Why does it take 2 hours to cook sweet potatoes? And do you use the skins?

[Ophelia]

I used to boil them, but for a while now I have been putting them in the oven. I get them fairly frequently since it is DS's favorite veggie and the only one he will eat with gusto.

I think my Betty Crocker cookbook says like 1 hour. I put the oven at 375 for 1.5 hours today, some still weren't done so I had to add another 20 minutes. I have had to do two hours before. Yes I poke them with a knife before placing in oven. I seem to have a hard time figuring out if they are actually done. I think they are done when I poke a knife into them, but then after I let them cool off, the sides are still kind of hard and I end up wasting some.

I try to pick similar, medium size potatoes so they cook at the same rate. Is it really supposed to take that long?

Also, do you ever eat the skins? I've only eaten skins off of other potatoes, but not sweet. Sweet potato skin seems thick and the one time I left them in the mashed, DS would not eat them.

Thanks!

[milosmomma]

I haven't cooked sweet potatoes lately (because I don't really like them ), but when I used to cook them to puree them into baby food, I'd cut them up into smaller chunks. I don't recall how long I'd cook them, but it definitely wasn't 2 hours.

[neverdoingitagain]

Are you talking whole or cut up? Cut up sweet potato takes significantly less time than whole. In fact I just cut up a sweet potato fro oven fries. Takes 30 minutes.
Oh and I peel them. Not sure you can get away with eating the skin either.

[Arduinna]

We always do them on the grill when we are roasting chicken or other meat and it only takes an hour, whole and unpeeled. Either it's size or the temp is too low. When was the last time you calibrated your oven?

[Drummer's Wife]

Sometimes, to speed up the process, I cut them up into small pieces and boil them for a while, then I roast them in the oven until they are done. We also pan fry them a lot - and if they are sliced thinly, or cut up small enough, they cook pretty quickly.

ETA: I've microwaved them briefly, too, and then baked them.

I usually peel the skin off, but have left it on occasionally and they taste good to me.

[PeachBaby]

I put them whole (with skin, and not poked) in the oven toaster for about 210 degrees Celcius for about 30 minutes (45 minutes if it is really fat/huge). I then poke it with one Japanese chopstick (tip is pointed, not squared off like Chinese type) to test if it is cooked. If it goes all the way through easily, then it's done, and I can pick it up with that one chopstick. I find using a chopstick easier to tell than a knife. If it is overcooked (such as if I cooked a regular sized one for 45 minutes), I find that the skin sticks and it doesn't peel easily and the texture is too dry/hard. I don't eat the skin.

I learned all this watching my Japanese FIL cook and eat sweet potatoes, which I never liked until then, and now I LOVE sweet potatoes.

ETA: or about 400 degrees F.

[Sayward]

I LOVE the skin! With a little evoo + s + p, the skin is the best part!

[Ophelia]

I'm sorry, yes I meant that I put them whole, unpeeled in the oven. Then when they are cooked (I hope), I let them cool off, cut them open and scoop out the insides.

Once early on, I did cut the potatoes into chunks and what happened was the outsides of the potatoes (not the skin but the insides that were exposed) got really dry so I think I had to throw them out. I can certainly try chunks again if it means shorter cooking time, but how do I prevent them from drying out?

I have no idea if the oven can even be calibrated, it is electric and was new when we moved in in 2004. Not a convection oven.

[angelcollector1]

I usually cook them at 450 degrees for about 1-1.5 hours. So, they do take much longer than a white potato in my opinion - I cook them whole after poking with a fork. I have never eaten the skins.

[Ola_]

I normally cut them into wedges (either 6 or 8 wedges out of each potato, depending on size) and steam them on the stove top. Now that the weather is hot I usually grill them after that, otherwise I'd roast in the oven. That's just for crisping up the outside, they're cooked after steaming for 15-20 min. They're not dry because the steam keeps them moist, give that a try.

Oh, I leave the skin on the wedges, it's less messy (I set them skin-side down on the steamer insert). I poke them with a knife to see how soft they are during cooking. I do regular potatoes this way too.

[cappuccinosmom]

I oven-baked sweet potatoes.

Cutting them into smaller chunks does reduce the time they require. Also wrapping them in tinfoil, or covering the pan containing them.

Best ones I ever had though, I sliced thin, tossed with olive oil, garlic, and salt, and baked them like "fries". They came out totally soft, nothing like oven fries, but they were still sooooooo good.

I never remove the skins. If I bake them whole, we just scrape out the skins. With the slices, I scrubbed them good and just left the skins on to eat.

[cristeen]

They're hard on the outside because the outer layer dries out when its overcooked. Try wrapping in foil or putting in a covered casserole with a few Tbs of water.

Never test with a knife, use a fork or ths pps suggestion of a chopstick is good too.

If you're cutting it into pieces before cooking, toss it with oil to get a good coating to prevent it drying out.

[earthmama369]

Sweet potatoes bake best when you cut the ends off in addition to poking a few holes in them. I don't remember where I read that tip, but my sweet potatoes always took forever to bake, and since I tried cutting off the ends, they bake in no time. 20-45 minutes at 375 degrees, regardless of shape or size.

[Artichokie]

We microwave them on the potato setting and they are perfect.

[ikesmom]

Can you chop them in a hobo packet-foil and put them on the grill? Maybe with a little maple syrup or brown sugar?

[cristeen]

Oh, and if you're scooping out the insides anyway, I wouldn't bother baking them - steaming them is much quicker and moister to boot. Not to mention doesn't heat the kitchen up as much.

[californiajenn]

To speed up cooking time, put a metal skewer through it. The metal will help cook the potato from the inside out.

I've never had them take 2 hours and I do eat the very yummy skin. :-)

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by californiajenn

To speed up cooking time, put a metal skewer through it. The metal will help cook the potato from the inside out.

Very clever!

I prefer sweet potatoes cut into cubes and roasted. Tossed in a little olive oil and some spices, they are delicious! If I don't use them as a simple side dish, I'll add them to pasta (terrific with peas and feta cheese), or even salad.

I rarely just bake them whole, unless I want to make a puree to top a shepherd's pie or for soup.

[painefaria]

We put them in the crock pot with a little water on the bottom. They take 2 hours on high (give or take) and they don't heat up the whole house

[mambera]

I cut into chunks and bake in the toaster oven at 350 for 30 minutes. Done when soft. They definitely don't need 2 hours. I eat the skins bc they are very nutritious but don't feed them to my toothless LO.