Kūmara
Kūmara
Availability
Kūmara are available all year round.
Due to major weather events in 2023, kūmara will be in short supply this year.
Storage and Handling
Store in a cool dark place, unless cut and then refrigerate. Handle all fresh produce with care and wash before eating.
History
Kūmara has been grown and eaten in New Zealand since the Māori first arrived. In about the 10th century, Kupe brought the kūmara here from Hawaiki. This variety was a bush with tubers much smaller than the kūmara we know today. Later the bigger sweet potato was introduced which came to be known as the kūmara too.
Facts
- Kūmara is also known as the sweet potato
- The majority of our kūmara is grown in Northland in the Northern Wairoa region where soil type and climatic conditions suit kūmara perfectly
- There are different varieties of kūmara; gold, red and orange
- Gold kūmara, sometimes sold as Toka Toka, it has a golden skin and flesh and has a sweeter taste than red
- The most common is the red-skinned, Owairaka Red, with a creamy white flesh
- Orange kūmara or Beauregard kūmara has the sweetest flesh
Growing Facts
- Plant in October and harvest in February
- Kūmara are sensitive to frost and like a long and warm growing period
- Plant in loose, free-draining soil
Nutrition Information
Kūmara is a good source of niacin (vitamin B3) and vitamin C and a source of dietary fibre, potassium, manganese and thiamine (vitamin B1)
You will find the full Nutrition Information Panel on the New Zealand Food Composition Data website. This website is owned jointly by Plant & Food Research and the Manatū Hauora Ministry of Health. This website holds the most comprehensive collection of high-quality nutrient data for New Zealand foods. The Database is managed and maintained by dedicated Plant & Food Research staff.
