General: Odd uses for potatoes

Subject: Odd uses for potatoes
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: Dora (limey at toad dot net)
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 14:57:23 -0400
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When I was growing up in England, a popular place was any Italian ice-cream shop, since they made the tastiest ice-cream. Imaging my surprise when I learned that part of the ingredients were mashed potatoes.

Soon after I arrived in the US, I was treated to some home-made chocolate covered Easter eggs - here again, part of the ingredients were mashed potatoes. Delicious.

Is this common knowledge? I've never heard it mentioned since.
From: George (George at nospam.invalid)
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 23:03:19 GMT
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I caught one of the food TV programs where they visit various types of restaurants. One show featured ice cream and they were at a dairy farm/ice cream store that was quite popular. The owner identified potatoes as the "secret ingredient".
From: sportkite1 at aol.com (SportKite1)
Date: 29 Jul 2003 01:59:02 GMT
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Dora wrote:
>Soon after I arrived in the US, I was treated to some home-made chocolate
>covered Easter eggs - here again, part of the ingredients were mashed
>potatoes. Delicious.

Mashed Potato Easter Eggs are a fairly common recipe for those who make sweets for their family/friends. I first heard of that recipe two decades ago when my child was having her first easter and I was exploring homemade confections....options other than buying commercial candy.

Here's an interesting little tidbit of USAian foodie info. The town adjacent to the island I live on is really deplete of a sense of community. Lots of big box stores and chains. But in the midst of this there are two totally vintage SpudNuts shops. That is. a donut made with Potato flour.

No doubt they are still bad fer yer, but at least they are prospering in a world filled with Krispy Kremes and Dunkin Donut.

Ellen

ps...we even have a real true frozen custard shop that does concretes. OMG...the vanilla frozen custard, blackberries, raspberries and peaches concrete is one of the most amazing summer confections I've ever had in my life.
From: snowshoe at xyz.net (Jan Flora)
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 03:22:21 -0800
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Dora wrote:
> Soon after I arrived in the US, I was treated to some home-made chocolate
> covered Easter eggs - here again, part of the ingredients were mashed
> potatoes. Delicious.

My great-grandmother's recipe for easter candy is made with mashed potatoes. She was born in the 1870's in Northern Ireland and moved to San Francisco as an adult. Would you like her recipe? *g* It's delicious. (I inherited her recipes!)
From: Margaret Suran (msuran at rcn.com)
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 08:12:33 -0400
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Jan Flora wrote:
> My great-grandmother's recipe for easter candy is made with mashed potatoes.
> She was born in the 1870's in Northern Ireland and moved to San Francisco as
> an adult. Would you like her recipe? *g* It's delicious. (I inherited her
> recipes!)

Yes, please, I would love to have your recipe. Anything with potatoes has to be delicious and thank you, for your kind offer to share.
From: XnewsreaderX at myrealXbox.com (j*ni)
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 17:36:00 GMT
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Hark! I heard Margaret Suran <msuran at rcn.com> say:
> Yes, please, I would love to have your recipe. Anything with potatoes
> has to be delicious and thank you, for your kind offer to share.

I'm interested in seeing it too -- I love older recipes, handed down from generation to generation... :-)
From: Dora (limey at toad dot net)
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 15:04:52 -0400
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Jan Flora wrote:
> My great-grandmother's recipe for easter candy is made with mashed potatoes.
> She was born in the 1870's in Northern Ireland and moved to San Francisco as
> an adult. Would you like her recipe? *g* It's delicious. (I inherited her
> recipes!)

Please! Many thanks.
From: walkerdlwalke at aol.com (WalkerDlwalke)
Date: 13 Aug 2003 23:24:58 GMT
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If you have a light bulb that is broken off in the socket, take a potato and cut it in half. Jam the flat end of the now-sectioned potato onto the broken bulb and twist. Of course, turn off the power to the socket first and don't eat the potato.

Dave
From: vstark at panix.com (Valerie Stark)
Date: 1 Sep 2003 22:26:26 -0400
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I remember my sister using the flat side of a cut potato as a backstop for piercing her ear. [shudder] She numbed her ear with an ice cube and jammed a sewing needle through (after heating the needle in the flame of the gas stove).

She only did one that way, unsurprisingly. One earring was NOT acceptable waaaay back then, so my mother took her to get the other one done properly. (After much yelling - she'd been forbidden to get her ears pierced.)
From: greykits at aol.comkittens (Greykits)
Date: 02 Sep 2003 04:00:08 GMT
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Grandma said to rub a wart with a sliced raw potato during a full moon. It worked for me, the wart disappeared.
From: tomkanpa at aol.comic (TOM KAN PA)
Date: 02 Sep 2003 15:14:46 GMT
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When you break a light bulb off in a socket, turn off the light and push a raw potato into the broken part and unscrew it.

And then there's mash potato fudge.
From: penmart01 at aol.como (Sheldon)
Date: 02 Sep 2003 15:48:48 GMT
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TOM KAN PA writes:
>When you break a light bulb off in a socket, turn off the light and push a
>raw potato into the broken part and unscrew it.

Flipping the lamp switch off is not nearly good enough, be absolutely certain to unplug the appliance or neutralize the circuit at the main disconnect lest one become biggie fries.
From: sf (nobody at ipeline.com)
Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 05:24:56 GMT
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Sheldon wrote:
> Flipping the lamp switch off is not nearly good enough, be absolutely certain
> to unplug the appliance or neutralize the circuit at the main disconnect lest
> one become biggie fries.

In any case.... don't bother using a potato, use needle nosed pliers.
From: hahabogus (not at applicable.com.invalid)
Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 11:28:37 GMT
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sf wrote:
> In any case.... don't bother using a potato, use needle
> nosed pliers.

While removing stuff from light sockets follow safety rules throw the light switch and check for electricity with a meter and then use the potato...Needle nose pliers can allow a short to occur of enough strength to over heat the house wiring all the way back to the breaker panel and possibly cause an electrical fire or the next time there is a heavy load. A fire in your walls isn't a good thing or easy to notice

The potato will only cook.
From: penmart01 at aol.como (Sheldon)
Date: 03 Sep 2003 17:05:57 GMT
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hahabogus writes:
>The potato will only cook.

Your pea brain is cooked.
From: penmart01 at aol.como (Sheldon)
Date: 03 Sep 2003 17:05:56 GMT
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sf writes:
>In any case.... don't bother using a potato, use needle
>nosed pliers.

Needle nosed pliers is always a better choice... but not in "any" case... ALWAYS unplug the appliance, or if hard wired de-energize the circuit at the breaker... if not absolutely certain which circuit then de-energize the Main. Only a vegetable brained imbecile would shove a potato into an elecrical socket.... I've never yet noticed an electrician's tool belt having a pocket labeled "russet". Anyways, yoose ladies know a nicely formed carrot would do ya better than any friggin' spud. LOL
From: hahabogus (not at applicable.com.invalid)
Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 22:25:49 GMT
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Sheldon wrote:
> Needle nosed pliers is always a better choice... but not in "any"
> case...

I've seen Pliers welded to things...And the heat required to weld the pliers will effect the house wiring...use the potato. Dripping plastic insulation that is on fire is not a nice thing to see. Whereas a cooked spud is alot nicer to look at... I am a 30 year member of IBEW. What are your qualifications Sheldon? I've built 2,000 to 5,000 Amp power supplies and you've done what, possibly disassembled a toaster? Use the spud, but check with a voltmeter first to be sure the power is off. Multimeters are cheap and quite the handy household tool. The power supplied to most houses can vary as much as 20-25 volts during peak periods from close to 100V to surges in the high 120 volt range...check it yourself. Most appliances like it around 110 but don't complain at the loss or gain of 10 volts either way too much.
From: Me (PocketPCgymarquez at sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 21:02:55 GMT
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Greykits wrote:
> Grandma said to rub a wart with a sliced raw potato during a full moon. It
> worked for me, the wart disappeared.

I don't know if the moon was full, but a potato worked on my warts. I tried this method a year after I went to the determatologist and wasted over $1,000. My largest wart fell off in 3 days flat.

I'm a believer.
From: penmart01 at aol.como (Sheldon)
Date: 03 Sep 2003 22:31:58 GMT
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Me writes:
>I don't know if the moon was full, but a potato worked on my warts. I tried
>this method a year after I went to the determatologist and wasted over
>$1,000. My largest wart fell off in 3 days flat.

You and your potato stay away from my peepee!
From: greykits at aol.comkittens (Greykits)
Date: 04 Sep 2003 05:15:48 GMT
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Sheldon wrote:
>You and your potato stay away from my peepee!

I forgot to mention that you are supposed to bury the potato after rubbing the area with it.
From: Fudge (fudge at nrtco.net)
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 11:38:57 -0400
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Bang one up the exaust pipe of the vehicle of someone you really dislike. Auto will not start but when it does, it farts out a very high velocity potato projectile. There is also a site on the web for making a potato cannon using aerosol fire starter and some other junk.

Farmer John
From: sf (nobody at ipeline.com)
Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 05:25:21 GMT
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Fudge wrote:
> Bang one up the exaust pipe of the vehicle of someone you really dislike.
> Auto will not start but when it does, it farts out a very high velocity
> potato projectile. There is also a site on the web for making a potato
> cannon using aerosol fire starter and some other junk.

Why didn't you post it?
From: Dora (limey at giveitup.com)
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 11:27:25 -0400
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Jan Flora wrote:
> My great-grandmother's recipe for easter candy is made with mashed potatoes.
> She was born in the 1870's in Northern Ireland and moved to San Francisco as
> an adult. Would you like her recipe? *g* It's delicious. (I inherited her
> recipes!)

Please - I'd love to have it.
P.S. I don't see my earlier reply to you so I'm reposting.