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

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.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

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

"h.e. sea" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> 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

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

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.
>

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

h.e. sea 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 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 an earlier post to rec.food.cooking
{From: (Nicholas Carey)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 17:02:28 GMT}

http://www.bigspud.com/prosin.txt

BOB

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.
>
Search on Google...it's spelled both ways.

BOB

On Sun 10 Apr 2005 05:08:21p, heather wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> 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.
>>
>
> 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

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.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

BOB wrote:
> [snip]
> From an earlier post to rec.food.cooking
> {From: (Nicholas Carey)
> Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 17:02:28 GMT}
>
> http://www.bigspud.com/prosin.txt
>
> BOB

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=B0F? 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=B0F, what technology do we now have available to
do it? -aem

aem wrote:
> BOB wrote:
>> [snip]
>> From an earlier post to rec.food.cooking
>> {From: (Nicholas Carey)
>> Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 17:02:28 GMT}
>>
>> http://www.bigspud.com/prosin.txt
>>
>> BOB
>
> 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 @ slightly less than 1000°.
Ahhh, the miricles of modern technology.
;-)

BOB

"h.e. sea" > wrote in message
> 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.

On 11 Apr 2005 01:15:04 +0200, in rec.food.cooking, 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...
>
>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.

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.

Doug
--
Doug Weller -- exorcise the demon to reply
Doug & Helen's Dogs http://www.dougandhelen.com
A Director and Moderator of The Hall of Ma'at http://www.hallofmaat.com
Doug's Archaeology Site: http://www.ramtops.co.uk