Irish Potatoes, A Candy Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Irish potato candy made of? ›

Irish potato candies may look like adorable little potatoes, but they're no-cook coconut and cream cheese candies with a coating of ground cinnamon — essentially the coconut equivalent of chocolate truffles.

Irish potatoes are a Philadelphia tradition, one that's more than a century old. In the weeks leading up to St. Patrick's Day, the cinnamon-coated, coconut cream spheres pop up in area candy stores, gift shops, and supermarkets.

Directions. Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes; drain. Set potatoes aside to cool. Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, slide the skin from the potatoes and discard; refrigerate peeled potatoes until completely cold, about 1 hour.

The potato candy pinwheel, sometimes shortened to just potato candy, is a rolled candy prepared by mixing mashed potatoes with large amounts of powdered sugar to create a dough-like consistency, and then adding a filling, traditionally peanut butter, and rolling the confectionery to produce a log-like product.

The Roots of Irish Potato Candy:

Contrary to its name, Irish Potato Candy contains no potatoes. This sweet creation is more about clever confectionery than tubers. Its roots can be traced back to the late 19th century when Irish immigrants in Philadelphia sought to celebrate their heritage in the United States.

Solanum tuberosum (Irish Potato, Irish Potatoes, Pomme de Terre, Potato, Potatoes, White Potato, White Potatoes) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.

There's no definitive account, but there's certainly lots of speculation. Sparknotes: They were probably invented in the 19th or early 20th century, when Philly became home to an increasingly large Irish immigrant population in the wake of the Great Potato Famine.

We call them Irish potatoes because the potato was first brought back to Europe in the 1500's and developed as a crop there. The Irish immigrants brought the culture of potato to the United States.

Did you know that the skin of the Irish potato is nutritious? It is true; the potato skins you peel off contain nutrients below it and are useful in preserving nutrients that would otherwise be stripped when potatoes are cooked. Potato peels protect the nutrients contained in potatoes from escaping.

What do the Irish call their potatoes? ›

The Irish language is very descriptive the common word for potato in Irish is práta (pl. prátaí), hence the origin of Praties for Potatoes, There are literally 50 Irish words and descriptive phrases relating to the potato.

I first came across this trick from a post on Serious Eats – baking soda creates an alkaline environment for the potatoes to boil in, which maximises the starch so our roast potatoes are extra crispy! Swish the potatoes around your colander after boiling.

This potato candy is super easy to make with mashed potatoes, powdered sugar, and peanut butter for a sweet old-fashioned treat! This old-fashioned peanut butter potato candy recipe is sweet, nostalgic, and super easy to make.

TOOTSIE POPS

This 1930s candy is remarkably the world's #1 selling lollipop. In addition, these are great for kids' birthdays or any wedding candy buffet.

If your potatoes are still warm when you add them to your mixture, there's a good chance they'll melt your butter and your sugar, resulting in a watery dough that you'll have to toss out. Add more sugar as needed.

Carbohydrates: About 26 grams. Dietary Fiber: Roughly 2 grams. Vitamin C: Over 20% of the recommended daily intake. Vitamin B6: Around 10% of the recommended daily intake.

Woppa bars (a spearmint chew bar, like a spearmint flavour roy of the rovers bar) Ritchie's milky mints (chewy sweets like nearly hard toffees but milk white and minty as hell,) Toffos (chewy sweets made of various flavour toffee, original, mint, and liquorice are the ones I remember)

If you never tried Taiwanese Deep Fried Sweet Potato Balls before, it is crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. All you need is THREE simple ingredients, Yam, Sweet Potato Flour, and sugar; THAT'S IT! What is this? A Gluten-Free dessert that you need to try!

Why were potatoes so important to Ireland? The potato plant was hardy, nutritious, calorie-dense, and easy to grow in Irish soil. By the time of the famine, nearly half of Ireland's population relied almost exclusively on potatoes for their diet, and the other half ate potatoes frequently.