Potatoe Flour
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Soak the potatoes
Grate the potatoes into a large vessel filled with cold water and stir well.
After 6 hours, pour off the water and add fresh water, stirring the mixture well.
Repeat this process every 3-4 hours during the day and change the water at night.
The next morning, pour off the water and add 2-3 quarts more cold water.
Collect the flour
Turn the mixture into a fine sieve set over a pan to collect the flour.
Wash the flour through the sieve by pouring water over it.
Let it settle in the pan, then drain off the water.
Dry and store
Spread the potato sediment on dishes and dry it in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C).
Sift the dried flour and store it in bottles or jars, covering them tightly.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Mealy potatoes
- Provide the starch that settles out as the flour once the grated potato is washed.
- Cold water
- Draws out and rinses away soluble compounds while the starch settles as sediment.
The step that matters
Repeated soaking and water changes. Changing the water often removes soluble material and colour from the potato, leaving a cleaner, whiter starch. Skipping changes can leave the flour tasting stale or discoloured.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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