r*v
, /
BULLETIN
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF/ TEXAS
NO. 350
EXTENSION SERIES NO. 56
AUGUST 1, 1914
THE IRISH POTATO
BY
JESSIE P. RICH
Published by the University six times a month and entered as
second-class matter at the postoffice at
AUSTIN, TEXAS
EXCHANGE
The benefits of education and of
useful knowledge, generally diffused
through a community, are essential
to the preservation of a free gov-
ernment.
Sam Houston.
Cultivated mind is the guardian
genius of democracy. . . . It is the
only dictator that freemen acknowl-
edge and the only security that free-
men desire.
Mirabeau B. Lamar.
THE IRISH POTATO
The work outlined in these bulletins is intended to give sug-
gestions and some definite direction for teaching- children, both
girls and boys, in the outlying rural districts something of the
nature of food plants, their nutritive value and their proper
preparation for human consumption. It is also desired that these
lessons in cooking should be connected with the school lunches
and that the children actually prepare daily a hot dish to supple-
ment the cold food brought from home.
There are various ways in which this work can be placed on
the school program. The subject dealt with can be divided into
smaller topics, and one of these smaller divisions developed each
day. Probably a better plan would be to devote Friday after-
noon to the work. The subject-matter can be carefully discussed
and followed by an actual cooking lesson. The following week
the class should be divided into groups and each group serve for
a day during the forenoon. This group will prepare and cook in
quantities large enough to serve those contributing to the food
supplies, some special dish discussed or prepared -at the Friday
class suitable for the noon luncheon. The time spent in this can
be arranged during the study hours and the noon recess by the
teacher, so that it will not conflict with the regular school
program.
SUPPLIES
The food material can be brought from home by the children ;
some bringing flour, others bringing potatoes, still others butter
and milk, etc. Frequently pupils, especially boys, will prefer to
contribute money instead of food. This can be used to purchase
staple supplies, which are always necessary, i. e., flour, sugar,
salt, pepper, soap and washing powders for cleansing, etc. The
boys can contribute their share of the labor by keeping up the
fires, carrying and emptying water, etc. Every child should be
encouraged to contribute something to these lunches so they may
get the benefit of them.
Before introducing the work it is always best first to call a
4 Bulletin of the University of Texas
meeting of the mothers, and the fathers, too, if they will come.
Put the plan definitely before them ; impress upon them the ad-
vantage of a hot, nutritious dish at the mid-day meal, and solicit
their co-operation and support.
The equipment necessary for carrying out these cooking lessons
is simple and inexpensive. A cupboard and table constructed
from two store boxes are sufficient and suitable for holding
utensils and supplies. The heating stove of the school can be
utilized as a source of heat. The utensils necessary for carrying
on this work are as follows :
COOKING EQUIPMENT FOR THE ONE-ROOM RURAL SCHOOL
Equipment No. 1
Used on common heating stove for all cooking except baking.
1 8-qt. kettle with bail and closely fitting lid $ .80
1 3-pt. double boiler (graniteware) 85
1 1-qt. tin coffee pot 20
1 No. 8 iron skillet 35
1 wire strainer 15
1 long-handled basting spoon (iron) 10
2 long-handled (graniteware) dippers 30
1 long-handled fork 10
1 tablespoon 05
2 teaspoons 05
1 case knife and fork 10
1 paring knife 10
1 combination corkscrew and can opener 10
1 butcher knife 50
1 tin measuring cup 05
2 granite dishpans (one for rinsing) 1.10
1/2 dozen quart Mason jars 40
% dozen jelly glasses 15
1 candy bucket for fireless cooker
2 goods boxes (shoe boxes are well suited)
Total .$5.45
The Irish Potato 5
COOKING EQUIPMENT FOR THE ONE-ROOM RURAL SCHOOL.
Equipment No. 2
(This added to No. 1 makes all cooking possible.)
1 2-burner wick oil stove . $ 8.50
1 portable oven 3.50
1 bread board 50
1 rolling pin 10
1 dripping pan 30
2 bread pans 40
1 cake pan ' 20
1 set layer cake 30
1 earthern- baking dish 20
1 set muffin irons 50
1 Dover egg beater 10
1 flour sifter .20
Total $14.80
The simplest equipment costs little more than $5.00 and can
be easily gotten by any school anxious to do the work. The more
expensive equipment costs but $15.00 and is to be recommended,
as it contains an oil stove with two burners, so that cooking could
be done on days when it would be too warm to have a fire in the
heating stove. Then, too, it contains a portable oven so that-
baking; may be included in the cooking lessons. This broadens
the scope of the lessons and also permits of greater variety in
luncheon dishes.
The dishes necessary for serving hot food at luncheon can
be brought from home, each child bringing a cup, plate, knife,
fork, and spoon.
The lessons suggested for the first two weeks are a study of
the Irish potato. The following references are suitable sources
of material, both for the children and the teacher to work from :
Bulletins No. 35, Potato Culture; No. 256, Preparation of Vege-
tables for the Table ; No. 386, Potato Culture on Irrigated Farms
of the West ; No. 295, Potatoes and Other Root Crops as Foods ;
Minnesota Farmers' Library; Extension Bulletin No. 35, Potato
6 Bulletin of tJie University of Texas
Diseases; Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, No. 5, The
Cultivation of Potatoes. Also the following books contain good
material for the teacher's use: Food and Dietetics, Hutchinson ;
Theory and Practice of Cookery (page 228), Fisher & Williams.
SOME FACTS THE TEACHER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE POTATO
The potato is a starchy food, and besides starch contains much
water, a little mineral matter and fiber. The children can easily
feel and see the water, can see the thread-like walls and fibers
running through the potato, that separates the starch as is de-
scribed below. This starch is a fine, glistening substance heavier
than water. It is the substance which makes the potato a valu-
able food, and to cook this starch well is to cook the potato well.
Starch should be cooked in boiling water, and as the principal
food in potato is starch, the potato also should be cooked in boil-
ing water and salt added for seasoning.
The actual composition of the potato is as follows :
Water 78.3 per cent.
Protein 2.2 per cent.
Starch 18.1 per cent.
Mineral 1.0 per cent.
Fiber 4 per cent.
This indicates that the food value of the vegetable is due to
the starch and mineral present. Starch is of value to the human
body in two ways : it gives heat to keep up the bodily tempera-
ture and furnishes energy to perform muscular work. The
mineral is especially important in building bone.
The digestibility of the potato depends largely on the method
of its preparation and the manner in which it is eaten. A mealy
potato is more digestible than a nogoy, waxy one. A potato
which enters the stomach in a fine state of division is more di-
gestible than one taken in large lumps. Through mastication
these lumps are largely broken up and the potato mixed with the
saliva, which aids in digestion.
Potatoes must by no means constitute the sole or even the
The Irish Potato 1
staple diet of man. They contain too little of muscle-building
food to be used alone. It would take about 22 pounds of potato
a day to yield enough of its muscle-building food, and that
amount would furnish four times as much starch as a system can
economically use.
The following is a suggestive plan for developing and relating
this kind of work :
Teacher's aim:
1. To teach the child the best method of cooking starch.
2. To give the child a knowledge of the nutritive value of the
potato and the best method of obtaining it.
3. To correlate the work with other subjects of the school
curriculum with the end in view of placing home industries in
the child's mind on the same ^educational basis as the other sub-
jects in the curriculum.
Suggestions for correlation:
1. Geography.
a. A map showing the potato producing centers of
the world.
b. A discussion of soil and climate adapted to the
growth of the potato.
c. The importance of the potato as a domestic agri-
cultural product.
2. Nature study and gardening.
a. Study of the methods and germination of the
potato.
b. Study of the methods of cultivation and harvest-
ing of the potato.
c. Study of the insects affecting the growth and de-
development of the potato and how they may be
destroyed.
3. English.
a. The keeping of note-books by the pupils in which
all subject-matter can be recorded and corrected.
b. Stories connected with the discovery of the potato,
early use of the potato, etc.
4. Spelling.
a. Give new words connected with the development
of the lesson.
b. Definition of new words and the use of same.
8 Bulletin of the University of Texas
5. Construction work.
a. Suitable wooden crates or bins for storing the
potato for winter use.
b. Woven holders for handling hot pots and kettles
during the cooking.
c. Hemming of dish towels for use in dish washing.
The following suggest the method of the lesson on the potato
with the children :
THE IRISH POTATO
What is it? How grown? How dug? What do you see on
examining it ? Cut and look inside ; feel it. Look at it through
a hand lens. Do you see any fibers? Do you see a heavy rim
near the outside skin? What is it? What influence would this
have on the way you peel the potato (the mineral salts of the
potato are located near the outer skin) ? Grate a potato into a
cheesecloth, gather up the cloth, make a bag and squeeze it. Wash
with the fingers carefully in a pan of cold water, being very care-
ful not to break an opening in the bag. Allow the water to stand
some minutes, pour it off carefully. What is in the bottom?
Examine carefully. Mix a part of it with a little cold water and
boil. What happens ? This starch is the substance which makes
the potato a good food. Remove the fibers from the cloth and
dry in a little paste board box on the back of the stove or in the
sunshine. Examine.
Do we eat potatoes raw ? Why not ? How shall we cook them ?
What substance have we here t to cook (starch and fiber, but starch
is the important one) ? Try the effect of cold water on a little
starch. Try hot water; boiling water. What happens in each
case? Review these experiments carefully and see if they sug-
gest to your mind the best method of cooking a potato. (Cook
the potatoes if possible in the school room and utilize for school
luncheon.)
The following recipes are suggested for suitable potato dishes
for the children to prepare:
BOILED POTATOES
First select potatoes of uniform size. Wash, pare off the thin-
nest possible layer of skin and drop at once into cold water to
The Irish Potato 9
prevent them from becoming black. (If the potato is old and
somewhat shrunken, soak for several hours before cooking.)
Cook the potato in salted boiling water until soft, which is easily
determined by piercing with a fork. (For a dozen potatoes allow
one table spoon of salt and boiling water enough to cover.) When
the potatoes are done, drain immediately, sprinkle with a little
added salt and let stand uncovered in a hot place until serving-
time. If potatoes are boiled with their jackets on (this is an ex-
cellent method, as no mineral matter or protein is lost from the
potato), first scrub them and then with a sharp knife cut a nar-
row band of skin from the center. This aids in removing the
skin before the potato is eaten.
BAKED POTATOES
Select smooth, medium sized potatoes. Scrub with a small
vegetable brush and bake in a hot oven for about forty minutes
or until soft. Remove from the oven, break the skin slightly in
order that the steam can escape and serve as quickly as possible.
(Properly baked potatoes are more easily digested than potatoes
cooked any other way. They are, however, better cooked in boil-
ing water than baked in a slow oven. )
If there is no oven in the school room equipment the potato
may be baked in an outdoor fire. For this purpose a pit is dug
and a fire built in the pit. When the fire has burned well down,
bury the potatoes in the ashes and allow them to bake for about
forty-five minutes. They bake with less danger of burning if.
wrapped in damp clay or wet paper before being put into the fire.
RICED POTATOES
Force the hot boiled potatoes through a potato ricer or coarse
strainer direct into a hot vegetable dish.
MASHED POTATOES
To five potatoes which have been broken with a potato masher
or put through the ricer, add one tablespoon of butter, one tea-
spoon of salt, and one-half cup of hot milk. Beat this with a fork
until creamy and pile lightly in a vegetable dish. Serve at once.
10 Bulletin of the University of Texas
SCALLOPED POTATOES
Wash, pare, and slice potatoes into cold water. In a buttered
dish, place a layer of these potatoes, sprinkle with salt and a little
flour, dot over with one-half tablespoon of butter. Repeat this
until the baking dish is nearly filled, then add hot milk until it
may be seen through the top layer. Bake one and a quarter hours
in a moderate oven or place back of the stove and cook slowly.
The milk should not boil. A little grated cheese may be sprinkled
over each layer if desired.
CREAMED POTATOES
For creamed potatoes, freshly cooked potatoes may be used or
cold boiled potatoes. In each case the potatoes are cut into small
cubes and served with a cream sauce. The cream sauce is made
as follows : 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 cup
of heated milk, y 2 teaspoon of salt. Melt butter, add flour and
cook for two minutes. (Be careful that the butter does not brown
or burn.) Add the heated milk and boil two minutes, stirring
constantly. Add salt and reheat the potatoes in the cream sauce.
Serve in a heated vegetable dish.
WALDORF POTATOES
Cut cold boiled potatoes into cubes and mix one cup of potatoes
and one-half cup of cream sauce, having previously added .four
tablespoons of grated cheese. Pour over potatoes and heat slowly
without boiling.
POTATO SOUP
Three potatoes, 1 quart of milk, 2 slices of onion, 3 tablespoons
of butter, 2 tablespoons of flour, 1% teaspoon of salt. Cook po-
tatoes in boiling water, to which the salt has been added. When
soft, rice, mash, or run through a strainer. Scald the milk with
onion, remove onion, add milk slowly to potatoes. Melt the but-
ter, add the flour until well mixed, and stir into the boiling soup.
Cook 1 minute and serve.
The following material may be used as reading material in
this connection:
The Irish Potato 11
THE IRISH POTATO
The first home of the potato was in South America. There it
was found wild. Sometimes we call it the white potato, that we
may know it from the sweet potato. Often it is called the Irish
potato. Do you know why ? It is because the people of Ireland
use so many potatoes. It was carried to Ireland from our own
country over three hundred years ago. It is now the principal
food among the peasants.
We found that potatoes contain a great deal of starch. Much of
the starch we use comes from potatoes. This useful, homely,
every-day vegetable is found in almost every country. It has been
used in France for a long time.
Shall I tell you about what happened to the first potatoes eaten
in France? Well, a long, long time ago the Spaniards came to
South America. They noticed that the people ate, and almost
lived upon, what they thought was the large root of a vegetable
called "battata." Battata means "papa" in their language.
The Spaniards sent some of the battata to their friends in Spain,
and these friends sent them to Italy, another country near
France. Finally some were 'sent to Belgium, to the mayor of
Nons, which is almost in France.
The mayor liked the king of France very much and wanted to
send him a rare gift. So what did he do but send him a whole
sack of potatoes.
Henry II, king of France, invited the great lords and noble-
men of his court to a feast. The potato was to be the important
dish. When the potato appeared, the guests became very much
excited. The king was the first to be served. He tasted it once,
twice ; then passed it on in perfect silence. The lords and noble-
men did as he had done. What was the cause of the silence?
The cook had not boiled them before serving them with a delicious
mayonnaise dressing. After the feast, the king had every potato
thrown out of the city of Paris.
About two weeks later some soldiers were camping near the
fortifications of the city. While sitting around the campfire, it
seemed to them. as if a most appetizing odor came from the glow-
ing ashes of the fire. They began to examine the ashes in order
that they might find the cause of this tempting smell. What a
12 Bulletin of the University of Texas
feast they had when at the end of the stick appeared one of the
potatoes sent to the king of France. The soldiers ate them with-
out the least fear, and they ate every one of them.
The news of this lucky find reached the ears of the king, so he
sent for more potatoes and gave another feast.
The potato was served again, but was cooked this time, and
the most particular guest could not find one word to say against it.
ANOTHER POTATO STORY
There are many stories told of what the potato has done for
our own country.
Over a hundred years ago, our country was fighting against
England. The American people wanted a government of their
own, so that they could rule themselves. This was was the Revo-
lutionary War.
General Francis Marion was one of the bravest fighters on the
American side. He and his soldiers lived in the thick forests of
South Carolina.
One day the English general sent a young soldier into the woods
to find General Marion and his army. Just at dark, when he
thought he was lost he saw the campfires of the Americans
gleaming through the trees. Riding up close to the fire where the
soldiers could see him, he waved his white handkerchief. Seeing
the white handkerchief, the soldiers knew that he was a messenger
and did not shoot him. They directed him to the tent of General
Marion. Here the Englishman found him seated on a log in the
tent made of pine boughs. Leaping down from his horse, he
said : ' * General Marion, I have a message for you from my gen-
eral." Marion said: "I will hear your message after we have
eaten. ' '
Presently, several of the officers came into the tent and sat
down on the logs. The Englishman looked all around for the
table, but could find no sign of it. Soon a soldier came into the
tent and said: "General Marion, supper is ready." He passed
the plates. What do you think the plates were that the soldiers
brought into camp? They were huge chips cut from a large tree
near the campfire. The English soldier thought: "These are
very funny plates. I wonder what the food will be." Another
The Irish Potato 13
soldier came in with some smoking-hot potatoes, just taken from
the ashes of the campfire. The poor Englishman had been riding
all day and was very hungry. How he did enjoy those baked po-
tatoes. Again and again the soldier brought into the tent the hot
potatoes, and the Englishman thought he had never eaten half
so nice a meal.
When supper was over, the plates were placed in the fire instead
of in a dishpan. While they sat watching the plates burn in the
glowing fire, General Marion said to the Englishman : ' ' You now
see what we Americans have to eat here in the woods. But just
as long as we have potatoes, so long will we continue to fight for
our country. ' ' The Englishman then knew that money could not
buy General Marion and his brave men. He was ashamed to tell
General Marion that he had come out into the woods to get him
to desert his country. He said: "General Marion, you are a
brave man, and we can never conquer you as long as you and
your soldiers have the potato for your friend. I shall return in
the morning and tell my general that the potato is stronger than
his gold."
In the morning the English soldier again ate baked potatoes,
without salt or butter, on a wooden plate. He went back to his
own country and never fought against America again.
General Marion, however, by the aid of the potato, continued
to live in the dark, swampy forests of South Carolina. He fought
so bravely that at last all the English were driven from the
country.
DEPARTMENT OF EXTENSION
Edwin Du Bois Shurter, Ph. B., Acting Director of the Depart-
ment.
Sam C. Polk, Secretary of the Department.
Division of Correspondence Instruction:
Leonidas Warren Payne, Jr., Ph. D., Head of the Division.
W. Ethel Barren, Registrar of the Division.
Division of Child Welfare :
Alex-ander Caswell Ellis, Ph. D., Head of the Division.
Division of Home Welfare:
Mary E. Gearing, Head of the Division.
Gertrude Louise Blodgett, B. S., Lecturer.
Franc B. Hancock, M. A., Lecturer.
Minerva Lawrence, B. S., Lecturer.
Division of Public Discussion :
Edwin Du Bois Shurter, Ph. B., Head of the Division.
Morgan Vining, A. B., LL. B., Assistant Director of the
Interscholastic League.
Edwin Sue Goree, Extension Librarian.
Division of Public Lectures and Publicity :
John Avery Lomax, M. A., Head of the Division.
Division of Public School Improvement :
Raymond George Bressler, M. A., Head of the Division.
Edward Everett Davis, B. A., Lecturer.
Amanda Stoltzfus, L. L, Lecturer.
Newman Leander Hoopingarner, M. A., Manager of
Exhibits.
Division of Public Welfare :
George Simon Wehrwein, B. S., Head of the Division.
14 DAY USE
RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED
LOAN DEPT.
This book is due on the last date stamped below, or
on the date to which renewed.
Renewed books are subject to immediate recall.
Q*nr'65SW
tfF' "P ! P
M*\/1 7 'fiq-8 PM
nflf 1 ' t)0 4
General Library
LD 2lA-60m-3,'65 University of California
(F2336slO)476B Berkeley
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
