How do Air Potatoes Taste?

I want to preface this post by saying that I'm talking about the edible cultivar, not the toxic wild ones.

I recently received a bunch of very large air potatoes for seeding. When I bought them I was super excited about the prospect of using vertical growing space, and got swept away by the novelty of it all a bit.

I've heard they taste similar to taro and are good in stews... But can anyone confirm the taste/texture of them so that I can decide how many of these to plant, and how many to gift to neighbours?

Thanks!

Hey Alex, I’ve cooked air potatoes a few times. They do have a starchy, slightly sweet taste, kind of like a cross between yam and taro. Texture-wise, they’re dense but smooth when boiled or roasted, and they hold up well in stews. Just make sure you peel them well before cooking.

I have eaten Dioscorea polystachya aerial tubers, which are a different species but same genus—they taste like tuber-bulrush! (Which in turn tastes like yam) Or similar to the white part of cattail shoots. And starchy of course.

katleen nngarvz wrote:Texture-wise, they’re dense but smooth when boiled or roasted, and they hold up well in stews. Just make sure you peel them well before cooking.

Thanks for the tip! I might attempt to make roast potatoes then as I would normally peel the skins for these anyway. Would you suggest par boiling first?

From what I’ve heard, edible Air Potato tends to have a mild, slightly earthy flavor somewhere between potato and taro. The texture is usually a bit firmer than a regular potato and works well in soups or stews. Just make sure they’re from an edible cultivar, since the wild ones can be bitter or toxic.

Those look great. Where did you get them?