Irish potato candy is a traditional

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, i ...

. Despite its name, it is not from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, and does not usually contain any

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

. The candies have a coconut cream inside (generally made from some blend of coconut,

confectioner's sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, pot ...

, vanilla, and cream or

cream cheese Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Stabilizers such as carob bean gum and carrageenan are often added in industrial production. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration de ...

) and are rolled in

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakf ...

on the outside, resulting in an appearance reminiscent of small potatoes. The treats are about the size of a large marble and are especially popular around St. Patrick's Day. Oh Ryan's of

Boothwyn Boothwyn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,933 at the 2010 census, down from 5,206 at the 2000 census. The census estimation for population circa 2019 is 6,115. History The ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, 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.Erin Zimme
Irish 'Potatoes' from See's Candies and Oh Ryan's
March 17, 2009 Serious Eats

See's Candies See's Candies is an American manufacturer and distributor of candy, particularly chocolates. It was founded by Charles See, his wife Florence, and his mother Mary in Los Angeles, California in 1921. The company is now headquartered in South San ...

, based in

South San Francisco South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 cens ...

, also makes a version composed of a

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

and English walnut interior dusted with cocoa and using pine nuts as potato "eyes." The potatoes are showcased as a seasonal product by Philadelphia-area supermarkets, such as

Acme Markets Acme Markets Inc. is a supermarket chain operating 161 stores throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley of New York, and Pennsylvania and, as of 1999, is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and part of its presence in t ...

. 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.Irish Potato Candy recipe
from GroupRecipes.com (submitted by "recipediva") 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 Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...

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.

References

External links

Video of Irish Potato Candy productionIrish Potato recipe on Wikibooks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Potato Candy Cuisine of Philadelphia Irish-American cuisine Irish-American culture in Philadelphia Candy

See also

References

External links