Sweet Potato Bake Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What enhances the flavor of sweet potatoes? ›

We've been playing around with forms of mashed sweet potatoes for over 200 years, enhancing them in different ways with butter, cream, sugar, honey, milk, molasses, egg whites, rose water (yep), and, of course, alcohol.

Can You Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Microwave? Yes, you can! In fact, the shorter cook time will help the sweet potatoes retain more nutrients that are often lost in the long oven-baking process. It's not all that different than baking a sweet potato in the oven, except it's a whole lot faster.

Wrapping sweet potatoes in foil helps in a few ways. It prevents the exterior of the tuber from drying out and overheating too quickly, which would minimize enzymatic activity; it also results in a more evenly cooked texture.

For a topping, stick to butter, Greek yogurt, or sour cream, or try adding a dollop of cilantro lime dressing, tzatziki, chipotle sauce, pesto, guacamole, or a drizzle of tahini sauce. If you have leftover baked sweet potatoes, save the soft flesh for another recipe.

You can control the amount of maltose produced when cooking sweet potatoes by varying the cooking time. The longer and slower you cook a sweet potato, the more maltose is formed and the sweeter it will taste.

Give them a cold water bath: Once your fries are chopped, toss them into a large bowl. Then cover the fries completely with cold water and let them soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight). This will help to rinse off the excess starch and help the potatoes crisp up beautifully in the oven.

A good rule of thumb for whole baked sweet potatoes: 45 minutes to 1 hour at 400 degrees F; 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes at 350 degrees F; 1 and 1/2 hours at 325 degrees F. You'll know the sweet potatoes are done by piercing the center of the sweet potato with the tip of a sharp knife; the flesh should yield easily.

No, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Yams have rough, dark brown skin that is often compared to tree bark, and their flesh is dry and starchy like a regular potato. Sweet potatoes have smooth reddish skin, softer flesh (when cooked), and a sweet flavor.

Garnet Sweet Potato

It is starchier and moister than other varieties and offers mild sweet flavor with savory earthiness. These are great for baking, casseroles, and mashing.

Why are my oven sweet potatoes soggy? ›

The main reasons for soggy sweet potato wedges are: overcrowding the baking sheet, not tossing in enough oil, having too thick sized wedges, and not roasting at a high enough heat.

A study from 2012 found that the sugar content of one type of sweet potato was almost five times higher after baking for 90 minutes, mainly due… to an increase in maltose. A fragrant aroma and soft texture are also important to the experience, and the cooking method has a big effect here.

Do you have to poke holes in sweet potatoes before baking? Typically holes are poked into a sweet potato to prevent a potato exploding in your oven. However, the chance of that happening is low, and according to Lifehacker, sweet potatoes will retain more flavor if you don't poke them.

Some say wrapping baked potatoes in aluminum foil helps them cook faster (aluminum conducts heat, then traps it), and it does keep them hot for longer once they come out of the oven, which is why we think restaurants use this method. Wrapping potatoes will also give you a softer, steamed skin, if that's what you like.

"I see a lot of people using foil to wrap their potatoes in but this is a big no-no and causes soggy skins!" he says. Foil holds in moisture and steams the potatoes, resulting in a "boiled" taste and texture. Plus, without the use of foil, the skin will get extra crispy and flavorful.

They're high in fiber and antioxidants, which protect your body from free radical damage and promote a healthy gut and brain. They're also incredibly rich in beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A to support good vision and your immune system.

Fill sweet potatoes into hot jars, leaving a space of 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the rim. Add ½ teaspoon of canning salt to pints, 1 teaspoon to quarts, if desired. Fill the packed jars with boiling water or boiling syrup, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) of headspace.

Boil and mash sweet potato into two litres of water and filter using a muslin cloth to produce a clear juice. After add other juices, such as lemon and pineapple to the juice to improve on the taste. Add sugar to the remaining water (four litres) and boil the solution in an aluminium pan, until syrup is formed.