Potatoes In the Kitchen: The Indispensable Cook's Guide to Potatoes, Featuring a Variety List and Over 150 Delicious Recipes

by Alex Barker Milwaukee Public Museum, Sally Mansfield

Potato begins with a historical account of the potato, Complete with entertaining anecdotes and botanical information, as well as detailed descriptions of how to choose, clean and store potatoes. This book features a variety of potatoes and includes a section on how to grow and care for potato plants at home, with information on season, origin, availability and suitability for cooking. The second part of the book concentrates on preparing and cooking potatoes, with techniques as varied as frying, boiling, mashing, braising, baking and roasting. Classic recipes include a Chilled Leek and Potato soup and Potato Gnocchi, while more exotic offerings, such as Spicy Caribbean salad and mini baked potatoes with blue cheese, are certain to delight all those who relish this universal favorite food.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Reference, Food, Food and Drink

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Friend Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book from my book club 20 years ago!
It is a favourite in my house even today.
Being a vegetarian I adapt some of the recipes that have meats in. It shows various types of potato and can explain clearly which potato to use for which dish. I used to have soggy mash - I not only found out why, but also how to remedy that. The selection of recipes shows the various ways to cook with selected potato varieties. An enjoyable dish is created from each page.
This book has got me through when my budget was tight.
Not only has Classic recipes from Roast Potato to (vegetarian) Shepherd's Pie, but also fancy recipes that could find a place on any table at dinner parties, like Wild Mushroom and Bacon Rosti or Pumpkin Gnocchi with Chanterelle Parsley Cream.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine stumbling upon a culinary time capsule, gifted by a kind neighbour, filled with recipes from over two decades ago. Intrigued, I decided to dive in and see what delicious discoveries awaited me. At first glance, I wasn’t sure if this book would match my vibrant, flavour-packed cooking style. The photos are nostalgic, and some recipes have a heavy hand with the vinegar. But that’s where a little creative tweaking comes in!

My favourite section? Hands down, the breads and scones! I’m already dreaming about whipping up the ‘Three Herb Potato Scones’ soon, and tonight’s menu features the adventurous ‘Potato Skewers with Mustard Dip’.

This cookbook might need a modern twist – think more veggies, less oil, and a few personal touches – but it’s a delightful starting point for any home chef. Is it worth paying full price? Maybe not. But snagging a second-hand copy? Absolutely! Happy cooking!

[Douglas Shore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book.- not because its an insightful view of the writer's mind and what inspires them - but because it's precisely what it says it is, POTATO!

If you have ever picked up a potato and said, 'what can I do with this that's more than just boil roast or mash,' then this is the book for you!

For a person learning to cook or someone who is unsure in the kitchen, I would highly recommend it.

[Monika · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
Interesting cooking book. Found quite a few recipes I will use pretty soon I think.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this on my shelf for a while and am just now beginning to use it. According to my notes, the 3 recipes I tried before from it were simply "easy, ok."

I do really like these Hermes House cookbooks for reading material, even if their recipes aren't anything to get excited about. In Hermes House style, there's a gorgeous, full-page picture of each dish with easy, concise instructions (with picture of different steps in the process). This is why these cookbooks are irresistible in the faculty room (left by the peddler). The books begin by informing you; this one begins with the history of potatoes (quite interesting, actually), a description of and how-to on every known way to cook potatoes, a catalog with pictures of each tool that could be called for in any given recipe involving potatoes, and frustratingly, a visual encyclopedia of every known type of potato (which actually includes 169 varieties). It annoys me because almost all of these 169 potatoes look exactly the same, and what's the point of knowing about them when my local grocer offers maybe 3 of them? I felt the same way about the Encyclopedia of Vegetables (also by Hermes House) that excited me about Jerusalem artichokes, which were in several recipes but nowhere to be found in the flesh, even San Diego. Perhaps this book's audience is the world traveler; someone who may, say, fly on their private jet to get a pinch of this from Sicily, a pinch of that from Spain... What is "demerara sugar?" It's one of the ingredients in a potato salad recipe I had considered: I don't think it should be so much work to find out what the ingredients are in a cookbook, but if I did have access to any of these potatoes and ingredients around the corner, the recipes are quite simple, pretty, and unusual, but again, they don't take your tastebuds to the level of ecstasy that the photos suggest.

Overall, I did learn some new things about cooking potatoes and about potatoes in general, so I'm glad I read it and I'm glad that I have it on hand, but it could've been better (especially if I were a different person).