How to bake a good sweet potatoe?

[JamieChiLuver]

I love sweet potatoe but have the hardest time getting one to come out of the oven tasting good. Sometimes their too dry, sometimes not cooked enough and they never taste like the ones you get at a great restaurant. Can someone please tell if there is a secret to baking a great potatoe??

[LyndaB]

Hi Jamie,

I don't bake them on their own... but rather I experiment with them. Last night, I cut them up into cubes, broke up some asparagus into 2 inch pieces, and cut white mushrooms into thirds. I placed all of this into a baking pan, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, pepper and tarragon, covered with aluminum foil and baked at 325 for approximately 20 minutes. The intermingling flavors were wonderful.

Edited to say: I also put just a few small dollops of ICBNB (solid) on and let it melt into the mix. I suppose you could spray it if you chose to.

[RedRox]

mmm... that sounds like it could make it on the table for Turkey day!!

Jaime, we just microwave ours (about 5-7 mins per lg. SP). They can get a little mushy, but are more steamed/moist and are rarely dry that way.

[LisaB]

We just had these last night for dinner (luckily we've always eaten them and my kids love them!).

I pick smaller ones, rinse them off, put them on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for an hour. I let them go a little longer if the rest of dinner isn't ready, but usually an hour will do it. We then eat them like baked potatoes - peel, add Smart Balance, salt & pepper and mash slightly.

Lisa

[bug18]

I also had this last night. I wrap the sweet potato in aluminum foil and then put them in the oven to bake. I think the wrapping helps keep them moist. I cook for about an hour. I don't add anything on top. I like them just as is.

[Darlene]

Texas Roadhouse has the best ever baked sweet potatoes!!!!! mmmmmm

[JamieChiLuver]

No kidding Darlene! In a million years, mine could never come out tasting that good.

[Darlene]

I have a co-worker who was a waitress there! Maybe she knows the secret? LOL They are seriously the best sweet potatoes ever....LOL

[prazteam]

I either bake 350 for about an hour (stick a fork in and see if they are done just like a baked potato) or I microwave them wrapped in film wrap.
My children like them with splenda and cinnamon and Smart Balance. My hubby and I like them that way or just Smart Balance. I also like them leftover, sliced and broiled a few minutes with cinnamon.

[santosha]

I cut them into smallish cubes or "steak fries" shapes - like thick french fries, mist with olive oil (you don't need a lot), toss to make sure they're coated well, salt them lightly, and cook at 450 for a while...sorry...I never time stuff...maybe a half an hour? maybe 45 minutes? yummy yummy!!!!

[lessame]

The problem may not be your cooking method, but the sweet potato(es) themselves. Sweet potatoes need to "age" before being eaten, and what you buy in the market may be too fresh. If they are not aged, they can be either hard as a rock, even after an hour of baking, or they can be stringy and bitter.

How to tell if they're aged? The skin should be thin and almost flaky -- if you scrub one with a vegetable brush, there should be marks in the skin and even patches of skin coming off. Not foolproof, but the method I use.

I have cooked sweet potatoes almost every way imaginable (I do live in eastern NC, after all ), and believe the best method is to line a baking sheet (with low sides) with foil, spray the foil with butter flavor Pam, put the washed and pierced sweet potatoes on, and spray them with the Pam. Bake at 350 for an hour, and see if they're done. When they're done, juice should be coming out of the holes you pierced earlier -- poke with a fork to be sure -- they should be very, very soft. Let cool, then the skin will pull right off and you will be left with soft, sweet flesh inside.

I have roasted the cubes, and they're awesome with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Have also "fried" sweet potatoes -- peel and slice into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. Lay in a Pam'd nonstick frying pan, cover, and cook over med-low heat for about 20 minutes. Flip over, and cook 20 minutes more. They'll be soft all the way through, but a little caramelized on the outside. Time consuming, but yummy!

Sue

[vickil]

How to tell if they're aged? The skin should be thin and almost flaky -- if you scrub one with a vegetable brush, there should be marks in the skin and even patches of skin coming off. Not foolproof, but the method I use.

How do you tell in the store? Fingernail test? There are people on the side of the road around here selling Louisiana sweet potatoes from a truck. I might want to get some.

[lessame]

vickil -- I look for "shaggy" ones. You could also just ask the people selling them -- most will be honest with you. Even is they're not aged when you buy them, all you have to do is leave them for a while at home, and they'll be fine in a week or so.

Sue

[OldGreyBob]

In previous replies, no one has mentioned rubbing down the unpeeled, washed and dried sweet potato with olive oil before oven roasting. The olive oil seems to give the flesh of the sweet potato just under the skin a very nice nutty flavor and the skin slides off very easily.

[LyndaB]

vickil -- I look for "shaggy" ones. You could also just ask the people selling them -- most will be honest with you. Even is they're not aged when you buy them, all you have to do is leave them for a while at home, and they'll be fine in a week or so.

Sue

That is REALLY good to know. I'm new to the whole sweet potato game and it's nice to have a hand up on how to tell what a good one is.

Also, do you need to keep them refrigerated at home prior to use?

But... my main question is, what the heck is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam? They had two barrels of them at the store and I can't tell a difference at all, even in the color. Did the store mess up or do you need a secret decoder ring to tell a potato from a yam?