Can I Partially Cook Yams Before Candying Them

How To Make the Best Candied Yams

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Credit: Photograph: Justin Bridges | Food Styling: Tyna Hoang

Candy-coated yams are a archetype Southern side dish I've enjoyed my entire life. But for years I avoided making them, partially because I idea the process was complicated simply more often than not because I knew they'd never be as good as my mom's. Her candied yams are rich in flavor, covered in sweet sauce, and flavored with vanilla (which actually does make a divergence).

Recently, I finally decided to ask my mom how to make her candied yams. I was shocked by how easily they came together, and now understand what makes hers better than any others. Today, I'thou sharing her honey recipe with you.

Credit: Photo: Justin Bridges | Food Styling: Tyna Hoang

First, What Are Candy-coated Yams?

Candy-coated yams are a Southern staple that are piece of cake to love, but the first thing you should know is that they're not actually made with yams. A yam is a dry out, starchy root vegetable whose peel resembles the bark of a tree. They can exist difficult to find in grocery stores, which is probably why sweet potatoes are more normally used. In fact, what your grocery store is labeling a "yam" is likely actually a sweet potato. (If I've totally confused you, read more here.)

Regardless, candied yams are made past par-cooking sweet potatoes in humid water, placing them in a blistering dish, and topping with a mixture of butter, sugar, and spice. They're so baked until tender and the sweet sauce mixture has thickened and is rich in colour.

Credit: Photo: Justin Bridges | Food Styling: Tyna Hoang

Learning to Make My Mom's Candied Yams

When I asked my mom how to make her candied yams, I expected her to hand me a recipe. Instead, she told me to add together enough carbohydrate to comprehend the top of the sweet potatoes, use vanilla extract if you have it, and sprinkle the spices until it feels right in your spirit. She'south repeated this process so many times she could make candied yams in her sleep, just the lack of specifics made my job more challenging.

I took her outline and came upwards with my own version, but while they were skilful, they weren't quite my mom'due south. I realized the only fashion to know exactly how she made hers was to join her in the kitchen and write it down as she cooked. As it turned out, our recipes were similar and our ingredient list fairly close, but while I prefer to apply a combination of granulated and dark-brown sugars, my mom strictly uses dark chocolate-brown sugar and adds vanilla.

The biggest difference between our recipes is that while I placed all the ingredients into the blistering dish and had the sauce come together while baking, my mom prepares her sauce earlier baking past stirring together brown sugar, vanilla, and leftover water from boiling the potatoes. She then pours this over the sweet potatoes before placing them in the oven, tossing them as they bake to create the candied yams. This one extra step doesn't have much time, but it's a huge payoff in season, allowing the sugar to melt into the water and the sauce to come up together better.

Credit: Photo: Justin Bridges | Food Styling: Tyna Hoang

How to Serve Candied Yams

While candied yams are popular on the Thanksgiving table, they don't need to exist reserved for holidays. Serve the sugariness side with your favorite protein such as broiled ham or turkey and additional sides such as green beans and collard greens. The sauce will thicken as the dish cools, and so let it sit for at to the lowest degree v minutes before earthworks in.

Credit: Photograph: Justin Bridges | Food Styling: Tyna Hoang

In this classic Southern side dish, par-cooked sugariness potatoes are topped with a mixture of butter, sugar, and spice, then baked until tender and coated in a sweet sauce.

• wheat-gratis
• kidney-friendly
• fish-costless
• peanut-free
• vegetarian
• shellfish-costless
• pork-free
• pescatarian
• gluten-free
• tree-nut-gratis
• soy-free
• egg-free
• red-meat-free
• booze-free

Per serving, based on

6

servings. (% daily value)

• Calories 263
• Fat 15.iv g (23.vii%)
• Saturated 9.8 g (48.8%)
• Carbs 31.three g (10.4%)
• Fiber ii.1 g (8.3%)
• Sugars 20.6 g
• Protein 1.2 g (ii.iv%)
• Sodium 162.7 mg (6.8%)

Ingredients

• three

  large yams or sugariness potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

• 1/2 cup

  packed dark dark-brown sugar

• 1/ii teaspoon

  vanilla extract

• ane/2 teaspoon

  footing cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon

  footing nutmeg

• 8 tablespoons

  (1 stick) salted butter

Equipment

• Knife and cut lath

• Large saucepan or pot

• Slotted spoon

• 8x8-inch foursquare baking dish

• Measuring loving cup and spoons

Instructions

1. Prep the yams. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF. Peel and cut 3 large yams into 1-inch pieces.

2. Partially cook the yams. Place the yams in a large bucket or pot and comprehend with water by about 1 inch. Bring to a depression boil over medium-high rut and simmer simply until they can be pierced with a fork and starting to soften (they volition not be fully cooked), about x minutes. Be careful not to overcook.

3. Transfer to a baking dish. Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the yams into an 8x8-inch foursquare baking dish (reserve the cooking water). Spread the yams out in an even layer.

4. Combine the water, brown sugar, and vanilla. Transfer 3/four cup warm reserved cooking water into a measuring loving cup or medium bowl. Add one/two cup packed nighttime brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and stir to combine.

5. Top the yams with spices. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon basis nutmeg over the yams.

6. Pour the sugar mixture over yams. Pour the water-sugar mixture over the yams.

7. Pinnacle with butter. Cut 1 stick salted butter into cubes and scatter over the yams.

8. Bake v minutes. Bake for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the blistering dish from the oven and gently toss the yams to combine the sauce and evenly coat the yams.

9. Proceed baking until fork tender. Bake until the yams are fork-tender, virtually 10 minutes more. Remove the baking dish from the oven and spoon the candy-coated mixture evenly over the top.

10. Serve. Let the yams cool about five minutes then the sauce can thicken. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

Make ahead: The yams can be cooked up to 1 24-hour interval ahead and refrigerated, be sure to also reserve 3/4 loving cup of the cooking water.

Storage: Air-condition leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days. The butter may solidify once stored in the fridge. It volition melt upon reheating, and stir again before serving.

LaKita Anderson

Contributor

LaKita Anderson is a blogger, foodie, family/cocky-taught baker, and nutrient photographer. She cooks, writes, and takes photos of succulent nutrient on her nutrient blog, Simply LaKita, in sunny Northwest Florida.

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Source: https://www.thekitchn.com/candied-yams-recipe-23078147

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