Thanksgiving is a day for expressing gratitude, getting together with loved ones, and enjoying a delicious meal as one big, happy family. From the roast turkey to mashed potatoes and stuffing, every dish added to the dinner table is a welcome sight—that is, except for one.
Whether you're an American through and through or a foreigner learning about this happy holiday, there's one Thanksgiving side dish that continues to baffle. While you might have a say or two, maybe shouting out the often-disliked green bean casserole or cranberry sauce, we have a different one in mind: the sweet potato casserole.
What Even Is It?
Though the sweet potato casserole is considered a classic Thanksgiving dish, no one really understands what it is. A side? A dessert? It's hard to put it under just one category. That's because this casserole isn't your typical savory affair.
While the base is made out of sweet potatoes, it's often flavored with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and other ingredients you'd typically associate with a baked good. The sweetness doesn't end there though. Once your filling is done, the dish gets topped off with two other sweet components: a pecan crumble and marshmallows.
Although this classic staple is listed as sweet and savory, it definitely seems out of place when set next to a delicious spread of savory foods like turkey and potatoes. After all, seeing marshmallows top one of the side dishes doesn't make for the most appetizing of sights.
So, how did this strange concoction grace our feasts to begin with?
Who Thought Of Putting Sweet Potatoes With Marshmallows?
While the sweet potato casserole may seem very modern, with its mishmash of strange ingredients, it's actually been around for quite a while. According to the Library of Congress, the first instance of a very similar dish was found in the first American cookbook titled American Cookery. Written by Amelia Simmons way back in 1796, though it was named potato pudding in her book, the actual recipe was incredibly similar to the sweet potato casserole we know today.
So as it turns out, this unique Thanksgiving side wasn't the result of some random influencer experimenting on the internet, but is a longstanding dish with more history than most realize.
Why It's So Disliked
But just because it's a classic staple doesn't make it immune to all the criticism it receives every year. The sweet potato casserole isn't hated on just because it's different, it's because it doesn't make sense!
For some, a dish that combines multiple sweet ingredients is exactly as it sounds: far too sweet. It tends to overpower all the other wonderful flavors on your plate, leaving you with a sugary overload that doesn't pair well with the rich and decadent gravy likely spread everywhere already.
Not to mention, texturally, the sweet potato casserole doesn't hold up too well. While crunchy pecans are added on top to give it a boost in the texture department, the soggy, mushiness of the entire dish eventually takes over. While it might not be too bad when served hot and fresh, as soon as the dish cools down, the marshmallows become unpleasant, and the pecans turn soggy from all the water content found in the filling.
What Are Your Thoughts?
So where do you stand on this very polarizing Thanksgiving side? Is this a must-have dish that needs a place at your feast? Or do you treat it as an outdated one that no longer has a spot at your dinner table?
