What Makes Syracuse Salt Potatoes Different?

With so much attention going to New York City as one of the world's must-visit food cities, the rest of the Empire State often gets overlooked. Upstate New York deserves its due for contributing a number of signature dishes to the American culinary repertoire. The mistaken invention of Buffalo wings may be the best known, but Rochester garbage plates, Saratoga potato chips, and beef on weck all deserve attention in their own right. However, few dishes can be said to have a deeper connection to local history than a Syracuse specialty known as salt potatoes.

Salt potatoes are made by boiling small potatoes in heavily salted water. The salt is key, as it helps to avoid the biggest problem people have when boiling potatoes, which is when the potatoes get oversaturated with water. Using extremely salty water prevents this because the salt forms a crust on the skin of the potatoes, thereby preventing water from seeping into the potato flesh. The final result has a crackly, salt-crusted skin and a tender interior. Oh, and it's always served with plenty of butter.

There isn't a strict rule about what kind of potato must be used for this dish, but small varieties are the standard. When it comes to waxy versus starchy potatoes, waxy varieties are the way to go, with new potatoes being a particularly popular choice. In truth, the potatoes aren't what ties this dish to Syracuse's history. It's actually the salt part of the dish.

The story of Syracuse salt potatoes really begins around 300 million years ago, when the region where Syracuse now lies was at the bottom of a salty sea. When the sea went dry, it left massive amounts of salt in the land. Particularly large deposits formed in and around Onondaga Lake, which is right where Syracuse was founded in 1820. By the late 1800s, Syracuse had become the country's top producer of salt, earning it the nickname "The Salt City". Things are different now, of course. Salt production in Syracuse declined over the 20th century as the deposits were exhausted. However, the legacy of the salt industry is still a part of the Syracuse identity, and the city is even home to The Salt Museum.

Salt potatoes were invented by Irish immigrants who worked in the salt springs of Syracuse. It originally served as a cheap, simple meal for the working class, but the unique texture achieved by the salt-boiling method has led to much broader popularity. It's exciting to see how much the city of Syracuse takes pride in honoring this piece of local cuisine, going so far as to temporarily rename their Minor League Baseball team "The Salt Potatoes", featuring a buttered potato mascot. Perhaps most impressive, salt potatoes were the very first dish to be honored by the Hungry for History grant program, which honors regional foods from around the country.