What luck, we have a totally different way to make potato candy today, thanks to a delicious remembrance and how-to combo from Everett cook Judi Ramsey.
“I have read your column for years,” she writes, “but never had a reason to write in before. My mom was born in 1933 into a large family with five boys and three girls. Her mom was amazing, making pies and bread before breakfast to feed her huge crew.
“They didn’t have a lot of treats, but one thing my mom remembered, and passed on to us kids, was the potato candy.
“In my family, we made it every Christmas, each choosing our own favorite flavor to add. Our candy differed from the candy in your previous articles by just one main difference — we didn’t used mashed potatoes (we saved those for potato pancakes, if there were any left over, anyway). Our recipe was simply a peeled potato, boiled and drained, and powdered sugar.
“While the potato was still hot, we added powdered sugar — a lot of it — until it was firm. We would separate out small bowls of dough and add peanut butter, chocolate, Tang (makes a SUPER sweet orange flavor), coconut flavoring with coconut, peppermint flavoring (and crushed candy canes), and any other flavoring Mom had in the cupboard, rum, banana…You name it, we used it. We would use food coloring, too, to make it more special.
” We would form it into balls, or more fun shapes, and put them out for treats. If the candies sit out for a few days, they get dry and hard, but they never lasted that long in my family — they would be gone before the divinity. If you use peanut butter, it can be dipped in melted chocolate.”
Judi continues, “I have made this recipe with my kids, and even took it to my son’s cooperative classroom. It made a good experiment to see how much sugar it would accept. The hotter the potato, the more sugar it would take. The kids were amazed at how much sugar would disappear into that small bit of potato, and how much dough was made in the end.
“Anyway, I just thought I would share our version. Thanks for the walk down memory lane … Maybe it is time to make a batch!”
Winding up, Judi says, “I would love to know where this candy was born. My mom was born here in Eastern Washington, my grandma was from Wisconsin, second-generation American. Not sure of all her ancestry, but we know some came from England, some from Switzerland/Austria. Or maybe the candy was just born out of need in the Depression?”
If anybody can shed some facts/history about the origin of potato candy, don’t hesitate to send them/it along to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206. Please remember that all letters and e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code. No exceptions and sorry, but no response to e-mail by return e-mail; send to kruse@heraldnet.com.
WHOA! Hold everything. So sorry, but there’s a serious omission in the dirt salad recipe (and delightful letter) Snohomish helper Michael Koznek shared in a Dec. 9 Forum column. As Michael puts it so well, “Somewhere along the line, the word ‘crushed’ was left out of the ingredient list describing the Oreo Cookies, which should call for the package of cookies to be frozen, then CRUSHED. This is key to having the appearance of dirt.”
The next Forum will appear in Wednesday’s Good Life section.
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