Find New Use for Sweet Potato

Americus, Ga., Feb. 28. Government experts investigating the possibilities of developing a sugar and syrup crop out of sweet potatoes are considering locating an experiment station here.

Funds for the experiment were appropriated by congress through a bill introduced by Representative Crisp. Sweet potato syrup is described by J. Ralston Cargill as possessing splendid flavor and being well adapted to table use. The cost of making this syrup has not been determined.

According to Cargill, a bushel of sweet potatoes, weighing fifty-six pounds, will yield 1 gallons of thick syrup, several samples of which he has shown friends here, or about 2 gallons of syrup of ordinary consistency. In addition, the potatoes yield about 3 pounds of dry pulp containing about 17 per cent of protein, possessing high value as dairy food.

To produce the new syrup, sweet potatoes are heated in water at 160 degrees for three hours. This causes the cells to break down, releasing all the sugar. The juice is then pressed out, filtered and evaporated just as other syrup is made. The syrup is three times sweeter than corn syrup and possesses a mild flavor of candied yams.

Dresden Enterprise and Sharon Tribune, Dresden, TN, March 4, 1921

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