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Show HOME ECONOMICS Useful Household Hints for j Busy Housewives ' : By Mrs. Irene Yickers, Teacher of Domestic Science in the Beaver County Hijrh School j Potatoes j Of all the .vegetables the so-called fresh potato probably holds the place of first' importance in most j people's diet. This is due to the ! fact that they are comparatively low-priced, low-priced, that they can be stored all i through' the winter months without serious deterioration, that they are easy to prepare for the table, are pleasant in taste and very rich in digestible di-gestible starch: As in all other vegetables, the frame-work o the potato is made up of cellulose, which forms the j walls of a network of cells in which lie the starch grains. The interior of the potato is permeated by water and in this are dissolved the soluble j food substances. In cooking, heat affects the various vari-ous constituents of the potato in different ways. The water expands into steam and part of it evaporates from the surface. The tough cellulose cellu-lose is broken by the pressure of the expanding steam. The starch grains inside are thus released, some of them are disintegrated and changed from an insoluble to a soluble sol-uble form. The mealy, soft, porous, cooked potato is in a favorable condition con-dition for the action of the digestive juices, as moisture readily pene trates to all parts of it, while this is not the case with the raw potato. Another great advantage in cooking cook-ing potatoes is the improvement in flavor. Raw potatoes often have a decidedly bitter flavor, which is much less marked after cooking as some of the flavor yielding bodies are volatilized and pass off. The cooked starch taste that develops is also much sweeter than the raw starch taste. Considerable quantities of the nutrients may be lost from the potato pota-to during cooking. Generally speaking speak-ing from an economical point of view steaming is f referable to boiling boil-ing potatoes. If they are to be boiled then the most economical way of doing so is to boil them with the jackets on as very little of the food substances are then lost. When boiled in this way a small section of the skin should be removed at each end or a ring pared aronud the middle mid-dle so that the moisture may escape and the cooked potato not become soggy. When potatoes are boiled after being peeled they should be plunged into just enough boiling water to cover them, kept boiling gently until un-til done, drained immediately and the steam allowed to pass off. If they are to be kept they may be covered with a cloth. This will protect them from cold air and absorb ab-sorb the moisture. When baked in their skins potatoes pota-toes undergo much the same changes as in boiling saye that they lose practically none of their ingredients except a little water, which evaporates evapor-ates through the skin. Some of their moisture changes to steam inside and unless the potatoes are eaten immediately this must be allowed al-lowed to escape or it will change back to water and make the potato soggy. The best way to do this is to make holes with a fork in the skin. When raw potatoes are fried they should be cut into small pieces in order that the heat may penetrate to the interior before the coating of fat on the outside becomes scorched. Since potatoes are such a common article of diet and appear so often on our tables why not at least vary the way in which they appear. Here are a few suggestions: Scalloped Potatoes Wash, pare and slice six medium sized potatoes. Butter a quart bak-i bak-i ing dish, lay in a layer of potatoes, i sprinkle with salt and pepper and i dot over with bits of butter, dredge ; with flour. Repeat until potatoes are usejl and two tablespoons each of butter and flour. Pour over one and one-half cups of milk. Cover and hake one hour in the oven. Remove Re-move cover and brown on top. Serve in the baking dish. Stuffed Potatoes Wash six medium sized, smooth potatoes. Bake, and cut off a 'length-wise slice from each; scoop 1 out potato with a spoon, using care that the shells are not broken. Pass through rioor. add two tablespoons melted butter. one-half cup hot milk or cream, season with salt and , pepper. Add two ecg yolks well I beaten, then fold in the stiffly beat- i en whites. Refill shells with this miture. 1'rush over top w::h hp it- en ere Pake in ht oven untl po- -M:oes r:ro v-:,-;1 pafrc ;rid brown-'.. Pr.moiKiia Vt.itoo Wash and par" nt c : I u m sized po- tafn.s: p-ir'-oil fv.i nr'iutes. Drain ; 'rv. Place p-.n aroar.d roast beef. Pa;e wi-h fat in pan when roast. Pa'ce from thiny to hir:y-f,-f rr.:nut?s. turning often.' Sprinkle with salt before serving. French Fried Potatoes Wash and pare medium sized potatoes, po-tatoes, cut them lengthwise in eight pieces of uniform size. Soak them in cold water two hours, changing the water several times. Drain from water and dry between towels. Fry a few at a time in deep, hot lard. Drain on brown paper and sprinkle with salt. Be sure the lard is not too hot as the potatoes must be cooked through as well as browned. Potato Puff Prepare two and one-half cups hot mashed potatoes. Add two and one-half tablespoonfuls butter, one- 1 half teaspoon baking powder, season with salt and pepper and moisten with one-half cup hot cream or milk. ', Beat thoroughly. Add the whites ' of two eggs beaten until stiff. Pile lightly in a buttered baking dish j and hake until well puffed and I brown. Potato Ralls ; Add six hot mashed potatoes, one- ' fourth teaspoon celery salt, one tea- spoon finely chopped parsley, salt, pepper and three tablespoons butter, and enough hot milk to make of the consistency to handle. Shape into j smooth, round balls, roll in flour, egg and crumbs. Fry a golden brown in deep, hot cottolene. Potatoes O'Brien To one quart of chopped cooked j potatoes add a tablespoonful each j of finely minced onion and parsley, two tablespoonfuls of chopped pim- j ientos and make a pint of sauce of three tablespoons of butter, three of flour and a pint of milk. Season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly thor-oughly with the potato. Place in a buttered baking dish and hake one-half-hour. Cover with grated cheese if desired. Carlsbad Potatoes Wash and pare a dozen small potatoes po-tatoes of uniform size; soak one hour in cold water to cover. Drain, put into stew-pan and cover with a quart of boiling water. Add two tablespoonfuls butter and two tea-spoonfuls tea-spoonfuls salt. Cook until soft, but not broken; then drain. Return to stew-pan. Add one-third cup butter, but-ter, one and one-half tablespoons lemon juice and one-eighth teaspoon paprika. Cook four or five minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Place in hot serving dish and sprinkle with one tablespoon chopped parsley. Erin Potatoes . Remove seeds and veins and parboil par-boil one mild green pepper eight minutes. Chop fine and add to mashed potatoes. |