Method.—Have the potatoes as fresh as possible, for they are never good when they have been some time out of the ground. Well wash them, rub or scrape off the skins, and put them and the mint into boiling water salted in the above proportion. Let them boil until tender; try them with a fork, and, when done, pour away the water. Allow them to stand by the side of the fire with the lid of the saucepan partially removed, and when they are thoroughly dry, put them in a hot vegetable dish, with a piece of butter the size of a walnut. If they are old, boil them in their jackets: drain, peel, and serve them as above, placing a piece of butter in the centre. Parsley chopped and mixed with the butter is an improvement.
Time.—¼ to ½ an hour, according to the size. Average Cost, in full season 1½d. per lb. Sufficient, 3 lb. for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable in May and June, but may be had forced in March and April.
Potato Starch.—This fecula has a beautiful white crystalline appearance, and is inodorous, soft to the touch, insoluble in cold, but readily soluble in boiling, water. It is on this starch that the nutritive properties of the tubers depend. As an aliment, it is well adapted for invalids and persons of delicate constitutions. It may be prepared as arrowroot, and eaten with milk or sugar. For pastry of all kinds, it is lighter and easier of digestion than that made with the flour of wheat. In confectionery it serves to form creams and jellies, and in cookery may be used to thicken soups and sauces. It accommodates itself to the stomachs of children, for whom it is well adapted, and it is an ailment that cannot be too generally used, as much on account of its wholesomeness as its cheapness and the ease with which it is kept. These qualities render it equal, if not superior, to tapioca, sago and arrowroot.
1591.—POTATOES, TO STEAM.
Ingredients.—Potatoes, boiling water.
Method.—This method of cooking potatoes is now much in vogue, from its convenience when large quantities are required. Pare the potatoes, throw them into cold water as they are peeled, then put them in a steamer. Place the steamer over a saucepan of boiling water, and steam the potatoes from 30 to 40 minutes, according to the size and sort. When the fork goes easily through the potatoes they are done; then take them up, dish, had serve very quickly.
Time.—From 30 to 40 minutes. Average Cost, 1d. per lb. Seasonable at any time.
1592.—PUMPKIN, FRIED.
See Vegetable Marrow, Fried, Recipe No. 1631.
1593.—PUMPKIN, MASHED.
See Vegetable Marrow, Mashed, Recipe No. 1633.
1594.—PUMPKIN PIE.
Ingredients.—1 pumpkin, 5 eggs, milk, castor sugar, ¼ of a teaspoonful of grated lemon-rind, 1 pinch each of cinnamon and ginger, short-crust paste, salt.
