The Alaska citizen., 1911-09-25
Timely Hints for the | Housewife


 Cooking potatoes iS quite an art. and deserves more attention on the part of the housewife. Potatoes are more universally used than any blood purifiers. They contain 1> per cent of starch and immediately under the skin T. per cent of a fesh-forming material called glnJeu Now the object and aim of every cook should be to render food first as nourishng and digestible as pos sible. and second as palatable a. possible Therefore. We ought to cook our potatoes ln such a mannei as to prt serve the gluten. starch, and mineral salts which they con tain,
 To make potatoes as nourishing as possible. We should. after thor oughly brushing and cleaning the outside, steam them in their jackets; then when they ale cooked remove the skins. return them to the steam CT for q few minutes 10 heat and eat the potatoes with some form of fat
 To Boil Old Potatoes.
 First select them of uniform size Wash and scrub of the dirt. pare as thinly as possible. and do not cut them into pieces. Put them into a saucepan of cold water with two teaspoonfuls of salt 10 quart of water, and place on the fire an hour before you want 10 eat them. Put on the lid but note when they come to the boil If they are small. test with skewer in 20 minutes. if large in 9 minutes As soon as they are soft in the center. drain away all the water and put the saucepan on cooler part of the stoye for minutes with the lid on. that they may cook in their own steam.
 Then remove the lid. add small piece of butter or dripping. and leave for another five minutes, At the end of this time. if they are Of good quality. they will be like balls of flour. Serve ill a hot vegetable dish and sprinkle little salt over them.
 To Boil New Potatoes.
 Wash the potatoes, and if they are young rub off the skins with piece of coarse flannel dipped iii salt; when they are little older il will be found necessary to sCrape them. AS soon as the skins are re moved place them in a bowl of cold water and keep them there until time to put them into the saucepan. The exCusion from the air prevents dscoloration. Let the salt and wa ter be in the same proportions as for old ones, and add sprig or two of mint improve the flavor. When the water is actually boiling put in the potatoes about 25 minutes before they are required If small they should be sufficiently cooked in r. minutes, but they must be tested with a needle When soft in the center. pour away the water, add small lump of butter, and a sprn- kling of salt and pepper Put the lid half on and half off, and allow them to vaporze for three or four minutes; then serve in a hot yege- table dish.
 Baked Potatoes.
 This is an excellent way of pre- serving all the nutritious qualities of the potatoes. Wash and scrub them quite clean; then lay them on shelf of a fairly hot oven. They should be large and of uniform size, and should be turned over once CT twice during the process of cooking. Pinch them with the fingers; if they are soft and yielding and the skins burst, they are sufficiently cooked. Cut across the top with knife, pull half open, and serve in hot veg etable dishes. small piece may be cut out of the end of each pota- 10 and a little butter, salt. pepper and chopped shallot inserted, and then the piece replaced. Arrange them in a dish with this end upper most The butter will melt and the whole potato will be favored.
 Potato SouffIe.
 Wash and bake or steam three large potatoes in their skins; when cooked, cut in halves and take out the insides, and rub them through a sieve. Mix into this yolks of two raw eggs whites of four eggs stiffly beaten, two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, two tablespoonfuls of salt and pepper Fill the half skins with this mixture, using force bag with large plain pipe for the purpose; then sprinkle over the top with a few bread-crumbs, a little grated cheese and a few pieces of butter Bake for about 15 minutes in moderate oven, and serve at