All Things Food: Lesson 10

Lesson 10 was potatoes. 6 different kinds of potatoes, in fact.

There are 2 types of potatoes. There are starchy potatoes, which are the denser, and often fried, baked and mashed. The other type of potato is a waxy potato. Waxy potatoes are typically used for gratins, soups, salads, stews, and potato cakes.

Idaho, Yukon gold and Russet potatoes are examples of starchy types. Red Bliss, Red Pontiac, and Yellow Finnish are examples of waxy potatoes.

Potatoes should be stored in the dark, between 45 and 50 degrees. If potatoes have been kept in a warm, light environment for too long, they could turn green. When they are green, they contain high levels of solanine, which is toxic.

Of course, one of the dishes we made was french fries (technically pommel pont-neuf, which are thick cut fries). A few points about deep frying: you can reuse oil, but it needs to be strained and filtered after each use and stored in a covered container. If the oil is foaming or smells bad, don't use it. Don't mix fresh oil with used oil. Be sure oil is completely hot before adding the food. Add food in small batches. Do not salt food before frying - do so soon after removing from the oil. Finally, rinse and dry potatoes thoroughly to remove excess starch.

Random info: French fries were actually created in Belgium.

We also made potatoes gratin, which is made with milk, cream, nutmeg, Idaho potatoes, garlic and gruyere. These are sooooooo good!

Chef Bruno made us this wonderful steak in wine sauce to go with our potatoes:

We made pureed potatoes:

We also made Pommes Duchesse, which is nutmeg, egg yolk, butter, and potatoes mixed and put through a food mill and then piped and baked.

This is the chef's:

This was mine:

This is Amy's:

We also made Pommes Anna, which are sliced potatoes layered in a skillet and drizzled with clarified butter. The potatoes are then cooked on the stove and then baked in the oven. We were pressed for time and mine didn't turn out so well, so there is no photo.

The final type of potatoes we made were Pommes sautés a cru, which is really good. They are potatoes sliced and sautéed in oil, then in butter and seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley.