Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-10-15
THE POTATO, THAT MOST
POPULAR VEGETABLE
MANY Cooks Are Very Careless
In Their Preparation And
Serving Of 1t
IT'S HISTORIC INTEREST

The potato harvest is now going on,
Ia mis- is the time for those who
nave proper storage space to buy their
winter supply as soon as the new late
crop Is fully on the market.
The potato (Salanum tuberosum) is.
Without doubt, our most important
,egeiable This seems strange, too,
uhsn we consider its chemical analy-
es water, 1902 per cent; starch,
$50 per cent; fiber, &c per cent;
rrafein. ZIG per cent, and ash, 81
her cent vegetable so largely COM
nosed Of water. with the small solid
norton simply starch, would not seem
"a be- worthwhile cultivating, but its
almost solid starch content, after de-
hydrafing, is what gives it a real value
81 carbohydrate The further fact
mat Il can be shipped and stored to
such good advantage makes 1t exceed
nely valuable as a dependable vege-
table for our daily use.
The Introduction of the potato as an
item Of our daily food only goes back
10 The latter part of the eighteenth
century. II is, therefore, a modern
food and originated in America There
il a difference OF opinion as to what
part Of the American continent 1t was
first found in. and also who its dis
coverer was, but 1t is generally agreed
that il is a native of South America.
II was brought to Ireland by Sir
John Hawkins in 1865 and TO England
by Sir Francis Drake in 1886, but it
did not come into general use until the
close Of the eighteenth century.
cultivation In Ireland
ireland led in its cultivation at first
TO such an extent that, to distinguish
il from the sweet potato, it has been
often called the Irish potato. To such
an extent had its cultivation spread in
ireland that 1t became the principal
food of the people, and when the crop
proved a failure, as it did on two or
three occasions, notably in 1S48, fam
inc spreda through the land, and
thousands died of starvation
The potato today is chiefly product
of temperate chimes, Northern Europe,
England, Scotland and Ireland and the
Northern Unites States and Canada
II reaches its best growth and quail
ity in a gravelly, sandy loan, and
where the rainfall is sufficient for
continuous growth.
1t is vegetable susceptible of great
Improvement, and the fine, large, we'll
favored potato of today Is so superior
to the small-siZed potatoes originally
taken over to Ireland and England
as seed that there is scarcely any re-
semblance between them. Another
thing, the potato is constantly chang
ing by further improvements, as we'll
as by deteriorations in such varieties
az have been cultivated for years The
varieties that were held in high esteem
30 years ago deteriorated to such an
extent that they may have been en-
trely discarded, and newer and better
varieties have taken their place.
Prince Edwards Island, off the
northeast coast of Canada, raises very
fine potatoes. so does Maine, New
York, Michigan and Wisconsin. The
irrigated valleys of the Northwest
raise very large potatoes of excellent
flavor and quality, and these potatoes
find a ready market at the mining
and lumber camps in the region
In selecting potatoes for family use,
care should be taken to select medium
sized white stock, such as Is free from
defects caused by chilling or freezing,
sunburn. etc Cut a sample into and
note if there Is too much water, If the
water drips off from the cut surface
the probabilities are that 1t is too
soggy to make good cooking potato.
Careless Cooking
Il is surprising how much ignorance
and carelessness is shown by many
cooks in the way they handle, prepare,
took and serve potatoes, probably no
ether vegetable is so often spoiled in
cooking as the potato, and this is all
The worse because it is our principal
vegetable and the one in daily use
The cook who can properly boil, bake,
mash. hash and fry potatoes should
he given citation and a medal like
: he French Government bestows on
celebrated cooks
Potatoes to be stored should be
placed in a dark, cool, well-ventilated
p'ace. where the temperature would
he between, say. SO degrees to IS de-
sFees Fahrenheit. and the humidity
ho' to high or low. say, about 20 de-
eFees. Best of all is to put the pota-
'oes IN pits. dug in the ground, where
mere IS good natural drainage.
Inc thrifty family who has a proper |
Storage place cannot help to reduce |