Southern Candied Yams: Don’t Celebrate Without Them

Southern candied yams is one of the fastest growing side dishes this year, when it comes to popularity. It’s grown from a lowly southern dish eaten mostly during the holidays at best. Now it’s a popular side dish around the world that’s consumed 12 months out of the year, even the hot summer months.

Due to a combination of factors southern candied yams have grown more popular each year. More efficient imports of yams from other countries during the off season in America, better marketing by sweet potato farmers and distributors and good harvesting seasons free of disastrous weather conditions have all combined to make candied yams a favorite southern side dish that continues to grow in popularity.

“Perhaps because of the economic climate and other pressures of today, many experts speculate  this popular comfort food side dish provides the festive feeling people are longing for. They don’t want to wait for the holidays to get the feeling. So you see more people eating it during non-holiday months,” claims Andy Simmons, a food psychologist from the University of Montreal.

Whatever the reason yams and sweet potatoes continue to sell like hotcakes, with no end in sight. The health benefits of today’s health conscious consumer also helps to drive yam and sweet potato sales. Both are rich in Vitamin, C, A , fiber and a host of other vitamins and minerals. They are also easy to cook and their a variety of ways to cook them. Boil, bake, stir fry, steam, sauté or you can even eat them raw. They’re delicious grated or julienne sliced in salads.

Any way you slice them, with this short list of benefits you can see why southern candied yams as well as the many other recipes made from yams and sweet potatoes continue to put them at the top of the list in popularity.