the elemental sweet of the Canary Islands: whole sweet potatoes baked slowly in their skins until the flesh is caramelised and yielding, split open and served with a generous pour of miel de palma — the intensely smoky-sweet dark syrup made from Canarian date palm sap
Origin: Seville and the Canary Islands, Spain
From the journey of Sweet Potato.
The Canary Islands received the sweet potato before almost anywhere else in the Old World. Columbus brought specimens to Spain in 1493, and by the early sixteenth century the Canarian climate (subtropical, frost-free, and irrigated) had made the islands among the first sustained farming regions for the crop outside the Americas. The Spanish royal court received preserved batatas as gifts from the Canaries, and the islands became the transit point for the plant's first European diffusion, with plantings reaching mainland Spain and from there to the Dutch republic. The pairing with miel de palma is specifically Canarian. The miel de palma (palm honey) of the Canaries is produced by tapping the inflorescence of the Canarian date palm (Phoenix canariensis) to collect its sugary sap, which is then slow-boiled until it reduces to a thick, intensely flavoured dark syrup with notes of caramel, smoke, dried fruit, and a faint mineral quality distinct from any cane-derived sweetener. The combination of the caramelised flesh of the baked sweet potato with the complex dark sweetness of the miel de palma is one of those rare pairings where both components are transformed by the encounter: the sweet potato becomes more interesting, the palm honey less overwhelming. Outside the Canaries, dark unsulphured molasses or date syrup is a reasonable approximation.
This recipe requires almost nothing beyond time: the quality of the sweet potato and the miel de palma carry the dish. For the fullest flavour, choose sweet potatoes with a copper-orange skin and vivid orange flesh; avoid the pale-skinned, cream-fleshed varieties, which are less sweet and less suited to this preparation. Miel de palma de La Gomera is considered the finest; the protected designation applies to syrup made on the island of La Gomera using traditional methods. A drizzle of almond cream or a spoonful of Canarian gofio (toasted grain flour) stirred into the flesh makes a more substantial version for a light meal.
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