Ask Dr. Potato

Q: The price I am charged for my frozen fries has gone up a couple of times during the last year and fresh potatoes are a bargain right now.  So I am thinking about converting over to fresh Idaho French fries to save money and give my customers something they will really like. How much will I save?

Q: What is the most expensive potato you have seen sold in the US in the food business?

Q: What is the best way to prepare mashed potatoes for 200 people for a sit down dinner?

Q: Greetings, I operate a small but very high volume Hot Dog restaurant in Chicago, IL called Devil Dawgs.  We serve the finest all beef, natural casing Hot Dogs in the country and my desire is to serve the finest French Fries in the world.  We make our fries from Idaho, number 1, russet potatoes, #70 count.  We bring the potatoes in, wash every potato, leave them unpeeled, cut into 3/8" fries, soak them for a minimum of 60 minutes in cold water (allowing the starch to settle), then rinse them and blanche them in "Miniat Brand All Fry" (an ultra pasteurized and highly finished Beef Tallow product) for 9 minutes at 275 degrees Fahrenheit.  We then allow them to cool to room temperature after which we tub them and refrigerate them for 24 - 30 hours before finish frying them for 2 minutes and 45 seconds at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, again in "Miniat All Fry" after which we salt and serve.  We cook every order "to order" and never hold our fries in a warmer. Our customers tell us often that these fries are the best they have ever eaten...but I believe they can be better.  Any suggestions?

Q: How many fresh Idaho® potatoes do I need to prepare fresh cut fries?

Q: I just finished peeling away a lot of "green" on potatoes that I thought were going to be nice when I bought them.  My mother has always said that the green is "poison", is that true?

Q: Who invented hash browns? I have a theory…When my wife and I have steak and cook too many baked potatoes, she refrigerates them overnight, grates them the next morning, and makes very, very good hash browns.   Nothing added–just the old baked potatoes fried in a cast iron pan.  I heard my late father speak of staying in hotels (he was born in 1902) and the fabulous breakfasts they would have.  I’ve wondered for years if during rough times, the big hotels possibly saved the leftover baked potatoes from the night before and made hash browns out of them like she and I do now.  I really don’t recall if someone suggested this to me, if I sublimely recall the old folks mentioning it, or if I dreamed it up.  I doubt that I will run into anyone who worked in an old hotel in my neighborhood, but will ask any old timers I might run into, and if you know any older hoteliers, please ask them.

Q: I have a friend who needs some ideas on a cost conscious wedding reception, any potato ideas?

Q: Any suggestions for using potatoes to replace pasta in a recipe?

Q: What kind of potatoes were served on menus back in the early 1900’s?