The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1912-09-13

is potash, soda and lime. The juice
Of a potato contains citric, tartariC
and succinic acid. 1t is said the
favor of the potato comes from traces
of solamin, which is poisonous if in
large quantities. Old potatoes which
have sprouted or been exposed to
light will often turn green near the
skin and in these a larger quantity
of solanin is found, and is also found
in the potato which is not we'll de-
veloped. If used as food at all, care
should be taken to cut away all of
the green part next to the skin. The
per cent. of starch water, etc, will
Of course vary according to age, cul-
tivation, climate and soil. In the
young potato there is less starch than
when mature, for as the tuber lies
( in the ground the starch increases,
therefore the well-developed ones
are the ones that are mealy when
cooked However when a potato be-
sins to sprout some of this starch
turns to glucose and the potato is
more watery and less appetizing, be-
sides having a larger amount of so
lanin which makes them less desira-
BILE.
The young potato and earlier va
rieties are usually said TO have a bet
ter flavor. They have less starch,
more protein, acids and mineral mat
ter. 1t is the uniformed starch and
immature cell tissues that caused the
early potato to be less digestible and
often causing severe bowel trouble
The later varieties when we'll ma
tured are fluffy and mealy when
cooked and are considered one of the
most easily digested of our starchy
foods
While filling a vefys important
place among the foodstuffs the po-
vito used alone as a diet would be
extremely otfessided. A man attempt
ing to nourish himself on a diet of
potatoes alone would have to assimi-
late ten to eleven pounds a day
which would be impossible, while if
he chose a diet of eggs, flesh and
bread. two to three pounds would be
sufficient. One pound of dry un-
cooked rice is said to equal in food
value four and a half pounds of po-
tatoes. Since the potato is so poor
in protein, our tissue building food,
it cannot be used to support life and
should BE- used in connection with
foods rich in protein, as meat, milk,
eggs, cheese, ETC.
Tho abnndont ct1pp1v of Y,nfraro1 .
matter in the potato is said to be a
valuable aid to digestion and in spite
OF the fact that one occasionally
hears that potatoes are indigestible
and unwholesome they are eaten by
all sorts of people the world over
Potatoes are usually cooked by
broiling, baking or frying, although
there are hundreds Of recipes for
cooking them, the foundation is
usually one of these three methods. (
If potato is boiled with the skin on
it, it will lose less nutriment than
when pared and boiled. If the skin
is left on it is better to pare a ring
around the middle so the moisture
may escape, otherwise It will become
soggy When baked in their skins
potatoes undergo the same change as
in boiling, except they lose none Of
their ingredients except a very little
water which evaporates through 'he
skin. When the water contained in
a potato becomes heated it expands,
rupturing the starch cells. Baking
seems best to break up the starch
cells and in this way the potato Of
fers less resistance to the ot'on of
the digestive juices than s0ggy or III
cooked ones. If raw ones are used to
fry they should be cut into small
thin pieces so the heat may penetrate
enough to cook the starch thoroughly
before getting too brown. If one
wishes to reduce weight they should
keep clear of fried potatoes as they
are usually prepared. In potatoes
served in a cream sauce we get the
protein in the milk and flour used
and the fat from butter. If cooked
with cheese we get protein and some
fat When used plain, boiled or
baked, they should best be served
with meat or fish.
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