Except at exorbitant prices, we cannot buy selected
potatoes, but must take them as they come ; many of them
gashed by the hoe, or bruised in transportation, or green from
ripening above the ground. They are subject to disease from
wrong soil or climatic conditions, and are frequently hollow
or black hearted, yet good on the outside. If cooked in
their skins these defects penetrate the whole potato, and at
meal time you may have a short allowance. But by divid-
ing the potato and paring you may save the good part and
if the whole must be discarded, you are spared the annoyance
of cooking it with the good potatoes and losing the labor of
paring it.
Potatoes belong to a poisonous family and the skin con-
tains a bitter substance, which is set free by the heat and goes
off with the steam, provided the potatoes are opened or un-
covered as soon as done. If not, the potato absorbs it and
becomes bitter.
Some persons find boiled potatoes difficult to digest, espe-
cially when they are cooked in stews and chowders, where the
potato water is part of the stew. A better way is to scald
sliced potatoes five minutes, and drain them before adding
them to the stew.
POTATOES 153
The skin of new potatoes is very thin and much of it comes
off in the scrubbing and the remainder may be scraped off
without taking the valuable portion next below. Potatoes
that are not to be pared should be sound, above all suspicion ;
scrub them with a brush to remove all the earthy matter
adhering to the skin, using a knife if scraping is needed and
to dig out the eyes.
If you remember to put the stewpan with fresh water over
the fire first, the water will be boiling and ready for the pota-
toes as soon as they are scrubbed. They need no soaking,
if they are clean. It is only in the spring when potatoes
are shrivelled and gummy, that soaking improves them, and
then only after they are pared. Soaking supplies the water
the potatoes have lost, dissolves the gum and makes them
less sticky. Drop all potatoes into water as soon as pared,
for they turn brown if exposed to the air ; and except when
using old potatoes, do not pare them until about ready to
use them.
If we examine a slice of potato under the microscope, we
can understand why in cooking it should be put into boiling
water rather than into cold. The starch is found throughout
the potato, enclosed in cells, the walls of which are thin
membranes of cellulose. Each cell contains ten or twelve
grains surrounded by a watery, albuminous juice. In cook-
ing the potato, this juice becomes boiling hot, the starch
grains absorb it, the wall of cellulose is softened and is easily
burst by the swollen starch, so that the potato which before
cooking was wet and hard is now filled with soft mealy
starch.
Were we to cook the potatoes by putting them into cold
water, especially if they have been pared, some of the starch,
gum, and potash salts will be drawn out and the starch will
not begin to cook until the water boils. Hence though the
potatoes may look and taste well, no time is gained in
cooking and they must have lost some portion of their
nutriment.
But if put into freshly boiling water this coagulates the
albuminous juices and they are retained in the potato.
Potatoes should have plenty of room and boil gently but
154 SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXTBOOK
Page 82
Presented as published in 1915. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Except at exorbitant prices, we cannot buy selected potatoes, but must take them as they come ; many of them gashed by the hoe, or bruised in transportation, or green from ripening above the ground. They are subject to disease from wrong soil or climatic conditions, and are frequently hollow or black hearted, yet good on the outside. If cooked in their skins these defects penetrate the whole potato, and at meal time you may have a short allowance. But by dividing the potato and paring you may save the good part and if the whole must be discarded, you are spared the annoyance of cooking it with the good potatoes and losing the labor of paring it.
Potatoes belong to a poisonous family and the skin contains a bitter substance, which is set free by the heat and goes off with the steam, provided the potatoes are opened or uncovered as soon as done. If not, the potato absorbs it and becomes bitter.
Some persons find boiled potatoes difficult to digest, especially when they are cooked in stews and chowders, where the potato water is part of the stew. A better way is to scald sliced potatoes five minutes, and drain them before adding them to the stew.
POTATOES 153
The skin of new potatoes is very thin and much of it comes off in the scrubbing and the remainder may be scraped off without taking the valuable portion next below. Potatoes that are not to be pared should be sound, above all suspicion ; scrub them with a brush to remove all the earthy matter adhering to the skin, using a knife if scraping is needed and to dig out the eyes.
If you remember to put the stewpan with fresh water over the fire first, the water will be boiling and ready for the potatoes as soon as they are scrubbed. They need no soaking, if they are clean. It is only in the spring when potatoes are shrivelled and gummy, that soaking improves them, and then only after they are pared. Soaking supplies the water the potatoes have lost, dissolves the gum and makes them less sticky. Drop all potatoes into water as soon as pared, for they turn brown if exposed to the air ; and except when using old potatoes, do not pare them until about ready to use them.
If we examine a slice of potato under the microscope, we can understand why in cooking it should be put into boiling water rather than into cold. The starch is found throughout the potato, enclosed in cells, the walls of which are thin membranes of cellulose. Each cell contains ten or twelve grains surrounded by a watery, albuminous juice. In cooking the potato, this juice becomes boiling hot, the starch grains absorb it, the wall of cellulose is softened and is easily burst by the swollen starch, so that the potato which before cooking was wet and hard is now filled with soft mealy starch.
Were we to cook the potatoes by putting them into cold water, especially if they have been pared, some of the starch, gum, and potash salts will be drawn out and the starch will not begin to cook until the water boils. Hence though the potatoes may look and taste well, no time is gained in cooking and they must have lost some portion of their nutriment.
But if put into freshly boiling water this coagulates the albuminous juices and they are retained in the potato. Potatoes should have plenty of room and boil gently but