The potato is more generally used than any other vegetable. It combines with other foods - meats particularly - to give the desired elements. But it should not be used alone, or in too great a proportion, as it gives very little flesh-forming material. When taken exclusively, such a large bulk of it is required for sustenance that it results in increased size and prominence of the stomach, which sometimes amounts to deformity.

Potatoes are three fourths water. The solid matter consists largely of starch, with a small quantity of albumen and mineral matter held in solution in the juices. The quantity of starch increases during the autumn, and remains stationary during the winter. In spring, when germination commences, the starch is changed to gum, and renders the potatoes mucilaginous. The sugar formed from this gum renders them sweeter. Potatoes which have been frozen and thawed suddenly are sweeter and more watery than before, because on exposure to the warmth and air the starch is changed to sugar. They should be kept frozen until ready to use, or used immediately after thawing in cold water. The sprouts on potatoes should be removed as soon as they appear, since, if they are allowed to grow, they exhaust the starch, and render the potatoes unfit for food. Potatoes should be kept in a dry, cool cellar.

Botanically, potatoes belong to the same poisonous order as tobacco and deadly nightshade, and contain an acid juice which is unpleasant to the taste and often renders them indigestible. This lies in and near the rind of the potato. It is drawn out by heat. When the potatoes are baked it escapes in the steam, if they are opened at once; and when they are boiled, it is absorbed by the water. It is not wasteful, therefore, to peel potatoes before cooking, or to take off quite a thick peel, as they are thus rendered more wholesome. Taste the water in which potatoes have been boiled, and you will have no desire to use it in your yeast, bread, or stews. Potatoes when first peeled are white, but turn brown on exposure to the air. For this reason they should be covered with cold water as soon as peeled. New potatoes are watery, as the starch is not fully formed. They have a very thin skin, which may be rubbed or scraped off.

Raw potatoes which are to be fried should be thinly sliced, and soaked in cold water to draw out all the starch, that they may be crisp and not mealy. The cells which hold the starch grains are of an albuminous nature. These cells are divided in slicing the potatoes, and the starch is drawn out into the water; the albuminous membrane hardens in frying, and makes the potatoes crisp.

Boiled potatoes should be drained the moment the heat bursts all the starch grains, which may easily be determined by their soft texture when pierced with a fork, else the starch will absorb water, and the potatoes become pasty and unwholesome.

Baked potatoes should be served as soon as soft, and the skin should be slightly ruptured by squeezing to let the steam within escape, else it will condense and make the potato watery and unwholesome. Potatoes which are cut or sliced for stews and chowders should be soaked and scalded to remove the greenness before adding them to the stew.

Boiled Potatoes

Select potatoes of uniform size. Wash and scrub with a brush. Pare, and soak in cold water. Put them in boiling salted water, - one quart of water and one tablespoonful of salt for six large potatoes. Cook half an hour or until soft, but not until broken. Drain off every drop of the water. Place the kettle uncovered on the back of the stove to let the steam escape. Keep hot until ready to serve.

Potatoes A La Neige

Prepare the potatoes as above, and when well drained and mealy beat them thoroughly with a fork, add salt to taste, and serve at once, piled lightly on the dish.

Rice Potato

Rub the beaten potato through a squash strainer into the dish in which it is to be served. Keep the dish in a pan of hot water, and use a potato masher or pestle to facilitate the rubbing. Mashed and riced potatoes may be browned by placing the dish in the oven a few minutes.

Mashed Potatoes

To one pint of hot boiled potatoes, add one tablespoonful of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of pepper, and hot milk or cream to moisten. Mash in the kettle in which they were boiled, and beat with a fork until light and creamy, and turn out lightly on a dish. Never smooth it over, as that will make it heavy and compact.

Potato Balls

One pint of hot mashed potatoes highly seasoned with salt, pepper, celery salt, chopped parsley, and butter; moisten, if needed, with a little hot milk or cream. Beat one egg light, and add part of it to the potatoes. Shape into smooth round balls. Brush over with the remainder of the egg, and bake on a buttered tin until brown. Be careful not to get them too moist.

Potato Puff

Prepare as for potato balls, making it quite moist with cream or milk. Beat the yolks and white* of two eggs separately, and stir them into the potatoes when slightly cooled. Turn into a shallow baking-dish, pile it in a rocky form, and bake ten minutes, or until it is puffed and browned. Add half a cup of finely chopped cooked meat, to give a variety.

Lyonnaise Potatoes

Cut one pint of cold boiled potatoes into dice, and season with salt and pepper. Fry one scant tablespoonful of minced onion in one heaping tablespoonful of butter, until yellow. Add the potatoes, and stir with a fork until they have absorbed all the butter, being careful not to break them. Add one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and serve hot. One tablespoonful of vinegar heated with the butter gives the potatoes a nice flavor.

Creamed Potatoes

Cut cold boiled potatoes into cubes measuring one third of an inch, or into thin slices. Put them in a small shallow pan, cover with milk, and cook until the potatoes have absorbed nearly all the milk. To one pint of potatoes add one tablespoonful of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of pepper, and a little chopped parsley.

Fried Potatoes

Cut cold boiled potatoes into slices about a quarter of an inch thick. Have a frying-pan hot and well greased with salt pork or bacon fat. Cook the potatoes in the fat until brown, then turn, and brown the other side.

French Potatoes

Fry as above, pour a white sauce on a platter, and arrange the fried potatoes on the sauce.

Potatoes A La Maitre D'Hotel

Prepare the Maitre d'Hotel butter; mix one tablespoonful of butter, creamed, with the whole yolk of one egg. Add one teaspoonful of lemon juice, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, half a teaspoonful of salt, and half a saltspoonful of pepper. Cut one pint of cold boiled potatoes in thin slices or dice, or cut raw potatoes into balls with a French cutter, and boil them ten minutes. Warm the potatoes in milk enough to barely cover them. When the milk is nearly absorbed, stir in quickly the Maitre d'Hotel butter, and serve at once.

Baked Potatoes

Select smooth potatoes of uniform size. Wash, and scrub well. Bake in a hot oven about forty-five minutes, or until soft. Pinch them to break the skins, and let the steam escape. Serve at once, and never cover, as the steam causes them to become soggy.

Franconia Potatoes (Baked With Meat)

Wash, scrub, and pare potatoes of uniform size. Put them in the dripping-pan with the meat, and baste when the meat is basted. Or place them in a small tin pan beside the meat or on the grate, and baste with the dripping.

Potatoes In The Half-Shell, Or Souffle

Wash, scrub, and bake three smooth potatoes. Cut in halves lengthwise, and without breaking the skin scoop out the potato into a hot bowl. Mash, and add one even tablespoonful of butter, one of hot milk, and salt and pepper to taste. Beat the whites of two eggs stiff, and mix it with the potato. Fill the skins with the potato mixture, heaping it lightly on the top. Brown slightly.