Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sun 10 Apr 2005 04:07:34p, h.e. sea wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> 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
>
> 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.

They used to serve these at Cracker Barrel (for all I know they still do).
They wrapped theirs in brown paper, not newspaper.

Jill