4 ms·
I'm someone who loves doing weird culinary things, and has, in the past, gone to relatively extreme amounts of effort to make something at home rather than buyi
by MostlyStable 2y ago
I'm someone who loves doing weird culinary things, and has, in the past, gone to relatively extreme amounts of effort to make something at home rather than buying it (or at least...to try making it at home). I am probably in the top 1% or more of people willing to expend time and effort on weird food things.
And yet even for me, spending 1.5-2 hours to get 3 baked potatoes, which are supposedly just....really nicely baked potatoes?...seems like a lot.
I'm glad that there are people out there preserving weird old historical cooking methods, but I feel no compulsion at all to actually try this myself.
- ajkjk 2y agoThe article linked in another comment offers this by way of justification: > "Because none of the potato’s flavor or aroma compounds can escape, you get the most intense potato flavor you’ve ever experienced,” Brock says. “And they’re steaming in their own water, which is why you get a totally unique texture."
- morkalork 2y agoCould you shrinkwrap and sous-vide a potatoe for the same effect?
- jszymborski 2y agoStrikes me to be the case.
- anon84873628 2y agoThe article says the potatoes bubble and eventually float to the top as water is released. So surely some other volatile compounds could be released too? Perhaps compounds cannot be dissolved in the rosin as they are in a pot water? But then why is it better than regular baking? Sous vide would certainly trap everything, but then again, we want a potato that is ultimately dry on the outside. What if instead of rosin we used something safer and more available, like a cooking oil? I bet deep fried potatoes would taste quite good! :-P
- 1attice 2y agoRegular cooking oil would probably be insufficiently viscous to seal the potatoes. Again, there's only one way to find out.
- anon84873628 2y agoThank you. TFA does not seem to say why they are so good...
- saaaaaam 2y agoAnd yet the article clearly says that the rosin will bubble because odd water escaping. If water can escape why can’t the aroma compounds?
- jfengel 2y agoIf it's only a slight bubble, then it's much less water escaping than in conventional cooking techniques. Frying potatoes give off so much water it gives the impression of a rolling boil.
- Moru 2y agoAny article that says "potato flavours" without specifying what kind of potatoes should be taken witha large grain of salt. Try almond potatoes and you will eat nothing else.
- jfengel 2y agoIn the US, the default potato is the Russet. It has a good flavor and is well suited to high temperature cooking. I'd be practically certain that is what is intended. It's possible it means a semi waxy white potato, which would be contemporaneous with the historical setting. It is very unlikely to mean any of the thousands of more exotic varieties.
- CoastalCoder 2y agoSame for me, although I'm probably in the top 20%, not top 1%. For us in New England, I wish there were an easy way to see if the difference is worth the effort.
- ryoshu 2y agoBeen a long time since I've had one, but I still remember that it was the best potato I've ever had. Not sure why. Just really good. And you can't eat the skin. It was a deep south thing in the US, but even within living memory not very common.
- giraffe_lady 2y agoThe article mentions pine forests of georgia and north carolina so it seems to be a SE coastal plains thing. Quite different history and culture from what people usually mean by deep south.
- ryoshu 2y agoFamily from southern Alabama. Again, not common, but it existed outside of Georgia and NC. People always looked at me weird when I would talk about it, but certainly a memorable experience.