Sweet Potatoes / Candied Yams

[Peter B Wolf]

Here is mine, proven to me for years, although with slight deviations yearly.

Boil in salted Water, skin-on Yams/Potatoes, slightly 'under-done'.

Peel when cool, cut into desired size (maybe of a med-size white Potato)

Important: refrigerate over-night!

My trick: either fill a skillet with about two inch of frying Fat or, if you have a deep fat fryer, heat to 375F and brown your potatoes, so as to have them get a slighly crispy skin. This will prevent them from totally soaking up the following Syrup (for 'candying')

The Syrup: Make a fairly light colored caramel, using brown Sugar and Honey, when at the desired stage, add frozen, but thawed - not diluted !! Orange juice. Whatch the splatter. Fresh lumps of Butter and chopped candied Ginger or Frutta Motarda (Italian Mustard Fruit), sliced, toasted Almonds and a sprig of Thyme gives additional flavor. Add Potatoes, simmer just long enough to heat well throughout. Please do not add any of these icky looking and tasting Maraschino Cherries.

So you don't want to make the Syrup ?

Just heat a bottle of Sour Cherry Syrup or Raspberry Syrup from your favorite Eastern European Grocery and stew the pots in that.

Now tell me your way(s)

[ExtraMSG]

That sounds a lot better than the canned yams poured into a casserole dish, tossed with butter and brown sugar and topped with marshmallows that I avoided every Thanksgiving as a kid.

[Katherine]

Peel raw sweet potatoes and cut into 1" cubes. Simmer in an extra-heavy syrup of 2 parts sugar to 1 part water until done (cooks really quickly at this elevated temperature). Cooked this way they get nice and firm. I think the high temperature drives off the extra water.

Eat slowly and feel your blood sugar rise.

Also good when served with apples simmered separately in the same syrup.

If you don't mind the brown color, you can add brown sugar, dark corn syrup, spices, etc, to the syrup.

Sweet potatoes boiled in water are soft and watery, you can do a lot with them, but they're not really "candied".

[browniebaker]

I peel and slice the sweet potatoes crosswise into 1/2"-thick rounds, melt butter in a skillet, and pan-fry until a golden-brown crust develops. Then I add dark or light brown sugar (to taste), some salt, and water to cover, then cover and simmer until potatoes are candied, and reduce liquid to a syrup of the desired consistency.

Edited October 28, 2003 by browniebaker (log)

[Toliver]

I had some sweet potatoes once where the person who cooked them used cinnamon red hot candies instead of marshmallows. I usually find most recipes for sweet potatoes far too sweet to eat (I'm more of a savory person) but these tasted wonderful. Who knew?

And she wouldn't share the recipe...the beeyatch!

[Cusina]

I puree the leftover sweet potatoes (candied farily simply in butter and brown sugar) for soup. Mix them with butternut squash and tarragon.

Yum.

[Jaymes]

I make them many ways, but always add a splash of bourbon and a spoon of frozen OJ concentrate.

[Akiko]

I've been making a sweet potato recipe that calls for you to bake them, rice them into a pot of melted butter and milk (or half and half), top with a syrup of brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and pecans and then roast in the oven....

but I don't like the texture of the potatoes, it comes out a little... whippy... I'm really looking to make a denser sweet potato, almost like sweet potato pie or sweet potato creme caramel... does anyone have suggestions or a recipe for me?