Proof That Sweet Potato Recipes Are A Thanksgiving Necessity (2024)

FAQs

Why are sweet potatoes a Thanksgiving food? ›

Later, Hale included a recipe for sweet potato pie in a magazine article she wrote in 1887. The recipe, along with Hale's reputation as the "godmother of Thanksgiving," no doubt, helped to set the stage for the sweet potato tradition.

In 1621, the vegetable had not yet made its way to the colonies. And sweet potatoes were first discovered in the Caribbean, but they too had not been introduced into North America at the time of the first Thanksgiving.

Starting off with vegetables, North Carolina, Idaho and Wisconsin lead the nation in the production of some Thanksgiving favorites, according to USAFacts. More than 60% of all sweet potatoes produced in the U.S. in 2021 were grown in North Carolina – amounting to 1.8 billion pounds.

Just one sweet potato gives you 102% of the vitamin A you need each day. This helps keep your eyes healthy as well as your immune system, your body's defense against germs. It's also good for your reproductive system and organs like your heart and kidneys.

They're high in fiber and antioxidants, which protect your body from free radical damage and promote a healthy gut and brain. They're also incredibly rich in beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A to support good vision and your immune system.

Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589 & the potato has been linked to Irish history ever since. Mashed potatoes, the most common way to enjoy potatoes at Thanksgiving, became an American staple in the 1700s. As far back as 1747, Americans were mashing up potatoes with butter, milk, salt, & cream.

Well certainly not what we eat at Thanksgiving. They ate fish, corn, venison, and no pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie would have required sugar, that was in a very limited amount. There would have been bread, but not the way we see it today.

But according to the two only remaining historical records of the first Thanksgiving menu, that meal consisted of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, cod, bass, and flint, and a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

It is also worth noting what was not present at the first Thanksgiving feast. There were no cloudlike heaps of mashed potatoes, since white potatoes had not yet crossed over from South America. There was no gravy either, since the colonists didn't yet have mills to produce flour.

North Carolina produces more sweet potatoes than any other state in the United States and has been a leader since 1971. [1] In 2021 its production represented 64 percent of total U.S. production.

What is the sweet potato capital of the United States? ›

Vardaman is located in one of Mississippi's top five sweet potato-producing counties. The Vardaman Sweet Potato Festival, also known as the National Sweet Potato Festival, is held there annually the entire first week in November. Vardaman has been proclaimed as the "Sweet Potato Capital of the World".

Sweet potatoes can be grown in any state, but the states that produce the most are North Carolina, Louisiana, California, Mississippi and Florida.

The Bottom Line

Sweet potatoes are full of antioxidants, vitamins and fiber to support your eye, digestive and heart health. They're generally safe to eat daily, especially if you eat them with calcium to prevent calcium oxalate kidney stones. There are so many fun and tasty ways to eat sweet potatoes.

Eating potassium-rich sweet potatoes helps promote a healthy heart. Higher potassium intake allows you to excrete more sodium lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk for heart disease according to the American Heart Association.

Consuming sweet potatoes in excess can result in sweet potato side effects such as Vitamin A toxicity, which is manifested in skin rashes and headaches. Due to high fibre content, excess intake of sweet potatoes can result in bloating, stomach pain and diarrhoea.

Most people point to a 1917 pamphlet by the Angelus Marshmallow Company as the first time sweet potatoes and marshmallows came together. This company is believed to be the first to commercially-produce and sell the squishy white marshmallows we know, roast, and snack on today.

Though they can both be part of a healthy diet, sweet potatoes are generally healthier than regular potatoes, partly because of their incredibly high vitamin A content. Sweet potatoes are also lower on the glycemic index, meaning that they are less likely than regular potatoes to make your blood sugar spike.

North Carolina leads the nation

Around 100,000 acres of sweet potatoes are harvested in North Carolina each year, which is more than other top-producing states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and California combined.

Because Bradford wrote of how the colonists had hunted wild turkeys during the autumn of 1621 and because turkey is a uniquely North American (and scrumptious) bird, it gained traction as the Thanksgiving meal of choice for Americans after President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.