This post was done in 2014 over at Dolly is Cooking. I thought since it is sweet potato season, it would be a good thing to transfer over to the main blog here.
Do you like sweet potatoes? I do they are so versatile. There is nothing like a baked sweet potato, so moist, sweet, and delicious. I love when you bake them, and some sweet juice has caramelized underneath the potato. That is the one I would choose from the baking pan.
You can make a Southern favorite, Sweet Potato Pie! My Mama and grandmothers also made something that they called Sweet Potato Pudding, delicious hot or cold. Souffles, casseroles, sweet potato fries, there are any number of ways to use this very healthy vegetable that tastes like a dessert...wow, think about that!
Today we are frying sliced sweet potatoes.
I wish I could remember how Grandma's wood-burning stove looked. I really don't remember the white like the one pictured below, and I think her stove was all black. I do remember watching her stand over that stove and cooking some of the best food that I've ever put into my mouth. Picture the lace cornbread, fried squash, and fried sweet potatoes cooked in an iron skillet on a wood-burning stove.
I found this little wood/coal-burning stove
1954 Coal Wood Range
Price: $49.95
Description: White parts are porcelain-enamelled. Balance plain black finish. Side pouch feed for coal. Burn soft coal or wood that is eighteen inches long. Polished six-lid cooktop. Oven heat indicator. High closest model.
The kitchen of that house was built away from the rest of the rooms. When Grandma and those lived there, the hall had been built to connect the rest of the home to the kitchen. They did that long ago to prevent the entire home from burning down if the kitchen caught fire. The strange thing is, this home did burn to the ground, so sadly, a lot of family pictures and heirlooms were lost.
The living room was called the heater room by my grandparents. Let me tell you something that room should have been called the heater room. Hot does not describe the heat in that one room! Granddaddy was a slim man and evidently cold all of the time. He kept busy chopping wood and filling the potbelly stove (like the one pictured below) and the wood-burning stove.
Potbelly stove from Appalachia Museum
Topic: Sweet Potatoes
I now have a stove that I can't use an iron frying pan on. I hate it! If you can use an iron frying pan for cooking these, they will be so crispy and delicious.
Use small sweet potatoes. The ones I used today were slim, about 2 inches wide by approximately 6 inches long. Why, you may ask? They taste better, are usually a lot more tender, and easier to slice. I heard a chef on PBS say not long ago that her mother and grandmother told her this, but she thinks it may be just folklore. I can tell you those older women knew what they were talking about. It is true they are more tender and taste better.
- Wash, peel, and slice lengthwise about 1/8 inch thick.
- Put only enough vegetable, canola, or olive oil to just cover the pan.
- Cook over medium heat to cook through and watch so they will not burn.
- Remove from the pan when tender and browned to your liking.
- Sprinkle with a little salt and a mixture of sugar and cinnamon if you wish.
My pictures do not do these justice, but they are delicious.
photo and info credit
Sweet Potatoes are an incredibly nutritious food that are packed with antioxidants like beta carotene, vitamins C, E & D, and minerals such as manganese and iron. They are also high in potassium, which helps to lower blood pressure by removing excess sodium and regulating fluid balance in the body. Sweet potatoes are an excellent anti-stress food and are known to help relax muscles, steady nerves, ...read more HERE
Fry up some today, they are delicious!
Great post, Dolly. Let me know if you would like to cook together sometime and film it.
ReplyDeleteSo much we could talk about when it comes to the old foods.
Hi Linda!
DeleteThank you! You know cooking together would be great I would love that! We must make plans to do that.