PREPARATION.
Baking: All the tubers may be baked. Clean and place in the oven; bake until tender. A medium sized potato will bake in about an hour. If the potatoes are soggy after being baked they are not well flavored. To remedy this, run a fork into them after they have been in the oven for a while; this allows some of the steam to escape and the potatoes become mealy. When a fork can easily be run into the potato, it is well enough done.
If the potatoes are well cleaned, there is no objection to eating a part of the jacket after they are baked. The finest flavoring is right under the jacket. This part contains a large portion of the salts.
Boiling: All tubers may be boiled. It is best to keep the jacket on, otherwise a great deal of both the salts and the nourishment is lost. If the potatoes boiled in the jacket seem too highly flavored, cut off one of the ends before placing them in the water. It takes about thirty or forty minutes to boil a medium sized Irish potato. Test with a fork, the same as baked potato, to find if done.
Potatoes should never be peeled and soaked. If they are to be boiled without the jacket, they should be cooked immediately after being peeled.
Steamed potatoes are good.
There is no objection to mashing potatoes and adding milk, cream or butter, provided they are thoroughly masticated when eaten. If the potatoes are mashed, this should be so thoroughly done that not a lump is to be found.
Potatoes cooked in grease are an abomination. The grease ruins a part of the potato and makes the rest more difficult to digest. Potato chips, French fried potatoes and German fried potatoes are too hard to digest for people who live mostly indoors. They should be used very seldom.