an extrasensorial superpower called synesthesia. They can not only see color, but also feel, taste and hear them. Red may feel like velvet and taste like cinnamon brioches. A rich, royal blue could evoke sounds of ocarina melodies, taste like lavender lemonade, feel like seawater foam.
Watch this video for a quick insight on the phenomenon: https://vimeo.com/81128010
Synesthesia, as a general clinical definition, is an extraordinary sensory condition with "anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one
modality simultaneously produces sensation in a different modality. Synesthetes
hear colors, feel sounds and taste shapes. What makes synesthesia different
from drug-induced hallucinations is that synesthetic sensations are highly
consistent: for particular synesthetes, the note F is always a reddish shade of rust, a 3 is always pink or truck is always blue." (Scientific American, 2006).
Synesthetic perceptions come in many variations and are specific to each individual. One synesthete may always see Thursdays as pink, and the other might see them as amber. According to the Scientific American, it is estimated that synesthesia can occur on a prevalence of 1/20 000 to 1/200. As of now, the exact etiology of synesthesia isn't known. However, researchers hypothesize that it may arise from "crossed wires" in the brain, where neurons and synapses that are supposed to be contained within one sensory system "cross over" to another one.
I realize that it may sound like I'm fantasizing and belittling what could be a serious condition, and I really don't mean to do that. Skimming the outskirts of the symptoms make synesthesia sound like a bonus sixth sense. Nonetheless, I would be curious to hear about a synesthete's experience with it - would they rather be rid of it, if it were possible? Do they ever get overwhelmed with this additional sensory stimulation? Also, how does social stigma come into play? I know it took a while for daltonism to be scientifically recognized.
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| Purple Sweet Potatoes |
Anyhow, end of my little bit of nerdism. For those of us who cannot taste color (yet - cross fingers for a future leap in technology) , I offer an alternative to have a bite of purple.
Ever heard about purple-fleshed sweet potatoes? Yes, purple. I love them - the bold, vibrant color being partially the reason (alright, it's most of the reason), but I also prefer them to the regular orange sweet potatoes. I love both, mind you. Purple sweet potatoes, however, tend to have a firmer, denser, texture then the orange ones. They also seem to be slightly less sweet. The beautiful purple hue comes from a flavonoid called "anthocyanin". It is the same molecule that confers the red, blue or purple pigmentation to blueberries, eggplant peels, cranberries, pansy flowers, etc., depending on their pH.
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| Bold & vibrant purple sweet potatoes: The best part? The color intensifies with steaming. |
The Okinawans have known about those purple tuberous roots for years, and they are a staple in Hawaiian cuisine. The variety that we have here is different, albeit conferring the same bold color (I believe they are called Stokes' purple sweet potatoes), but the recipe that I am sharing today is still imbued with some Polynesian influence.
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| Mashing the purple! |
Mashed Coconutty Purple Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from The Cooks' Cook
Ingredients:
2 pounds purple sweet potatoes (approx. 3-4)
3/4 coconut-flavored soymilk (Subs.: Coconut milk)
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
(Optional) 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Paprika to sprinkle on top
Preparation:
1. Cut the tips of your purple sweet potatoes and steam them, skin still on, until they are soft enough for a fork to pierce through and through (about 45-60 minutes, depending on how large your pieces are). Halve them if they are too big. Try to steam equal pieces for a uniformed cooking time.
2. Allow the sweet potatoes to cool and remove their skins. I simply use a knife to make a tear in the skin, and scrub with a thick paper towel to remove the rest of it.
3. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth. Midway through, add the coconut soymilk, the lime juice and the unsweetened shredded coconut if using.
4. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with paprika before serving.
5. (Optional) Bake at 400F for 10 minutes for a thin chewy layer on the top.
References:
5. (Optional) Bake at 400F for 10 minutes for a thin chewy layer on the top.
References:
Carpenter, Siri. "Everyday fantasia: The world of synesthesia". Monitor on Psychology Vol 32 No. 3 (March 2001). Web. 1st April 2016. <http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar01/synesthesia.aspx>
Palmer, T.J., Blake, R., Marois, R., Flanery, M.A., and Whetsell, Jr., W. "The perceptual reality of synesthetic colors". Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 99:4127-4131, 2002.
Ramachandran, V.S. and Hubbard, E.M. "Hearing Colors, Tasting Shapes". Scientific American Vol 288 Issue 5 (May 2003), 52-59
"What is synesthesia?" N.d., Scientific American, 11 Sept. 2006. Web. 1st April 2016. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-synesthesia/>
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