HOW TO JUDGE OF POTATOES.

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 293, 28 March 1874, Page 2

HOW TO JUDGE OF POTATOES.

A oowiesiondbnt of the Gardener*' Chronicle says :—: — Xow there are *- great many point* in the culture of potatoes that tli.i world at large are by no ineum familiar with. I onue cnllsti itt • funna >roikk in .Si-utland, whoie the capacity ot th«in:H'ttaa such thai a trnin-lond of some 20 or 30 lrueV< of pot*! >c»^ made only .» uiorningV imjal for it* grinders ; and bore there arc tome new ideas to be got about the behnviour of (ho tubero when ground nud washed and dried for ianua. Sam© iir the dried state had a specific gravity very different from that of otliors ; 2801ba would fill ft Back in some cases, whilst 28l)lbs of another sample would only fill the sack to three- fourths of ita i-npftc»ty. That this must bo the cn<e is certain, when reconsider that under the microscope the globule* of starch are- ot various sizes, come twice the iize of others, and m theic would settle irregularly in the water when they weie being washed, the Uyers of one tizo would be by themselves, and the interstices between the globules would be different. The flesh of any variety of potato with watery texture and very large globulet of starch would be reckoned coarse, or, rather, not fine enough for Üble use. But let us bear in mind that he who telU potstoes by the ton to be ground into pulp, and washed and dried into farina, will care Tery little for the fair skin, shallow eye, and handsome shapo ot his " earth apple," provided it will ■ell ; and wbo ii to dictate to him what kinds to grow ? Moreover, it i» well known that some coarie American varieties, such as -the Champion, have never been surpassed for weight of yield. Suppose half a dozen potatoes to be put into a gallon measure fined with water, and that three pints of water art displaced by them ; this will give the size of the potatoes accurately by measure. Now grind the fix potatoes to a pulp, wash the pulp, dry it, and weigh the farina thus got against a competing variety ; and it will then bo seen what difference In real value there is between any number of varieties ; for the starch i» the chief article of valao in a potato, if not the only on*. You frequently see a potato dealsr have one or two largo potatoes boiled and nicely broken — not cvt — to let the customer see what beautiea they are, but if the samo were cut with a knife, how different would be the fracture. In the atareii trial there can be no such cunning practised. Very largo potatoes, of * shape nearly globular, are oftec hollow-hearted j it is difficult to get them properly cooked, as they require a, longer time than others to be exposed to heat, and the heat should be got up by degrett and not violently, as in boiling water or steam. Is it reasonable when the potato is watery to boil it in water or cook it in steam. Surely that is not the way to get the water out of it. Hence the vast difference between roasted potatoes and boiled ones, and unless the cook use a little common sense, and dries the potatoes in the saucepan by shaking them up and holding them over the fire after the water has been poured off, thoy will bo very imperfectly done. Good housewives do much more than this, and put a clean napkin over the potatoes in the saucepan, to absorb as much ot the steam as possible. The late Mr Stark, an extensive ironmonger at Torquay, gave me a potato-roaTster, to try its properties in the way of cooking potatoes to perfection. It consisted of one sheetiron saucepan mskle another, with half an inch of space between them ; but the main secret lay in the flagstone bottom of the inner pan, which regulated the heat. Tho potatoes, all wiped dry, were put into the pan without any water, and th« pan was set upon the fire oue hour befere the the time they were wanted to be served up so ran the printed instructions s*nt along with tho apparatus, which had tho rather lengthy name of " Anhjrdrohcpseterion !" I tried it, and found that it roasted potatoes very nicely, and evaporated much of the moisture from them. When cooked in the bkius, a small slice i» cut olf each potato, about the size of a shilling to let out the moisture, just as pastry coot* leave a vont in the pie-crust. If there bo M reason m roasting eggs" as tho old adage goes, surely such a staple article of food as the potato ir.ight claim more reasonable treatment than it gets at tho hands of inexperienced cooks How rarely are potatoes cookori to perfection, for large-si?ed watery potatoes cannot be cooked quickly, and hence tho failure in attempting impossibilities. The sample should be even, for if largo aud sui.ill aie to b8 cooked by toasting, tbo small ones wl'l be burnt by the time the large ones are roasted These are little matters, but they ai c able to mar the whole at tho last moment. Starch is a little heavier than water, and therefore potatoes having the greatest specific gravity are tho best. This is a tangiWe test of quality of which the judges can always avail themHelvea ; aaip when carried out by grating to a pulp and then washing the starch and drying it, the disappointed exhibitor must dry up his tears, und be convinocd. willing or unwilling, by the silent logic af the beam aiul scales.