This article is about a candy originating in Southeast Pennsylvania. For the mashed potato roll filled with peanut butter, see Potato Candy.
Irish potato candy is a traditional Philadelphiancandy. Despite its name, it is not from Ireland, and does not usually contain any potato.[1] The candies have a coconut cream inside (generally made from some blend of coconut, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and cream or cream cheese) and are rolled in cinnamon on the outside, resulting in an appearance reminiscent of small potatoes.[1][2] The treats are about the size of a large marble and are especially popular around St. Patrick's Day.[1]
Oh Ryan's of Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, claims to be the largest distributor of Irish Potatoes, shipping about 80,000 pounds to major chains and smaller candy stores, mostly in the Philadelphia area.[3]See's Candies, based in South San Francisco, also makes a version composed of a divinity and English walnut interior dusted with cocoa and using pine nuts as potato "eyes".[3] The potatoes are showcased as a seasonal product by Philadelphia-area supermarkets, such as Acme Markets.
While the commercial confection is usually coconut-cream–based, recipes for potato-based Irish Potato candy do exist. In these recipes, the potato is mashed, without any added liquid, and confectioner's sugar is added gradually. The coconut and vanilla are added while the mixture is still somewhat soft, to make blending easier, and additional confectioner's sugar is added until a consistency is reached that will allow rolling into bite-sized balls. The candy is allowed to dry for a couple of hours and then rolled in cinnamon to achieve the appearance of tiny potatoes. Drying the candy before rolling in the cinnamon keeps the cinnamon from becoming dark.[4]
These recipes do not involve any use of heat after the cooking of the potato. When the sugar is added to the mashed potato, the mixture becomes liquid, then becomes gradually firmer as more sugar is added. Powdered cocoa can be substituted for the cinnamon for a slightly darker potato without the cinnamon's "bite". The coconut can be left out, or the candy can be dipped in chocolate. The potato and confectioner's sugar make a base for experimenting with other flavors, such as mint.[citation needed]
^ abc. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017.
^SAUNDRA. "Irish Potato Candy". Allrecipes.com. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
^ abErin Zimmer Irish 'Potatoes' from See's Candies and Oh Ryan's March 17, 2009 Serious Eats
^Irish Potato Candy recipe from GroupRecipes.com (submitted by "recipediva")
External linksedit
Video of Irish Potato Candy production
Irish Potato recipe on Wikibooks
February 16, 2024
irish, potato, candy, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Irish potato candy news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article is about a candy originating in Southeast Pennsylvania For the mashed potato roll filled with peanut butter see Potato Candy Irish potato candy is a traditional Philadelphian candy Despite its name it is not from Ireland and does not usually contain any potato 1 The candies have a coconut cream inside generally made from some blend of coconut confectioner s sugar vanilla and cream or cream cheese and are rolled in cinnamon on the outside resulting in an appearance reminiscent of small potatoes 1 2 The treats are about the size of a large marble and are especially popular around St Patrick s Day 1 Irish taterIrish potato candy from See s of South San Francisco with cream cheese cinnamon sugar and nutsTypeCandyPlace of originUnited StatesRegion or statePhiladelphia PennsylvaniaMain ingredientsCinnamon sugar coconut and cream cheese source source Irish potato candyOh Ryan s of Boothwyn Pennsylvania claims to be the largest distributor of Irish Potatoes shipping about 80 000 pounds to major chains and smaller candy stores mostly in the Philadelphia area 3 See s Candies based in South San Francisco also makes a version composed of a divinity and English walnut interior dusted with cocoa and using pine nuts as potato eyes 3 The potatoes are showcased as a seasonal product by Philadelphia area supermarkets such as Acme Markets Contents 1 Variants 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksVariants editWhile the commercial confection is usually coconut cream based recipes for potato based Irish Potato candy do exist In these recipes the potato is mashed without any added liquid and confectioner s sugar is added gradually The coconut and vanilla are added while the mixture is still somewhat soft to make blending easier and additional confectioner s sugar is added until a consistency is reached that will allow rolling into bite sized balls The candy is allowed to dry for a couple of hours and then rolled in cinnamon to achieve the appearance of tiny potatoes Drying the candy before rolling in the cinnamon keeps the cinnamon from becoming dark 4 These recipes do not involve any use of heat after the cooking of the potato When the sugar is added to the mashed potato the mixture becomes liquid then becomes gradually firmer as more sugar is added Powdered cocoa can be substituted for the cinnamon for a slightly darker potato without the cinnamon s bite The coconut can be left out or the candy can be dipped in chocolate The potato and confectioner s sugar make a base for experimenting with other flavors such as mint citation needed See also edit nbsp Food portal nbsp Philadelphia portalIdaho Spud another potato related candyReferences edit a b c Oh Ryan s Irish Potatoes Oh Ryan s Original Irish Potatoes Candies Archived from the original on March 17 2017 SAUNDRA Irish Potato Candy Allrecipes com Retrieved 25 August 2018 a b Erin Zimmer Irish Potatoes from See s Candies and Oh Ryan s March 17 2009 Serious Eats Irish Potato Candy recipe from GroupRecipes com submitted by recipediva External links editVideo of Irish Potato Candy production Irish Potato recipe on Wikibooks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Irish potato candy amp oldid 1145328713, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
