As the smell of sweet potato butter wafts into your homes, bakeries, or even farmers’ markets, everyone immediately thinks of lovely fall colors, Thanksgiving, and even those creamy, sweet potato pies. The richness of sweet potato butter makes it a good addition for desserts, although they can occasionally be added as a flavor accent to savory recipes as well.
Classic sweet potato butter is made from mashed sweet potatoes, cinnamon, and brown sugar. The recipes would vary from family, other ingredients added include apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and even ginger. Whether you like it creamy or a bit earthy and spicy, there will always be a recipe suited for your taste and if there isn’t any, then you can craft your own signature sweet potato butter recipe and pass it to the next generations.
Sweet Potato Butter Trivia
- The US celebrates National Sweet Potato Month every February. Sweet Potato is North Carolina’s official vegetable.
- A lot of people have been confused between yams and sweet potatoes; some even use them interchangeably. However, both vegetable Yams are considered to be old-world vegetables, with dark skin and white interior. On the other hand, sweet potatoes are one of the vegetables of the new world. They usually have orange or purple skin with orange, white, or yellow flesh. They are naturally moist and sweet, boiled sweet potatoes are a classic winter snack in many parts of the world.
Sweet Potato Butter Buying Guide
Sweet potato butter is available as homemade products in your local artisan food shops, stalls, and displays. When buying sweet potato butter, it won’t hurt to ask for a sample. Smell the sweet potato butter first to identify whether a couple of artificial ingredients were used in the production process. It also wouldn’t hurt if you could ask for a taste test. Sweet potato butter should have a creamy, light texture and an almost caramel-brown color. It should be free from artificial aromas or flavor to maintain its integrity.
Sweet Potato Butter Production & Farming in Texas
Sweet potatoes are one of the major crops produced in Eastern Texas, though they can also be grown in other areas of the Lone Star State. Texas sweet potato seeds are usually planted during April and then transferred from May to June. It’s best to plant sweet potatoes in deep or fine sandy loam soils where their roots can thrive the best and their crops are nourished from the moisture. Beauregard is the most common sweet potato variety in Texas along with Vardaman, Centennial, and Jewell.
Preservatives and Chemicals
Sweet potato butter is commonly produced by artisan-makers who abide by all-natural ingredients and methodology to preserve the classic, old-world flavors of sweet potato butter. Thus, they are usually free from preservatives, artificial flavors, and artificial food coloring, as the natural colors, sweetness, and consistency of the sweet potatoes are highlighted in the process.
Packaging
When making sweet potato butter, be sure to store them in sterilized glass containers. Before canning the jam, check the glass jars and discard those with cracks or chipped edges. Do not use metal lids with rust since they will be unsafe for canning production.
We would love to see your homemade sweet potato butter in beautiful glass jars. You can add some ribbons and stickers to elevate the look. Always remember to include the date of production when giving away sweet potato butter as a gift. This would also serve as additional information for your consumers and they will know when to best consume it before it spoils.
Enjoying Sweet Potato Butter
There are so many ways to enjoy sweet potato butter. You can eat is like how you consume spreads, jams, and other preserves. Sweet potato butter can be spread on toasted bread, crackers, and biscuits. It can be added as a filling to anything with sweet potatoes such as pies, cupcakes, muffins, and even donuts. Sweet potato butter is one of the top foods for fall and winter, they would be a great addition to plain yogurt, oatmeal, granolas, or even milkshakes.
Storage
When cooking sweet potato butter, make sure that the final product is cooled properly before storing it in the refrigerator. It should last up to 2-3 weeks.
Cooking
SWEET POTATO BUTTER
INGREDIENTS
6 cups diced peeled sweet potatoes
2 cups diced peeled tart apples
4 cups water
2/3 cup orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
PROCEDURE
- In a heavy saucepan, combine all ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2 to 2-1/4 hours or until mixture is thickened and about 1 cup of liquid remains, stirring occasionally.
- In a blender, process the mixture in batches until smooth. Transfer to jars or containers. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Store in the refrigerator.
