Boiled: salt potatoes?

Subject: salt potatoes?
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: xdmsx at aol.com (XdmsX)
Date: 13 Jun 2001 20:55:45 GMT
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Does anyone have a recipe for boiled potatoes where you use a pound or 2 of salt in the boiling water for the potatoes?

Just want to be sure to get the quantities right.

Thanks,

Diana
From: Laura (mona_ralph at hotmail.com)
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 21:09:38 GMT
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my mother in law from north of syracuse always said it is a pound of potatos pound of salt. IMO (from a someone who did not have salt potatoes till they were an adult) I use a LOT less salt - like 1/4 cup at most.
From: Naomi Lynne Pardue (npardue at steel.ucs.indiana.edu)
Date: 14 Jun 2001 19:27:23 GMT
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> Just want to be sure to get the quantities right.

I never measure. And can't think why you'd have to. The only point is to have a very salty potato. I find that a small handful of salt to a pint of potatoes is about right. (I couldn't imagine using a pound of salt, unless you are feeding an army on salt potatoes. There wouldnt' be room in the pot for either potatoes or water.)
From: Steven Grace (steven at grace74.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001 20:44:28 +0100
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I went to visit a work friend in Ireland (Co. Carlow) a few years ago and was introduced to "spuds and dab dab". Small to medium potatos are boiled in their skins until soft and are then lifted from the plate on a fork, peeled with the knife (with some dexterity I may add) then rolled in butter before dipping into a pile of salt on the side of the plate. I've visited my Fathers village (Co. Kilkenny) on many occasions but have never witnessed anything similar.
From: Meg Jernigan (megjernigan at earthlink.com)
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2001 00:05:12 GMT
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A "proper" upstate New York salt potato has a crust of salt that forms on the skin as it cools. The meat of the potato is actually not very salty. At least that's how it's done in the part of upstate New York where I grew up.
:)
From: Avpat (avpat at ridgenet.net)
Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001 23:22:22 -0700
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Somebody wrote:
> A "proper" upstate New York salt potato has a crust of salt that forms on
> the skin as it cools. The meat of the potato is actually not very salty. At
> least that's how it's done in the part of upstate New York where I grew up.
> :)

So I'm not smart enough to figure out who sent it. Could you please e-mail (avpat at ridgenet.net) me the address to accomplish those potatoes salty on the outside and not on the inside. I will appreciate it.
Thanks a lot
From: Naomi Lynne Pardue (npardue at steel.ucs.indiana.edu)
Date: 15 Jun 2001 14:58:30 GMT
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Meg Jernigan wrote:
> A "proper" upstate New York salt potato has a crust of salt that forms on
> the skin as it cools. The meat of the potato is actually not very salty. At
> least that's how it's done in the part of upstate New York where I grew up.

I also grew up in upstate New York. What I recall from my childhood (and attempt to replicate when I make salt potatoes today) is a thin, whitish coating on the potato. You are correct that the inside of the potato doesn't get salty, because the salt can't penetrate the skin.

Next time I talk with my mom I'll have to ask her how much salt she uses.
From: Diane Feder (feder at tmg.com)
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2001 15:23:53 GMT
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I've never eaten (or even heard of) a salt potato. Does all this salt make the skins inedible? Was it originally some kind of preserving technique? Does it change the texture of the inside? Does it matter what color or size the potatoes are? (I'm trying to figure out why someone would do this, but I'm willing to try it.)
From: Naomi Lynne Pardue (npardue at steel.ucs.indiana.edu)
Date: 15 Jun 2001 20:38:46 GMT
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Diane Feder wrote:
> I've never eaten (or even heard of) a salt potato.

I have no idea what the history of salt potatoes are. I doubt they'd be done for preservation, since potatos, by their nature, keep for a long time, and new potatos, by their nature, are meant to be eaten fresh.

I checked my copy of James Beard American Cookery, and he doesn't list salt potatos. They may be an extremely local dish.

A salt potato is simply a small new potato (we like the real tiny marble-sized ones, but bigger ones would work too, though I wouldn't go too big) boiled in extremely salty water (as I said, I usually use probably 4-5 Tb for enough water to cover a pint of potatos). You cook them like any potato boiled in its skin, just until done. When you drain the taters, they end up with a white coating on them from the salt. The skins are entirely edible (that's the whole point..) though obviously quite high in sodium, so probably not somethign you'd want to eat every day.
From: Diane Feder (feder at tmg.com)
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 04:07:53 GMT
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Naomi Lynne Pardue wrote:
> A salt potato is simply a small new potato (we like the real tiny
> marble-sized ones, but bigger ones would work too, though I wouldn't go
> too big) boiled in extremely salty water (as I said, I usually use
> probably 4-5 Tb for enough water to cover a pint of potatos). You cook
> them like any potato boiled in its skin, just until done. When you drain
> the taters, they end up with a white coating on them from the salt.
> The skins are entirely edible (that's the whole point..) though obviously
> quite high in sodium, so probably not somethign you'd want to eat
> every day.

Worth a try. Thanks.
From: David W. Swider (daves at dreamscape.com)
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 21:56:28 -0400
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Diana wrote:
> Does anyone have a recipe for boiled potatoes where you use a pound or 2 of
> salt in the boiling water for the potatoes?

To me, these are the "original" salt potatoes: Hinerwaldels, from Syracuse, NY.

http://cnybiz.com/clambakes/hinerwadel_products_offered.htm [archive.org]

The package has, I believe, four pounds of potatoes, and one pound of salt. Very small, white potatoes, possibly culls.

Sometimes they are just small potatoes. In that case, I like to think Hinerwaldels had a good year, sold out of culls, and had to substitute real potatoes.

Served swimming in butter, or more likely a watery butter slurry, they are a good, probably bad for you, treat.
From: Laura (mona_ralph at hotmail.com)
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 22:51:12 -0400
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David W. Swider wrote:
> To me, these are the "original" salt potatoes: Hinerwaldels, from
> Syracuse, NY.

lol - that's what my MIL sais. She lives outside of Syracuse! The actual potatos she would get for this were very specific - small white waxy (waxxy?). Never saw anything like that in ohio, but new (baby) red potatoes did well. We though as I said earlier never use 1lb salt, 1/4 1/2 cup at most. And lots of real butter at the end before serving..
From: disharp at swbell.net (Richard)
Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2001 15:26:48 GMT
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David W. Swider wrote:
>To me, these are the "original" salt potatoes: Hinerwaldels, from
>Syracuse, NY.

Hello Dave,

You bring up such wonderful memories. I was born and raised in Syracuse and Hinderwadels was always a fun place to go. A lot of the Volunteer Fire department around Syracuse has Field Days and salt potatoes were often on the menue along with steamed clams.

Good eating