What Camote means
Camote is a Mexican sweet name of Nahuatl origin meaning "sweet potato". It comes from camohtli (sweet potato, edible tuber). It is pronounced kah-MOH-teh, and it is most associated with Puebla.
Candied sweet-potato sticks are the classic Puebla souvenir. The Nahuatl word travelled far: it is camote in Mexican Spanish, kamote in Tagalog, and the source of English 'camote' in the Philippines and the US Southwest.
Camote is one of the many Mexican food words formed in Nahuatl. Spanish borrowed it, and in several cases English borrowed it again from Spanish. See how Nahuatl builds words and the full list of Mexican food names.
This is a site about what Mexican words mean, so there is no recipe here. For the name itself: From colonial convent sweets like ate and jamoncillo to the chili-and-tamarind candies of the modern corner shop. Alegría means "joy", borrachito means "little drunk one", and muégano's name is a mystery even to Mexicans.
