For nine decades, Our State has made its way into homes across North Carolina, the United States, and the world. To celebrate, every month this year, we’re paying tribute to the readers who inspire us, offering a taste of our earliest recipes, and revisiting old stories with new insights. Follow along to find out how our past has shaped our present.

November 1987 • In addition to a collection of sweet potato recipes, this issue of The State featured a special thank-you to our state’s farmers. According to the North Carolina Crop and Livestock Reporting Service in 1987, “The state’s sweet potato growers are expected to harvest 35,000 acres of the root vegetable and provide almost 40 percent of the nation’s crop.”

photograph by Matt Hulsman

Yield: 6 servings.

½ cup unsalted butter
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices (about 3½ cups)
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Juice from ½ orange

Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes.

In a bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; pour over potatoes and stir until well combined. Cover the skillet, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are caramelized and tender, about 1 hour.

Stir in vanilla. Just before serving, squeeze orange juice over sweet potatoes. Serve hot.

— Recipe adapted by Lynn Wells