Homegrown Christmas Fare

North Carolina farmers provide the star attractions for Christmas dining tables, not just in our state but across the country. We rank first, second and third nationally in the production of sweet potatoes, turkey and ham, all staples of many holiday meals.

Growing nearly 2 billion pounds of sweet potatoes annually gives our state 63 percent of the U.S. market, more than doubling what the nearest competitor, California, produces. North Carolina farmers produce about 30 million turkeys, some 10 million less than the No. 1 state, Minnesota, according to USDA statistics.

It is easy to completely load our plates with locally sourced food items, not only purchased at local markets, but from some of the 46,000 farms in the state, many of which sell to area grocery store chains.

“I can just about guarantee that someone can make an entire holiday meal just on what is produced in North Carolina,” says Dr. Jesse Grimes, turkey management Extension Specialist at NC State University. “Turkey, goose, duck, quail, chicken, sweet potatoes, squash, sweet corn, beans, carrots, onions, broccoli … well, I guess some people even eat cauliflower.”

Idyllic images like Norman Rockwell’s Freedom From Want show a big turkey as the focus of a large meal, but sweet potatoes likely appear in more than one holiday dish. Many families will serve North Carolina’s top crop in a variety of ways: as a marshmallow-topped casserole, oven roasted with other vegetables, as a pie or sweet bread, or as seasoned fries for the grandkids, served with a side of ranch dressing for dipping.

“Sweet potatoes have to go with collards. You definitely expect to have sweet potatoes, or yams as we call them. Typically, my mom made two to three sweet potato pies each holiday because my family is big sweet potato eaters,” says Deanna Anderson.

Replacing white potatoes with sweet potatoes, a root vegetable that is lower on the glycemic index, has become popular and is often recommended by nutritionists. The higher fiber content makes them a better fit for people with diabetes. They also contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Growers and promoters come up with enticing new ways to eat even more sweet potatoes, such as slicing them thinly to replace corn chips in a nacho twist, as a main cornbread ingredient, and even as piña colada sweet potato popsicles, according to recipes found at NCSweetPotato.com.

“I’m not allowed to show up at a family function without Cheesy SweetPotato Sausage Spread. It is this warm gooey goodness, filled with all those naughty calories we deprive ourselves of all year. It is comfort in a bowl,” says North Carolina SweetPotato Commission communication specialist CoCo Daughtry.

There are lots of fun sweet potato recipes on the commission’s site. Daughtry says one of her favorites is Friday Night Lights Thanksgiving Bites, mostly made from leftovers of the big meal. It won first place in the Mountain State Fair Tailgate Recipe Contest.

Sweet potatoes mostly are grown in the sandy soil of the coastal plain region.

“Our soils produce the sweetest, most magnificent sweet potato you could taste … we are the best of the best,” Daughtry says.

Thanks to a letter writing campaign by Mrs. Celia Batchelor’s fourth-grade class and the citizens of Wilson, the sweet potato was named the Official Vegetable of the State of North Carolina in 1995.

Ham is often a second meat choice for a dinner, or a main attraction of a charcuterie party platter. Ham is a popular party staple due to the ease of serving or reheating a ready baked ham.

There are about 8 million hogs being raised in the southeastern counties of Duplin, Sampson, Bladen and Robeson. And whether you like your ham smoked, brown sugar glazed, salt or sugar cured, or smothered in a maple bourbon rub, there’s no denying that some holiday guests just prefer moist ham to turkey.

N.C. also ranks third in the U.S. for collard greens production. It is often served with ham.

Other top crops may not be on a serving platter, but they likely went into the bird or other animal you’re carving.

“The grains for turkeys can also be grown here, corn, soybeans, wheat, and the minerals fed to turkeys can be produced in North Carolina,” Grimes says.

The homegrown goodness extends to dessert. North Carolina ranks in the top 10 nationally for peach, apple and pecan trees. Our farmers also grow peanuts, blueberries, strawberries and other fruits that can be made into pies, cobblers, cakes and ice cream.

Pullquotes, can go anywhere or you can leave them out:

North Carolina ranks first, second and third nationally in the production of sweet potatoes, turkey and ham, all staples of many holiday meals.

“Our soils produce the sweetest, most magnificent sweet potato you could taste … we are the best of the best,” Daughtry says.

Cheesy Sweet Potato Sausage Spread

1st Place Winner in the 2013 Dixie Classic Fair “ Anything But Ordinary” Recipe Contest

Serves 10

Ingredients for Spread

• 2 cups of diced sweet potatoes, about a ¼ of an inch cubed
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 pound of breakfast sausage
• ¼ small onion, chopped (¼ cup)
• 1 small sweet red bell pepper, ¼ cup
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 oz. of Colby jack cheese, shredded
• 8 oz. of cream cheese
• 1-14.5 oz. can of Italian diced tomatoes, slightly drained

Toasted Baguette

• 1 French loaf Baguette
• 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 1-2 oz. of parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine olive oil and cayenne pepper. Toss sweet potatoes gently to coat. Spread evenly on a baking pan and bake 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until tender, stirring if needed.

In a medium frying pan, add sausage, chopped onion, and chopped red bell pepper. Cook until brown.

Drain grease and press garlic into sausage mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add cream cheese, ¼ cup of Colby Jack cheese, roasted sweet potatoes and canned tomatoes. Stir until well blended.

Add sausage mixture to a small baking dish. Top with the remaining Colby jack cheese, and bake until cheese is melted, approximately 5 minutes.

Serve with Toasted Baguettes

Turn up oven to 375 degrees. Cut French loaf in quarter inch slices.

In a small bowl add Italian seasoning to olive oil and mix well. Brush olive oil mixture onto each slice of bread and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle finely shredded parmesan cheese to cover bread pieces. Toast at 375 degrees for 7 minutes.

Sweet Potato or Sweetpotato?

In 2019, the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission encouraged the state general assembly to take action to officially change the traditional spelling of “sweet potato” to “sweetpotato,” and it passed. Since then, the state officially spells sweetpotato as one word, but you probably often still see it as two. For more information go to:

ncfieldfamily.org and ncsweetpotatoes.com.