Foodie Friday: Sweet Potatoes

[Inspired by the World War I recipes (meatless, wheatless, and sweetless), this posting of Special Collections News begins a new series—Foodie Friday—in which we will post or link to interesting or fun recipes and food information that the staff finds in our collections.] 

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite North Carolina commodities, and my favorite way to prepare them is scalloped sweet potatoes with fruit.  There is a good and easy recipe in our NC Cooperative Extension materials.  I particularly like them with apples (my favorite fruit—two favorites in one!)

You might also like the other sweet potato recipes in this pamphlet, titled “Tarheel Yam Dishes for Health and Happiness,” found in an extension agent packet.  The pamphlets and other materials in this packet date from the 1950s and 1960s, but it is possible some of the individual recipes are older.  (For example, some recipes in the "Tarheel Yams" pamphlet draw upon a 1946 U.S. Department of Agriculture publication.)

Many NC Extension publications with recipes from the 1950s and 1960s were prepared by Extension Nutritionist S. Virginia Wilson, who led the food and nutrition program from 1959 until her retirement in 1966.  She had a long career with Extension, beginning as the Granville County home demonstration agent in 1936, moving in 1943 to the Raleigh office to become an assistant extension nutritionist, and then advancing afterwards.  She passed away in 1994.

Explore more resources about sweet potatoes in our digitized collections (including images, documents, and videos) and our collection guides, and as always, contact us to view materials in our reading room or to learn more about Special Collections.