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?

Those look great. Where did you get them?

Sam Shade wrote:Those look great. Where did you get them?

A farmer who grows them in Kyushu Japan. Was really shocked by the size!

M Ljin wrote: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.

I'm going to try "air growing" just normal potatoes the "Amish Way" this year. I already have the 2 five gallon buckets (no soil) and the PVC to set up with drip sprayers. The potato sits in a basket on top (in a basket in a hole in the lid) with the roots growing in the bucket, being kept damp/wet with the drip irrigation nipples plugged into the PVC tubing.
I do at least ONE crazy experiment each year and this is it for 2026!
I do have another one, not quite so crazy, growing tomato plants up a rope hanging from an arbor.

IF you have eaten the Sweet Potato / Marshmellow dish at Thanksgiving Dinners you probably are NOT really a Sweet Potato aficionado, BUT try the following and you actually may like this style of cooked Sweet Potato.

Sweet Potatoes Made Edible!  Buy a medium sized Sweet Potato, clean it good with a scrub brush, put it in a microwavable dish covered with a wet paper towel (not dripping wet, wrung out). Set the MW on high for from 5 to 7 minutes. Pull out of the MW and uncover. Cut in half length wise and add a little butter on top. No need to re-dish this. Just eat it out of the thick skin from the MW dish. CAREFUL, it will be hot. You may have to let it rest for a couple of minutes.