If you are new to Ankara, and American, you are likely having a bit of a mental breakdown this week. Yes, Thanksgiving is upon us and you don’t know how you will live without sweet potatoes!
Well, feast your eyes on these:
The one on the left is an American Sweet Potato! There are a few places in the city where you can find them. However, you will pay a price. I found this one at Dogal Gida Pazari on Bulten Sokak (between Tunali Cad. and Tunus Cad.). They run 30TL per kilo. That’s 7TL for one potato.
The one on the right is HOMEGROWN in TURKEY!!! It is a Turkish tatli patatesi from Hatay. I’ve had them recently. They are reddish on the outside but white on the inside. They are hard to cut, just like an American sweet potato and they cook faster than a white potato, just like an American one.
I liked them and thought the texture and taste were much the same. So now I have them side-by-side and I will conduct some experiments and let you know how it goes. But the first test is done . . .
American Sweet Potato – 30TL/kilo
Hatay Tatli Patatesi – 6TL/kilo
Hatay is ahead so far!
Note: There is a small Hatay market on Kuzgun Sokak at Yesilyurt Sok. in A. Ayranci. They are looking a bit dry, but still tasted good to me!
Update December 5th: I really liked these. Not as sweet as the American counterpart, but very tasty. I was able to use them in all of the same recipes. Search online for recipes with “Boniato” sweet potatoes.
A reader commented that “on the road to ORAN, climbing up, there is little shop called FIRIK, on the right hand side just before the pedestrian passage where they sell Hatay Yöresel Yiyecekleri food from Hatay area. I bought my sweet potatoes there for, hold on, 6 TL per kilo!!! The address is:
Adres : Turan Güneş Bulvarı No : 32
Yıldız Çankaya / ANKARA
Tel : (312) 438 89 89
Adventures in Ankara 
hey There, indeed they are sweet potatos and I am not sure they are actually part of the turkish cuisine, maybe somebody is making an experiment this year :). This kibd of sweet potato is very common in Mexico and we prepare sweets or just bake it and put some condensed milk on top yummy! anyway enjoy it! I also saw the in the migros of 365!
Hi Erika and welcome to the blog! It’s fun to learn about food from other cultures. I did not know that Mexico had a sweet potato! A quick google search shows testing of the sweets in Hatay at least as far back as 1997, so really still very new.
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. I tried the white sweet potatoes for the first time last week and was a bit disappointed, hoe yours were successful.