Maker · Root Vegetable
De Zoete Pieper
Brothers Geerd and Joris van Geel grow sweet potatoes in Lage Zwaluwe, on their parents' arable farm. What started as a trial plot of two hundred square meters now spans several hectares. Fresh from home, with a short line from field to pass.
The story
Who's behind it
De Zoete Pieper is the brand of Geerd and Joris van Geel, two brothers growing sweet potatoes in Lage Zwaluwe, in western Brabant. They grew up and work on their parents' arable farm at Blauwe Sluis. Both trained in horticulture and arable farming at HAS University of Applied Sciences. A few years ago they started with the sweet potato, a tuber originally from the Andes. On the Dutch market it almost always comes from Egypt, Spain or the United States.
They started small, with a trial plot of two hundred square meters. That grew over a couple of seasons to several hectares. Under the name De Zoete Pieper they're building a short, transparent chain: the tuber grows in Dutch soil and is harvested close to home.
How they grow it
Sweet potato is a young crop in the Netherlands, with a lot of handwork. The crop is strictly frost-sensitive: at one degree above zero the plants already take damage. The soil must be above fifteen degrees before planting can begin, and the brothers lay film over the ridges to warm the soil faster and suppress weeds. Planting happens mostly by hand. At harvest time in late summer the tubers are automatically sorted into three sizes and then cured so the skin sets and the flesh becomes sweeter for storage.
For you in the kitchen, freshness and season count. A tuber from home comes through a short chain, and you know who grew it. The orange sweet potato is by far the most requested, with that orange flesh that caramelizes when roasted. Alongside are purple and white varieties for those seeking more color or a drier texture.
In your kitchen
Put a roasted Dutch sweet potato on the menu, with name and origin attached. Play with the colors and set a purple tuber next to the orange.
Beyond the whole tuber, sweet potato also comes peeled and pre-cut ready to cook, in brunoise from 5 to 15 millimeters and in fine 3 millimeter julienne. That saves peeling waste and knife time. Use the whole tuber where texture and presentation count.
Chef’s tip
Roast the whole tuber low and slow, around 160°C. The starch gets time to convert to sugar and the flesh fills out. Keep tubers dry at room temperature, outside the fridge, so the flesh stays soft and sweet.
How to use it
Ideas for your menu
Roasted sweet potato from the oven
Whole tuber roasted low until the flesh melts. Split, brown butter, sea salt, toasted pumpkin seed.
Puree with brown butter and sage
Peeled, cooked and mashed smooth. Rounder, sweeter alternative to regular mash under game or roasted meat.
Wedges and fries
In wedges or strips, cooked hot for a crispy exterior. Works with whole tuber or pre-cut julienne.
Raw rosti from julienne
Fine julienne raw into the pan. Crispy cake with a soft, sweet center as a base under egg or fish.
For your menu
“Sweet potato from De Zoete Pieper, grown by brothers Van Geel in Lage Zwaluwe. Dutch cultivation on Brabant soil, freshly harvested and from home.”
Products from De Zoete Pieper
What we carry from this maker
Sweet potato orange, whole tuber
Loose per kilo or per box of 6 kilos, the most requested type
Sweet potato orange, peeled
Pre-peeled per kilo, saves peeling waste and prep time
Prices and availability are in the portal. Become a customer or log in to order.
Taste it in your own kitchen
Book a no-obligation tasting with Niels and taste it for yourself.