This recipe is for boiled potatoes.
Yes, just regular old boiled potatoes.
Which proves that what we in 2020 might find a basic recipe, so simple no one could possibly need instructions, was actually necessary 130 years ago. But even a fundamental recipe like this is still remarkably vague.
For starters, Mary Lincoln doesn’t specify the type of potato to use.
That’s pretty essential knowledge in my modern mind, but my historical self thinks, “I’m going to use whatever potatoes I grew because that’s what I have”.
This made me ponder what types of potatoes there were to choose from in 1884 and how they compare to the potatoes we have to choose from today. I assumed that the choices would be more limited historically, and wow was I wrong.
There were 29 types of potato “seeds” offered in the 1895 O.H White & Son Seed catalogue, categorized as either “early” or “second early”. Which is funny since I always thought that late was the opposite of early, not “second early”. But are 29 varieties a lot? It sounds like a lot.
According to the Burpee catalogue for 2020, there are 20 varieties of potatoes available to the home gardener today. However, a quick visit to my local grocery stores showed that those of us not growing our own, have a much more limited selection.
Practically there were only 4 kinds: brown (aka Russet), yellow, white or red. Although each style shows up in 2 sizes and then in a mixed bag. When you consider that’s ¼ the total variety of potatoes available if we were growing our own, it doesn’t seem like we’ve got very many choices after all.
According to modern chefs the best potatoes for boiling are red colored & rounder in shape because they hold together well, or whites because, well they are generic enough to “work” for any recipe. However, experience tells me to think about the final use of the potato before making a choice.
Do you plan to follow this boiled recipe & that’s that? Stick with the smaller reds or yellow fingerlings if you can find them. Or will you be making one of the latter recipes like Creamed Potatoes or even Potato soup? Each can easily be done with any type of the main three from our modern grocery store, but for the best results white potatoes work better for recipes involving mashing like the soup & while slightly old, kind of mealy brown potatoes can be saved by recipes that include lots of butter, cream and a second cooking method after boiling.
Which will you try once you’ve mastered boiling?
Until then…I’ll see you in the past.
That’s pretty essential knowledge in my modern mind, but my historical self thinks, “I’m going to use whatever potatoes I grew because that’s what I have”.
This made me ponder what types of potatoes there were to choose from in 1884 and how they compare to the potatoes we have to choose from today. I assumed that the choices would be more limited historically, and wow was I wrong.
There were 29 types of potato “seeds” offered in the 1895 O.H White & Son Seed catalogue, categorized as either “early” or “second early”. Which is funny since I always thought that late was the opposite of early, not “second early”. But are 29 varieties a lot? It sounds like a lot.
According to the Burpee catalogue for 2020, there are 20 varieties of potatoes available to the home gardener today. However, a quick visit to my local grocery stores showed that those of us not growing our own, have a much more limited selection.
Practically there were only 4 kinds: brown (aka Russet), yellow, white or red. Although each style shows up in 2 sizes and then in a mixed bag. When you consider that’s ¼ the total variety of potatoes available if we were growing our own, it doesn’t seem like we’ve got very many choices after all.
According to modern chefs the best potatoes for boiling are red colored & rounder in shape because they hold together well, or whites because, well they are generic enough to “work” for any recipe. However, experience tells me to think about the final use of the potato before making a choice.
Do you plan to follow this boiled recipe & that’s that? Stick with the smaller reds or yellow fingerlings if you can find them. Or will you be making one of the latter recipes like Creamed Potatoes or even Potato soup? Each can easily be done with any type of the main three from our modern grocery store, but for the best results white potatoes work better for recipes involving mashing like the soup & while slightly old, kind of mealy brown potatoes can be saved by recipes that include lots of butter, cream and a second cooking method after boiling.
Which will you try once you’ve mastered boiling?
Until then…I’ll see you in the past.
Boiled Potatoes
December 11, 2020
: 4
: 10 min
: 30 min
: 40 min
: easy
So simple it almost doesn't need a recipe.
Ingredients
- Potatoes
Directions
- Step 1 Bring several cups of water to a boil.
- Step 2 Pare (peel) your potatoes.
- Step 3 Cook potatoes in boiling water until soft but still firm enough to hold their shape.
- Step 4 Drain out the water.
- Step 5 Leave on the back of the stove, uncovered for 10-15 minutes while the steam escapes.
- Step 6 Keep covered & warm, or cool in the modern refrigerator, until ready to use.
Annual catalogue of O. H. White & Son, Biodiversity Heritage Library, 1894. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Old & Young Irish Potato Men Trade Card, The Trade Card Place, http://www.tradecards.com/
Lincoln, Mary J. Mrs. Lincoln’s Boston Cook Book: What to Do and What Not to Do in Cooking. Boston, MA: Roberts Brothers, 1884.
