For preparation and consumption, choose sweet potatoes with deep green leaves and dark flesh for the most nutrients. The whole tips of the sweet potato are edible, including the leaves, stems, and leaf stalks. The leaves, however, are the most nutritious. Use sweet potato leaves immediately after harvest for the most nutrients. Otherwise, store the leaves properly: if you have refrigeration, put them in a plastic bag with holes for ventilation; if not, keep them moist in a cool, dark place, or put the stems in water. Fat is important for the body's absorption of vitamin A, so cook the leaves with some fat (e.g. small amounts of oil or butter). If you consume the leaves raw as a salad, eat them with a dressing that has some fat (e.g. oil). To make nutrients more available and to make the leaves taste better, cook the leaves with heat (e.g. lightly steam, blanching, stir-fry, boil, etc.) for short periods. Cut them up into smaller pieces and don’t cook the leaves for too long or some nutrients may be lost. In general, the smaller the food particle size, the better – so lightly cooked, pureed green leaves, or finely chopped cooked green leaves are better than raw, whole leaves. Consider cooking leaves with lemon to retain vitamins and minerals, and substituting them in any local dish that would use another leafy green. Examples of local Ethiopian dishes that can incorporate sweet potato leaves include kurkufa and fosese, as well as a simple saute or adding them into a salad.