THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702150615
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Guy Friddell
LENGTH: 55 lines
Word is that the fame of Hayman sweet potatoes has reached Washington, D.C., where supermarkets offered them. That's all to the good.
I'm in favor of any move that might encourage the Eastern Shore's farmers to plant more of them.
In the end we all benefit if the Shore's economy prospers.
But this past season, there was a dearth of Haymans hereabouts. The export of that rarity had little or nothing to do with their scarcity in Hampton Roads. Like vintage wines, the quality of Haymans varies year to year. Heavy rains stunted this year's crop.
Haymans are at once the sweetest, best-tasting, and most-unprepossessing potato ever grown.
It is grayish white without the barest tint of orange. When washed, it's still a dirty dun. Regular sweet potatoes are at once elongated and plump. There's a uniformity.
You couldn't cull a bushel of Haymans; one is like another only in being distinctively homely. No two are remotely similar in shape. They are small, big, long, short, smooth, knotty, gnarled, quirky.
Receiving a dozen of the ugliest potatoes ever seen, untutored consumers throw them out the back door. But the flavor's unexcelled.
Legend is the Devil wouldn't have offered Eve a Hayman. He'd have eaten it himself.
The fragrance of a Hayman in the oven is maddening. Had the gods set one to baking as Odysseus was passing, he'd have driven his ship on the rocks to fetch it.
When it's peeled, its flesh is an unappetizing green streaked by molasses-sweet brown juices. It is at once a main course and dessert.
For years farmers set out Haymans for their families and sent any left over to the market.
Production continues to diminish, said Jim Belote, regional marketing manager of the extension service. The yield of Haymans per acre is below that of ordinary kinds. ``Commercially, it's a tough crop to grow,'' Belote said.
A farmer may realize 150 bushels of Haymans per acre compared to 300 bushels of Jewel or other regular ones. If Haymans were properly marketed, consumers would be willing to pay more.
Because of the meager crop of Haymans this year, the newly founded Virginia Eastern Shore Corporation has difficulty getting enough to meet its contract in Washington, said John Hickman, manager of the firm's speciality foods.
``The Hayman is probably the best eating potato you can get ahold of,'' Hickman said. ``There just weren't enough Haymans around this year.''
Belote said: ``As long as Eastern Shoremen are around, there'll be a few Haymans available. I don't look for them, hopefully, to vanish from the Earth in my time or yours.''
Small consolation there. I want Haymans here even if I ain't. ILLUSTRATION: [Color illustration]