Q: I need to bake 60 potatoes and I have two kitchen wall ovens. The larger oven has two racks and the smaller has one rack. I will split them by putting 40 in the bigger oven and 20 in the smaller one. What’s the best way to bake them (temperature and for how long)?
A: Wash the potatoes and place them on a single level (for better air circulation) in the oven. Bake at 400°F for about one hour or until the internal temperature of the potato is 200-210°F.
Q Now that summer has finally arrived, any suggestions for cold potato soups?
A. Yes, this is a great time to add a chilled creamy potato soup to your menu. Here are a couple of ideas:
Chilled Idaho® Potato & Watercress Soup
And, if you really want to create something unique, this is a recipe from an Omni hotel that uses some original creativity to make “beet caviar” to serve with the icy cold potato soup shooters:
Q Do you have a recipe for baked potato cookies?
A We have a recipe, but no photo. I always hesitate to share a recipe without the beautiful shot of how it turns out as we have become such a “visual” society. However, you could take a photo and send it on to us at ipc@potato.idaho.gov so we can show it to others. Here is the link for the recipe:
Baked Potato Cookies with Sour Cream & Chives
And here is another interesting potato based dessert that we do have a photo of to go along with the recipe:
Bacon, Idaho® Potato Chip and Toffee Brittle
Q Seriously, I can’t afford to join in the wave of street trucks, that’s a little too much for me to invest in. However, I saw that in London they have street vendors selling Jacketed Potatoes from a table top or cart. Ever seen one of these?
A This is an excellent idea to explore. You could do this inexpensively with a propane powered small oven that could be purchased used, but if you want to kick it up a notch, as Emeril Lagasse might say, then you have to check out this towable potato oven that is sold on EBay and other locations now in the US.:
It runs about $9500 plus shipping.
Q. I own a brew pub and want to incorporate some potato dishes besides fries into my menu. Any suggestions?
A. First of all, I think that’s a great idea. Not all side dishes need to be fried for health reasons, but also because this puts a lot of strain on one piece of equipment. If you already have fried chicken, fish tacos, and a bunch of fried appetizers, plus the French fries, you know that the kitchen would be up in arms if you introduced any more things that have to be fried.
Baking a potato and then using it as a side dish is a great idea, but so is this recipe for skin on mashed potatoes. Paired with a traditional British “banger” or with these smaller ones, makes for a tasty meal:
Bangers and Skin-On Idaho Mashed Potatoes
This recipe for Idaho® Baked Potato Salad from the Burger & Brew joint in Miami recently won “Best Side Dish” at the 2011 Burger Bash held in South Beach Florida. This recipe is from a very compact kitchen facility, so it’s not complicated at all to add to the menu:
Baked Idaho® Potato Salad
And here is another baked potato salad that uses left over baked potatoes:
Baked Potato Salad
Q. Can you please tell me what a “potato agglomerate” is?
A. Instant potatoes typically fall into two categories, potato flakes and agglomerates. The flakes are made by using rollers to crush the potatoes to rid them of water. Idahoan® brand is an example of this. There are usually less expensive than agglomerates and the dehydrating creates a thin, almost newspaper sheet that is broken up into a finer texture. These work well for home usage because once the potato cells are crushed they can only absorb liquids in cooking once without starting to get gluey. The agglomerates are more like a grain of sand that is tumbled with various flavorings (such as dairy) and spices.
Q. Someone told me I am wasting money by serving a stack of French fries on the plate. In this economy, I am concerned about food costs. Is there anything I could do differently?
A. Yes, most definitely, you need to try a couple of things. During the rush period, take some samples of the amount of fries currently being used. Get a food scale and a sheet of wax paper and transfer the finished order to the scale and actually weigh what you are giving the customer. Your 6-7 ounces may actually be 8-10 ounces if the plates are very large. Your employees will look out for the customer on this one, making sure they are happy. When I was in the pizza business we had portion cups for the proteins, such as the ground sausage. Controlling costs can be done so much easier by helping your staff do a better job.
This might be too big, unless you want to serve a group:
Q. It has always been something I wonder about? Exactly how popular are potatoes versus other starches?
A. Potatoes are extremely popular with consumers. In fact, according to the USDA, the average potato consumption per person in the United States is 117 pounds. That compares to rice at 35 pounds and pasta at 25 pounds. In spite of the potatoes per capita success in the USA, we grow much less than some other countries, China, India and the Russian republic countries all produce more potatoes than the United States.
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