Sweet potato creations take over Livingston for the weekend

Creative dishes featuring sweet potatoes were the driving force over the weekend showcasing the sweet, starchy staple of Livingston.

This year was the first time Angie’s Kettle Corn attempted a sweet potato flavor, specifically for the Sweet Potato Festival in Livingston over the weekend, said Eduardo Cruz, who was helping his family to make kettle corn during the festival.

“Once you get eating, you’ll definitely start tasting the sweet potato,” Cruz, 24 said. “It’s really good.”

Through trial and error, Cruz said, they were able to get the flavor “just right,” and said people in the area would enjoy the new flavor.

“This is known as the sweet potato capital of the world,” Cruz said. “It’s an honor for us to be able to represent our culture through that flavor.”

According to the California Sweetpotato Council, more than 90 percent of the state’s sweet potato crops come from Livingston. Sweet potatoes are also the fifth-largest product in Merced County, bringing in $217 million according to the most recent crop report.

Livingston has since been working on making sweet potatoes the focus of its new city seal, with the help of local students.

“Sweet potato is the bread and butter in Livingston,” said Jacquelyn Benoit, head organizer of the festival.

There were 11 local residents who submitted sweet potato dishes Saturday, Benoit said, either an appetizer, soup, main dish or dessert. Dan Guerra took the grand prize of $150 home for his sweet potato crepes.

“The star ingredient had to be the sweet potato,” Benoit said.

Sweet potatoes were baked, deep-fried and candied, Benoit said, and every vendor was required to have at least one item featuring sweet potato on the menu.

With the help of cinnamon and nutmeg, Smith’s Funnel Cakes were able to create a sweet potato funnel cake exclusively for the weekend festivities, Judy Smith, funnel cake maker, said.

“So far people really like them,” Smith said. It took a couple of hours to make the recipe perfect, she said.

Smith described the funnel cakes as a “sweet potato waffle,” and said they would “definitely” make them again.

“We wanted the sweet potato to come through since this is the sweet potato festival,” Smith said. “So far, so good.”

Vern Mast, an Atwater resident, had a taste of the deep-fried sweet potatoes being made at B&Y BBQ. He said he comes to the festival every year to enjoy the different sweet potato dishes.

“I love sweet potato,” Mast, 36, said. “I’m going to try them all. I’ll try anything one time.”

The deep-fried sweet potato was coated with cinnamon sugar and was like a dessert dish, Mast said, and he would recommend people try it.

“I’ll have to figure out how to do this,” he said. “It’s good.”

Mast said this festival is a way for more people in the community to come together and meet each other.

“I just met the mayor,” Mast said. “You meet people you wouldn’t meet on a regular basis.”

The Mininger Food tent featured white sweet potato garlic fries; sweet potato fries with cinnamon sugar and marshmallow dipping sauce; and white sweet potato cubes.

Atwater resident Elaine Tam tried the white sweet potato garlic fries with Sriracha ketchup for dipping and said she enjoyed the sweet-and-salty taste.

“They are nice and garlicky,” Tam, 39, said. “I’m impressed on how big this festival is.”

Amberly Mininger, food sales and product developer for Mininger Foods, said the white sweet potato garlic fries are the most popular and all their products are locally grown with no additives.

“I think a lot of people are surprised that we have a white sweet potato,” Mininger said. “Everybody loves the garlic.”

Although trying new infused sweet potato dishes stole the spotlight, residents were able to enjoy carnival rides, the petting zoo, music and entertainment.

High school volunteers also educated younger children on the stages a sweet potato goes through before it ends up on their plates, Benoit said.

“I love that they’re bringing attention to sweet potatoes,” Mininger said.

This story was originally published October 2, 2016 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Sweet potato creations take over Livingston for the weekend."