[Recipe] Minatamis na kamote (candied sweet potato)

Minatamis na kamote or candied sweet potato is a treat that you can enjoy on its own or as an ingredient to various Filipino desserts (such as the refreshing summer treat halo-halo and the hearty guinataang bilo-bilo). It is just made of 2 main ingredients - peeled and cut sweet potato and sugar. Optional ingredients can include some vanilla extract (for just a hint of vanilla in the syrup) and cream of tartar or citric acid to invert the sugar (with heat, these convert the sucrose into glucose and fructose, and the resulting syrup is then resistant to recrystallization that can produce an undesirable grainy texture). Sweet potatoes come in different varieties and colors.

Minatamis na kamote (candied sweet potato)

In this version, I have chosen to use a deep purple variety (almost the color of ube halaya or sweet buttery mashed purple yam dessert). I have also added a bit of calamansi (calamondin) concentrate with honey as an inverting agent which also imparts a slight hint of citrus flavor. You can choose the firmness of the finished product. I chose to have it slightly overcooked so that the sweet potatoes turn into a kind of lumpy mash that fully incorporates with the syrup.

Ingredients:
1/2 Kilo sweet potato, peeled and cut into about half inch cubes
1 cup of coconut sap sugar (or you can use plain white sugar if you prefer)
1 Tablespoon calamansi concentrate with honey

Directions:
Add sugar, sweet potato, calamnsi concentrate, and enough water to barely immerse the ingredients in a pot. Simmer the pot gently with occasional stirring. Check for preferred doneness by sticking a fork on the sweet potato pieces. Depending on the final texture you want, you can cook the sweet potato until it just starts to disintegrate resulting in a jammy/ lumpy mash texture.