Nader Factor

Just like potatoes, yams are typically served on the side either as plain, boiled, and served whole with the skin on or not, or mashed. Yams are sometimes the cheaper and sweetish alternative to potatoes, for those who are looking for something new to satisfy their carb craving. But sometimes, yams could just taste so tiring to the palate, or at times, bland or even unappetizing.

Thus, the need to learn how to cook yams with pizzazz. When learning how to cook yams, it isn’t just enough now that we know more than how to boil or how to bake yams, it is also important that we know which are the right ingredients to put on our yam recipes so that they will yield great results.

In this article, we shall be learning some great new recipes, things to do on our mashed yams so they don’t just taste as plain as sweet potatoes dunked in lukewarm water. Enjoy!

Basic Mashed Yam Recipe with a Twist

For our basic mashed yam recipe, we will be needing more than just three fresh medium sized yams and a pot of boiling water. Here, we will also be needing about three tablespoons of butter, a tablespoon of brown or granulated sugar, whichever is available, and a teaspoon of cinnamon. The recipe is just very simple – boil the yams until soft, drain the yams until all the water is out, and then, put in the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Put all ingredients in a food processor and mix until everything’s all mashed up nice and smooth and good. It is, indeed, just the basic yam recipe – only, it has been given that sweet and spicy kick from the sugar and cinnamon. Yet another alternative: add milk to the recipe.

Mashed Yams in a Muffin

For this recipe, we will need about two cups of mashed yams as a base ingredient to be able to churn out a dozen stuffed muffins. Cook and mash yams like how we usually do the old, bland thing, then mix with a couple of egg whites, two thirds cup sugar, two teaspoons each of almond extract and vanilla extract, and two thirds cup of milk. In a separate bowl, combine about one and a half cup whole wheat white flour, a teaspoon each of baking powder and baking soda, one and three-fourths teaspoon of cinnamon, and half a teaspoon of salt. Combine to make the dough, put in 12 muffin cups, and bake in a 425 degrees preheated oven for about twenty minutes or until fully cooked.

When dealing with mashed yams, it is not really very difficult to come up with brand new and exciting dishes. Another work around to make mashed yams more delectable is to turn them into side dishes that can be deemed delicious by many, such as roast poultry.

Fondant is basically very easy to make, and it will only take up to 15 to 20 minutes of our time to prepare one. First off, mix well using medium speed 1/3 cup of butter that has been softened with 1/3 cup of light corn syrup, half a teaspoon of salt, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Then, add in a pound of sifted powdered sugar, and mix once more with slow speed until the mixture exacts a smooth texture when touched. Once this is done, turn the resulting fondant into thin rolls, balls, or other shapes, then store in a container with air tight lid.

Another Variation of the Fondant

Yet another variation of the fondant is one that can be turned into icing that has a cotton candy like texture and a flavor that kids will simply love. This makes use of simple ingredients; just a bag of marshmallows, 7 and a half cups of icing sugar, and two tablespoons of water. First, pour over the water over the marshmallows, then microwave until the marshmallows melt. Gradually add in sugar, then, once the mixture assumes the form of a dough, one can now start kneading it until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky.