Potato Tips

To prevent potatoes from budding, keep them in a paper bag with an apple- the same ethylene gas that ripens avocados and tomatoes when they're stored with an apple will help keep the potatoes from sprouting. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Check potato starch content by dropping into a big bowl of cold water; if they sink they're high-starch and suitable for frying. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before baking whole russet potatoes, rub them with butter or oil, then bake directly on the rack of the oven, not on a pan. This makes the skin super-crisp and tasty. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Potatoes will cook faster if they're quartered or cut into cubes before boiling or roasting. Cut them into similar-sized pieces so they cook at about the same rate. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ secret ingredients for mashed potatoes (choose one): cream cheese a little Mozzarella (fresh grated is always best) a little Gruyere (freshly grated is always best) buttermilk (richness & tang without much fat) sprinkle of ranch dressing mix chicken bouillon or seasoning packet from roast chicken flavor ramen dash of creamy Caesar dressing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To make lighter and fluffier mashed potatoes, add a pinch or two of baking powder to the potatoes before whipping with a hand mixer. For even richer and fluffier results, you can make potatoes Chantilly by gently folding in whipped cream after the potatoes have been prepared: sublime if you don't mind the extra effort (and the extra calories). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And finally, my apologies to Teresa for posting the exact same tip about dealing with too much saltiness in a dish.

Submitted By: Chef Will
Date Submitted: 6/6/2010 7:26:05 PM