Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 3, 1802).djvu/464

438] placed for six or eight hours in a colander to drain, when they ought to be boiled in good vinegar, with the addition of some spice, till they acquire a certain degree of transparency, without becoming too soft. Thus prepared, they will afford a more palatable and less hurtful pickle than either olives or cucumbers.

Potatoes being of such extensive utility, various expedients have been contrived, with a view to preserve them. The most common method is, that of piling them up after they have become dry, in heaps resembling the roof of a barn; covering them closely with straw, in such a manner as to meet in a point at the top; and then slightly spreading them over with mould, which is beaten down with a spade. Some husbandmen make holes in the sides and top of the earth, in order that the air, arising from the natural heat of the roots, may evaporate; and, as soon as the steam ceases, the cavities are filled up, to prevent the effects of frost or rain. Another mode consists in depositing them in pits, and covering them with dry straw, or with the haulm of the roots; by which management, if their surface be perfectly dry at the time they are put in, potatoes may long be preserved in a sound state.

A continental writer of doubtful authority informs us, that such roots may be easily preserved from the effects of the severest frost, by placing a vessel filled with cold water immediately over them: the fluid should be in proportion to the quantity of the vegetables; and, if frozen, it ought to be removed every morning and evening; when a new supply must be instantly procured.—The same author observes, that frost-bitten potatoes may be rendered equally, nay, more useful than those in a fresh state. This paradoxical proposition he supports by the following directions:—Select all the roots thus injured; place them in a dry and warm place till the frost be expelled; then remove the peels, cut them in slices, and place them on wicker frames till they are perfectly dry. Thus they acquire a dark hue, lose three-fourths of their bulk, and retain only the inspissated sap, which becomes very hard and incorruptible, so that it may advantageoulyadvantageously [sic] be used on long voyages. When reduced to powder, and boiled with broth, milk, or water, with the addition of vinegar and a few aromatic herbs, those frozen fruits are said to afford a very palatable and nutritive food.

From the 2d vol. of the ''Reports of the Society for increasing the Comforts, &c. of the Poor,'' we shall extract an interesting paper on the preservation of potatoes, by Mr. .—According to his statement, three pounds of potatoes were peeled, rasped, and put in a coarse cloth between two boards, in a napkin-press, till they were compressed into a very thin cake, that was placed on a shelf to dry. The roots yielded, on expression, about one quart of juice; which, being mixed with an equal quantity of cold water, deposited in the course of an hour, upwards of one dram of white flour or starch, in every respect fit for making fine pastry.—Mr. M. presented in 1799 to the above-mentioned Society, a cake, which had been thus prepared in the year 1797. In bulk, it occupied only one-sixth part of the original roots; and lost about two-thirds in weight by the process; but