POTATOES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 April 1940, Page 8

POTATOES

— ■»'" METHOD OF FRYING. Try cutting and frying chipped potatoes without first removing the skins. They have a flavour all their own when cooked this way. Before slicing, the skins should, of course, be thoroughly scrubbed. A slice of raw potato is an effective cleaner for oil paintings. The painting should be gently rubbed, cutting off thin slices of the potatoes as they become dirty. When pictures are clean, wipe off any moisture with a soft rag. but rub only one way. An excellent thickening for soup is grated raw potato; it lacks the disagreeable pastiness of flour thickening. A welcome change from other methods of cooking potatoes is to bake them in their skins and serve hot with butler. First boil them for a few minutes; this saves time and gas when cooking them this way. After boiling, wipe them dry, and prick the skins before placing them in a hot oven to finish cooking. It is worth while, especially in country homes in wet weather, to drain potato peelings and dry them, as they make excellent fire lighters. The same applies to orange peelings. Difficulty is experienced in cooking some varieties of potatoes which quickly become squashy outside but remain hard inside. The best treatment is to put them in cold salted water and bring them gradually to the boil. Let them simmer until they are just soft, drain well and shake until floury.