rosin baked potatoes in cast iron

I've never tried a "rosin baked potato", which is a potato that is baked by submerging in hot rosin, in a cast iron pot called a "rosin kettle".

I couldn't find a picture, but the pots were sold half full of rosin with a set of tongs, specifically for cooking rosin baked potatoes. Some people also cooked onions this way.

This link has very easy to understand instructions.

Rosin comes from pine trees, and is seldom sold anymore, but can be purchased here.

Rosin is reusable; Just cover the pot for storage, and then reheat again.

You definitely want to do this outside, due to the extreme heat of boiling rosin. Your stove can't get it hot enough.

Rosin used to be harvested in the South and sold for making turpentine and other things; Somewhere along the line, someone discovered that boiling rosin makes delicious potatoes.

Apparently it's not that hard; Just bring the rosin to a boil, drop in the potatoes, and 5 to 10 minutes after they float to the top, they're ready. Pull it out, wrap in newspaper* until it cools, then cut in half and add your butter and toppings.

*Use newspaper, NOT foil. Foil will transfer heat to your fingers and won't absorb the rosin.

I wouldn't eat the skin, since it's been in pine rosin. From what I understand, eating it won't hurt you; I just can't imagine it being very tasty.

There's a discussion of rosin baked potatoes here.