Subject: Resin Baked Potato
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: h.e. sea (midoriko at earthlink.net)
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 23:07:34 GMT
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Resin baked potatoes are a South Carolina Low Country specialty, and I remember them from my childhood visits to Murrells Inlet, but no matter how hard I search on the internet, I can't find a way to make them. I have found a couple of old news articles which mention something about a worker accidentally dropping a potato in pine resin which was being boiled to make turpentine, but this doesn't sound very safe.Has anyone else had resin baked potatoes or know how I can make them at
home?
Thank you so much for any help you can offer me,
Heather
From: Wayne Boatwright (waynesgang at waynes.gang)
Date: 11 Apr 2005 01:15:04 +0200
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It's "rosin" not "resin". You'll find plenty of hits searching for "rosin potatoes". These were very popular when I lived in Memphis in the 1950s. Here'a an example...
In a cast iron kettle (or rosin cooker) put 2 to 5 pounds raw rosin and bring to boil. Scrub potatoes completely. Idaho Bakers are preferred. Drop in potatoes. When done, they come to the top. Remove with tongs and wrap in 5 or 6 thicknesses of newspaper. Roll up and twist each end. To serve, slice open newspaper and potato together with a sharp knife. Be careful, overheated rosin could possibly combust and burn.
From: Jill McQuown
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 18:23:46 -0500
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Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> It's "rosin" not "resin". You'll find plenty of hits searching for
> "rosin potatoes". These were very popular when I lived in Memphis in
> the 1950s. Here'a an example...
They used to serve these at Cracker Barrel (for all I know they still do). They wrapped theirs in brown paper, not newspaper.
From: Michael (uhoh at ajfl;ajklsd;ajlds.nutz)
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 01:29:02 GMT
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Jill McQuown wrote:
> They used to serve these at Cracker Barrel (for all I know they still
> do). They wrapped theirs in brown paper, not newspaper.
Well, my question has now been answered. She is looking for rosin and not resin potatoes. Thank you both.
From: heather (midoriko at earthlink.net)
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 00:08:21 GMT
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Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> It's "rosin" not "resin". You'll find plenty of hits searching for "rosin
> potatoes".
Ah-ha! That's where my memory went wrong. It's rosin, not resin. Thanks so much for the recipe and the correction! =) Now, does anyone know where I get resin... hmm
And I always remember eating the skin, but the idea of that now that I know how to make them does not seem safe.
Thanks,
Heather
From: Wayne Boatwright (waynesgang at waynes.gang)
Date: 11 Apr 2005 03:54:51 +0200
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heather wrote:
> Ah-ha! That's where my memory went wrong. It's rosin, not resin. Thanks
> so much for the recipe and the correction! =) Now, does anyone know
> where I get resin... hmm
Both Lehman's Hardware and The Vermont Country Store used to carry the rosin and the kettle, but neither appear to have them on their websites. You might give a call or send an e-mail. I don't know of another source.
From: BOB (abc at defg.com)
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 21:40:20 -0400
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Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> It's "rosin" not "resin". You'll find plenty of hits searching for
> "rosin potatoes".
Search on Google...it's spelled both ways.
From: Doug Weller (dweller at ramtops.removethisdemon.co.uk)
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 22:19:36 +0100
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Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>It's "rosin" not "resin". You'll find plenty of hits searching for "rosin
>potatoes".
And my grandfather made them pretty often in Miami, Florida in the 1950s, they were delicious! He did it the same way as you describe above.
From: John Bonnett (gollum at tds.net)
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 19:35:50 -0400
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heather wrote:
> Resin baked potatoes are a South Carolina Low Country specialty, and I
> remember them from my childhood visits to Murrells Inlet, but no matter
> how hard I search on the internet, I can't find a way to make them.
Huh ! For once google has let me down. The Cracker Barrel resturant chain used to have them but apparently they are now off the menu. I seem to remember they advised against eating the skin...
John<==never had one myself
From: Michael (uhoh at ajfl;ajklsd;ajlds.nutz)
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 01:27:55 GMT
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heather wrote:
> Resin baked potatoes are a South Carolina Low Country specialty, and I
> remember them from my childhood visits to Murrells Inlet, but no matter
> how hard I search on the internet, I can't find a way to make them.
I've never heard of resin baked potatoes. I've heard of, but never made or tasted rosin potatoes. Oh Jill... Oh Wayne... Oh Barb... What is a resin baked potato?
From: BOB (abc at defg.com)
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 21:39:20 -0400
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heather wrote:
> Resin baked potatoes are a South Carolina Low Country specialty, and I
> remember them from my childhood visits to Murrells Inlet, but no matter
> how hard I search on the internet, I can't find a way to make them.
From an earlier post to rec.food.cooking
{From: Nicholas Carey
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 17:02:28 GMT}
http://www.bigspud.com/files/prosin.htm
From: aem (aem_again at yahoo.com)
Date: 10 Apr 2005 19:00:40 -0700
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BOB wrote:
>
http://www.bigspud.com/files/prosin.htm
Well, my memory is no better now than it was in 1999, but maybe it's time for new technology. The point of the rosin potato was that it cooked at an extremely high temperature. Maybe 750°F? I don't know what the boiling point of rosin is, but it's way higher than that of water. So, the question is, if we wanted to cook something at a temp well in excess of 500°F, what technology do we now have available to do it? -aem
From: BOB (abc at defg.com)
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 22:12:59 -0400
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aem wrote:
> Well, my memory is no better now than it was in 1999, but maybe it's
> time for new technology. The point of the rosin potato was that it
> cooked at an extremely high temperature. Maybe 750°F? I don't know
> what the boiling point of rosin is, but it's way higher than that of
> water. So, the question is, if we wanted to cook something at a temp
> well in excess of 500°F, what technology do we now have available to
> do it? -aem
I might use my Kamado. I frequently bake pizza at around 700 to 800°. Not sure how the open fire would react with the resin, but I'm thinking that maybe potatoes could be baked along with the pizza, or maybe when I sear my steaks at slightly less than 1000°. Ahhh, the miricles of modern technology.
;-)
From: Edwin Pawlowski (esp at snet.net)
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 02:49:37 GMT
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heather wrote:
> have found a couple of old news articles which mention something about a
> worker accidentally dropping a potato in pine resin which was being boiled
> to make turpentine, but this doesn't sound very safe.
Safer than you may think. Turpentine boils at about 300 degrees, it comes from trees, and is used in drugs. But what you want is a rosin baked potato.
turpentine
Related: Organic Chemistry
yellow to brown semifluid oleoresin exuded from the sapwood of pines, firs, and other conifers. It is made up of two principal components, an essential oil and a type of resin that is called rosin . The essential oil (oil of turpentine) can be separated from the rosin by steam distillation. Commercial turpentine, or turps, is this oil of turpentine. When pure, it is a colorless, transparent, oily liquid with a penetrating odor and a characteristic taste. It contains a large proportion of pinene, a compound from which camphor is manufactured. Turpentine is obtained in large amounts from several species of pines of the SE United States; its physical properties, e.g., boiling point, depend on its source. It is used chiefly as a solvent and drying agent in paints and varnishes
rosin
Related: Organic Chemistry
or colophony, hard, brittle, translucent resin , obtained as a solid residue from crude turpentine . Usually pale yellow or amber, its color may vary from brownish-black to transparent depending on the nature of the source of the crude turpentine. Rosin has no taste but often has a faint odor of pine. It is soluble in alcohol, ether, turpentine, and several other organic solvents, and in solutions of various metal hydroxides. Rosin is not a pure substance but a mixture of several compounds, chiefly abietic acid. It is used in making cements, varnishes, paints, sealing wax, adhesives, and some soaps; for treating violin bows; as a dressing for machine belting; as a sizing material for paper; in the preparation of certain metals for soldering; and, in pharmacy, in some ointments, plasters, and similar preparations. Athletes commonly rub it (in the form of dust) upon their hands or the soles of their shoes to prevent slipping.
From: Bubbabob (rnorton at _remove_this_thuntek.net)
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 06:52:00 -0000
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heather wrote:
> Resin baked potatoes are a South Carolina Low Country specialty, and I
> remember them from my childhood visits to Murrells Inlet, but no matter
> how hard I search on the internet, I can't find a way to make them.
I've seen roofers cooking them in tar kettles. Same basic idea.