Background on the Sweet Potato – State Vegetable of North Carolina

Students at a Wilson County school petitioned the North Carolina General Assembly for the establishment of the sweet potato as the Official State Vegetable. Their assignment lead to the creation of the newest state symbol.

North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the nation harvesting over four billion pounds of the vegetable in 1989. The sweet potato is high in vitamins A and C and low in fat and was grown in North Carolina before the European colonization of North America.

The sweet potato was officially designated the State Vegetable by the General Assembly of 1995. (Session Laws, 1995, c. 521).

-North Carolina Secretary of State

Background on Laura Bush

White House Recipe

Laura Bush’s
Recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients for Sweet Potato Casserole
Serves 6 people

• 8 medium sized sweet potatoes,
  roasted, peeled and passed through
  a fine mesh sieve
• 3 whole eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ bag miniature marshmallows
• cooking spray

Directions for Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole by Ben Garney/Flickr CC2.0

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, lightly mix all the ingredients except the marshmallows.
3. Spray a 9 inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
4. Pour the custard and top with a half bag of mini marshmallows.
5. Bake for about a half hour.
6. Keep warm for service.

Sweet Potato Casserole Ingredients

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Cranberry Sauce - image courtesy of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association

Cranberry Juice was also adopted as the official State Beverage of the Commonwealth on May 4, 1970.

Ingredients for 5-Minute Cranberry:

• 3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• ¼ cup water
• 2 cups sugar
• fresh lemon juice (1/4 lemon)

Directions for 5-Minute Cranberry:

1. Gather all ingredients.
2. Place cranberries in a saucepan with ¼ cup of water and cook over low heat until cranberries are soft and begin to pop.
3. Add the sugar and mix well.
4. Let simmer until mixture begins to thicken.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
6. Place in serving dish, cover with plastic wrap and let cool.
7. Serve cold.

Source: Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association

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In 2001, the North Carolina General Assembly named the Scuppernong the official state fruit.

“All Scuppernongs are Muscadines, but not all Muscadines are Scuppernongs.”

Scuppernong Grape - Photo by MGShelton

Muscadine grapes are native to North Carolina and… are large, thick-skinned grapes that typically contain four large seeds and grow in loose clusters. Unlike bunch grapes, that are harvested by clipping whole bunches from the vine, muscadines are usually harvested as individual berries.

Source: Excerpted from a North Carolina Muscadine Association brochure
Visit www.ncmuscadine.org for more information.

Ingredients for the NC Muscadine Dump Cake

• ½ stick margarine
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup prepared NC muscadines
• ¾ cup self-rising flour

Directions for the Muscadine Dump Cake

1. To prepare muscadines, remove pulp; cook pulp until seeds loosen, then press through sieve to remove seeds.
2. Add pulp to skins and cook until tender.
3. Add sugar to taste, some grated lemon peel and a sprinkle of apple pie spice.
4. Melt butter in glass pie plate.
5. Mix flour, sugar and milk in another bowl.
6. Pour flour mixture over butter.
7. Carefully pour prepared muscadines over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
8. Do not open oven until baking time is up.
9. Cake should be brown on top.

Yield: 8 servings.

Learning Links for the Scuppernong (Muscadine) Grape

Scuppernong Grape – North Carolina’s State Fruit
Learn more about the history of North Carolina’s state fruit.
Source: ClassBrain’s State Reports

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Sweet Potato Custard by galateadia

The Sweet Potato is the official State Vegetable of North Carolina, and more than 40% of all sweet potatoes are grown there. Sweet potatoes have been around for a long time, all the way back to prehistoric times, when they may have been a favorite snack of herbivore dinosaurs.

According to the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission:

In 1543 DeSoto’s Spanish explorers found sweet potatoes growing in “Indian gardens” in what became Louisiana. The sweet potatoes were also cultivated in the Carolina area of North America before the European colonization.

The American “yam” is a copper-colored Sweet Potato with a golden-red flesh that is moist when cooked and has a sweeter flavor than the “drier” varieties, They are grown primarily in the South, most notably North Carolina (43,000 acres) and Louisiana with California, Mississippi, Alabama, New Jersey, Texas, and South Carolina following.

In Colonial days sweet potatoes were an item of trade and were shipped from the Carolinas out to northern cities. The potato was an essential food for all the colonies in the days before modern means of preservation.

Ingredients for Sweet Potato Custard

• 1 cup sweet potato, cooked, mashed
• 1/2 cup (about 2) small bananas, mashed
• 1 cup evaporated skim milk
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
• 2 egg yolks (or 1/3 cup egg substitute), beaten
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• nonstick cooking spray as needed

Directions for Sweet Potato Custard

1. In medium bowl, stir together sweet potato and banana.
2. Add milk, blending well.
3. Add brown sugar, egg yolks, and salt,
   mixing thoroughly.
4. Spray 1-quart casserole with nonstick
   cooking spray. Transfer sweet potato
   mixture to casserole dish.
5. Combine raisins, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over top of sweet potato
   mixture.
6. Bake in preheated 325 ºF oven for
   40–45 minutes or until knife inserted
   near center comes out clean.

Yield: 6 servings

Serving size: 1/2 cup

Each serving provides:Calories: 160

A heart healthy recipe from The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Image courtesy of

Tasty Sweet Potato Desserts for You

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Cranberries are the State Fruit of Wisconsin, and for good reason.

According to the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association:

The cranberry, once called “crane berry” by settlers because of its blossom’s resemblance to the sandhill crane, is best known for its place on the Thanksgiving table.


Wisconsin produces more cranberries than any other state in the U.S.; almost 60% of the total production. The cranberry industry is the state’s largest fruit industry, contributing nearly $350 million annually to the state’s economy and supporting approximately 7,200 jobs.

Cranberries are also the Official State Berry of Massachusetts

The following recipe is a great classroom recipe to share with your state report project.

Ingredients for Cranberry Wild Rice Pilaf

• 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup dried currants
• 1 Tblsp butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions for Cranberry Rice Pilaf

1. Rinse and drain rice; place in a saucepan.
2. Add broth and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat; stir in barley, cranberries, currants and butter.
5. Spoon into a greased 1-1/2 qt. baking dish.
6. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
7. Add almonds and fluff with a fork.

6-8 servings

Recipe courtesy of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association

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Wild Turkey is the state bird (or state game bird) of Alabama, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. Cooking wild turkey is a little different than cooking a standard store-bought turkey, because they are drier and have a smaller breast. It’s important to keep the bird moist when you cook it.

Ingredients for Wild Turkey

• 1 bird – wild turkey (prepared – gutted and feathers removed)
• 1/8 cup – Salt
• 1 cup – water
• 1 can – chicken broth
• Stuffing recipes – see below

Directions for baking a Wild Turkey

1. Salt the turkey. This is similar to brining but better. Rub salt all over the turkey skin, and then refrigerate it over night.
2. Remove the bird in the morning and stuff it with the bread and berry stuffing shown below
3. Pour chicken broth and water over the bird and into the stuffing cavity
4. Bake the bird at 325 degrees for 4 – 4-1/2 hours, or until tender. The drumstick should easily pull away from the bird when it’s ready.

Ingredients for Berry Stuffing

• Bread – any you have around (raisin bread is good too)
• Dried Cranberries
• Blueberries (fresh or canned)
• Blackberries (fresh) – optional
• Apples (diced) – optional
• Eggs – 1 or 2

Directions for Berry Stuffing

Take any bread you have laying around. It can be slightly stale, because it will be cooking inside the bird and picking up the juices from it. Mix in any berries that you like. They can be fresh or dried. I usually add dried cranberries, fresh blueberries, and strawberries or blackberries if they are in season. You can also use diced apples, and/or any other berries that you like. Then, take one or two eggs (depending on the amount of stuffing) and mix it all together. Then stuff the bird. To keep the stuffing in the bird, you can use the hell of a loaf of bread and slide it across the opening of the cavity after you stuff the bird.

This is a very loose recipe. I usually just eye the cavity and mix about 1/3 more than I think it will take because I also stuff the back end of the turkey and push some of the stuffing up under the skin on that end of the cavity. The berries help to keep the bird moist and makes the meat lightly sweet.

To keep the bird moist, seal it with aluminum foil to start will help the bird absorb some of the liquid. Remove the foil about halfway through the baking process to brown the bird. You can pour some chicken broth and or white wine over the bird while it’s baking to keep the bird extra moist.

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The Greening Apple is the official state fruit of Rhode Island. This particular variety of apple is especially well suited to being cooked. This is because the Greening Apple doesn’t get mealy when cooked, and its sugar content intensifies its flavor as it bakes. Try this simple apple cornbread recipe for a delicious twist on classic cornbread.

Ingredients for Greening Apple Cornbread

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup sifted flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
  Wet Ingredients
  

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup melted shortening
  Other Ingredients
  

• 1 apple, finely diced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Mix together all of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. Mix the two groups of ingredients together.
5. Lightly fold the diced apples into the mixture.
6. Pour mixture into a well-greased 9 inch square baking pan.
7. Bake at 425°F for approximately 20-25 minutes.
8. Slice into squares and serve

Recipe from the Rhode Island Fruit Growers Association

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The Rhode Island Greening Apple is considered a great cooking apple. It was actually one of the first orchard grown apples in the United States. William Blaxton was a clergyman who planted the first orchard in Massachusetts. He named the first apple that he raised, Blaxton’s Yellow Sweeting, but according to SHG Resources, the name was later changed to the Sweet Rhode Island Greening.

Ingredients for the Rhode Island Greening Apple Pie

• 1 premade pie crust
• 1 package of frozen pie crust dough
• 4 cups of peeled and cored Greening Apples
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1-1/2 teaspoons of lemon zest
• 2 Tablespoons of lemon Juice
  2 Tablespoons of butter

Directions for the Rhode Island Greening Apple Pie

1. Defrost pie crust dough and take out the premade pie crust.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°.
3. Slice Greening Apples into thin slices.
4. Mix together all the ingredients (except the butter) to make pie filling, and pour the filling into the pie crust.
5. Top filling with pats of butter (2 Tablespoons)
6. Cut strips out of the pie crust dough and lay it in a woven criss-cross pattern on top of the pie.
7. Bake pie for approximately 50 minutes, until the filling has thickened and the crust is golden brown.
8. Serve warm or cold.

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Photo by BenFrantzDale

Tart cranberries complement the typically sweet pecan pie in this wonderfully unique version of the pecan pie recipe.

The first known pecan pie was created by the New Orleans French.  It is a uniquely American dessert, mostly popular in the Southern states of Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and Oklahoma where the classic pecan pie is part of the Official State Meal.

This recipe is courtesy of the Marion Farr, Midland County, Texas Cooperative Extension.

Cranberry Pecan Pie

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 tablespoon orange zest, grated
• 1 9-inch pie crust, unbaked

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 ° F.
2. Prepare pie shell.
3. Combine eggs, sugar, corn syrup, and sugar.
4. Stir in cranberries, pecans, and orange zest.
5. Pour filling into pie shell.
6. Bake for 1 hour or until the mixture is firm in the center.
7. Cool before serving.

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Pecans are the only major nut tree variety that grows in North America naturally, and it is also considered the most valuable.  Pecan is an Algonquin word meaning, “all nuts requiring a stone to crack.”

Respective Legislature:

State Health Nut: The pecan was designated the state nut by the 77th Legislature in 2001.”
From the Texas Almanac
“The Act no. 82-17,adopted in 1982, made the pecan the Alabama State Nut

Pecan Soup

Cooking and Preparation Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups pecan halves
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1 stick butter
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 2 tablespoons pureed tomato
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

1. Grind pecans with broth in blender.
2. Melt butter in large sauce pan, add onions and cook five minutes over medium heat until soft.
3. Add garlic and cook one minute.
4. Slowly add nut/broth mixture, tomato puree and cornstarch.
5. Cook for 30 minutes, uncovered, on low heat.
6. Beat egg yolk into cream and slowly whisk into soup; do not boil after this point.
7. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and serve.

About this Recipe:

Recipe courtesy of Cindy Wise, Texas Pecan Growers Association, a non-profit organization that assists growers, and educates the public.

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