Simple steps to cure sweet potatoes
- Aunt Plantsy
- Nov 18, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 29
We finally dug up the O’Henry white sweet potatoes the last weekend in October. We had never grown this variety before and were shocked to see how some peeked out above the ground and were twisted around each other. But, when I did a little research, it sounds like this is part of their characteristic. Here is what I’ve read about them:
The creamy gold flesh is smooth and stringless. The flavor is lighter and more delicate than other sweet potatoes and has hints of honey and nuts. The sweet, aromatic tubers are also slightly drier than other sweet potatoes making them perfect for baking. The plants are 12 in. tall when mature and produce high yields of huge tan-skinned tubers that grow as a compact cluster underneath the plant, making them extremely easy to dig out.
Also found on the internet: White-fleshed sweet potatoes were traditionally considered a more regionally suitable alternative to the ‘Irish’ potato in the southeast. But when you taste how creamy the O’Henry is in a dish of mashed sweet potatoes, we think it will come to be your first choice.
Ok, now I needed to figure out how to cure them. As some of you know, I grew sweet potatoes last year but never took the time to learn how to cure them and many were wasted. So, here are some simple steps to curing sweet potatoes:
1 – After growing and harvesting your sweet potatoes, use your hands or a towel to gently brush off any large clumps of dirt, mud, or clay. But resist the urge to wash them. Although the sweet potatoes need to be in a humid environment to cure, the tubers themselves shouldn't be wet. If they are, the extra moisture can cause them to rot.
2 - Separate bunches of potatoes as well as any extra growths or roots. Although this may cause wounds in the sweet potatoes, the curing process will create a second skin over any scratches and bruises. If you have to slice into your sweet potatoes to separate them, that's okay! Even cut ends will generally heal over during curing- just try to minimize the size of your cuts.
(side note: I always thought you shouldn’t break the skin, but this instruction states differently)
3 - Curing should be started within a few hours of harvesting. Even a delay of as little as 12 hours between harvest and curing has been shown to produce less reliable results.
4 - Put your sweet potatoes in a box or bucket and place it in a small space, such as a pantry or closet. Add a bucket full of water (to increase humidity) and a space heater set to 85 °F (29 °C). Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature in the room and ensure you have ideal curing conditions. (side note: there are multiple options here and I chose this one with the extra task of putting a damp towel over the boxes. See the link below for other options.)
5 - Check to see if the sweet potatoes are done after 4-5 days. When the sweet potatoes are finished, they should be slightly moist and significantly firmer. If they're still soft after your first check, let them cure for a few more days and try again. If your temperatures or humidity levels are not quite ideal, curing may take up to 2 weeks. If some sweet potatoes remain tender after the rest have finished, this means they have not cured properly. Discard these to prevent them from causing the others to spoil faster.
6 - Complete curing in a dark, 55 °F (13 °C) room for 6-8 weeks. Remove the sweet potatoes from the warm, humid room and take them out of their bags or boxes. Pack the cured sweet potatoes in straw or wrap them individually in newspaper and place them into a wooden or cardboard box without a lid. Move the box to a dark, cool location such as a root cellar or basement. Allow the sweet potatoes to rest here for an additional 6-8 weeks to finish the curing process. Don't have a basement? Try storing the sweet potatoes under your bed. If you want to use your sweet potatoes more quickly, you can skip this step and eat them right after removing them from the humidity. However, the longer you let them rest in a cool, dark space, the sweeter they will become.
7 - Cured sweet potatoes can last for up to a year if kept at a temperature around 55 °F (13 °C) to 60 °F (16 °C). Look for a location with some humidity (around 75-85%) and pack your sweet potatoes in a box or wooden crate to allow air to circulate. You can safely store your finished sweet potatoes wherever you finished curing them: a basement, a root cellar, or under a bed. Avoid placing them in the refrigerator, as sweet potatoes are easily damaged by cold temperatures.
Here is hoping that I’m doing better than I did last year and that most of these can be salvaged and eaten! I’m looking forward to that very much!
Here is the link where I got this information: https://www.wikihow.com/Cure-Sweet-Potatoes
Please visit me online at www.peasbeewithewe.com
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