Build Your Own Stuffed Sweet Potato (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak sweet potatoes before baking? ›

The theory is that soaking draws out starch from inside the potatoes, helping them crisp up. I've tested soaking sweet potato fries many times, and I've found that it doesn't make them much crispier, if at all.

This sweet potato recipe loads up tender, creamy cooked sweet potatoes (microwave, air fryer, and oven baked methods included below) with a simple, tasty black bean salsa combining beans, corn, tomato, and green onions with cumin and optionally some chili powder.

The best canned yams (aka canned sweet potatoes) are sweet, tender, and taste as good as fresh yams when you use them to make candied yams or a sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving.

1) Always poke a few holes.

Before baking, use a fork to prick each sweet potato several times. You don't need to jab the fork in deep. We're creating steam vents. Otherwise the pressure in the sweet potato could build up so high in the oven that it explodes—an unlikely possibility but one best avoided!

There is not much difference between boiling sweet potatoes with the skins on versus peeling them, but you will get a boost of fiber and potassium if you keep the skin on. The skin also adds a subtle texture to each bite. If you're looking for a smoother mash, peel the potatoes first before boiling.

The easiest way to prepare sweet potato chips is by using a mandoline slicer. This handy kitchen tool will help you create paper-thin slices, which are best for getting crispy chips. If you slice the potatoes too thickly, they won't crisp up.

Leaving the syrup on the yams can hamper their taste. Rinsing sweet potatoes of any leftover sugary film will uphold their integrity, giving you the most authentic sweet potato taste and texture.

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.

Wrapping the sweet potatoes in foil ensures that they don't dry out too quickly, and allows you to add aromatics if desired. Unwrapping the sweet potatoes and increasing the oven temperature produces charred, roasted flavors and caramelizes converted sugars.

If a whole sweet potato is placed in the ground in early spring — when white potatoes are usually planted — the cold weather will inhibit its growth and it might rot. For this reason, the recommended propagation technique for sweet potatoes is to plant “slips” after the last frost date.

What happens if you forget to poke holes in sweet potatoes? ›

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. I tested this theory right away and found that flavorwise it didn't make a huge difference.

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.

The best potatoes for French fries are soaked in a sugar solution before frying. The sugar solution has something to do with the carbohydrates and prevents the potatoes from soaking up a lot of grease, so they get crunchy.

To remove excess starch, place cut sweet potatoes into cold water making sure the cut surfaces are submerged. This step is especially recommended for "kinton" (Japanese-style mashed sweet potato) and other lightly seasoned dishes where a delectable color is desired. Soaking time of about 5 minutes is sufficient.

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.