Potato Candy Is The Depression-Era Treat That's Unexpectedly Delicious
Potatoes are yummy, starchy veggies that can be transformed into so many dishes. There's a potato recipe for all tastes, whether you like to consume them fried and salty, creamy and mashed, or in crispy chip form. However, there's one potato variation you may not have heard of — potato candy. If you're a fan of Food Network's "Chopped," you may have seen it as a basket ingredient, but even the show's most loyal fans were stumped by it.
Potato candy is a vintage treat that likely originated in Europe before making its way to the United States. It's unclear exactly where in Europe potato candy came from, and the reason for this confusion could be that the recipe arrived here with immigrants and may not have been in written form. If it was never recorded on paper, there's no way to truly know its country of origin. Cooking changed significantly during the Great Depression when potato candy first appeared in the South. Potatoes were relatively cheap, so it makes sense that crafty chefs would use them to make a sweet treat. The candy is made from potatoes, a truly mind-blowing amount of powdered sugar, and peanut butter.
How to try potato candy
If you want to know how you can get your hands on some potato candy or how to make it, you're in luck. You can make it at home fairly easily. TikTok chef B. Dylan Hollis took viewers through the process of crafting potato candy, and it doesn't seem too complicated as long as you have eight to ten cups of powdered sugar. Yes, you're reading that correctly.
@bdylanhollis The recipe that finally broke me #baking #vintage #cooking #candy
Hollis starts by cutting up and boiling one potato, then mashing it. He then adds the massive amount of powdered sugar until a dough forms. The next step is laying out the dough and spreading peanut butter on top before rolling it up and cutting it into smaller sections (much like a Yule log). The final step is refrigeration. Then, you have a sugary, delicious treat that Hollis himself was surprised tastes so amazing. Ultimately, creating potato candy from scratch might be the best way to try the old-fashioned treat. The only outlets that sell potato candy seem to be smaller, boutique online retailers.