POTATOES AND OTHER STARCHY ROOTS AS FOOD. 11 
able to a large proportion of protein to starch. If the protein is suf- 
ficiently abundant it will harden in cooking to form a sort of waxy 
framework in which the starch will be lightly held together instead 
of separating into distinct flakes as in mealy potatoes, in which there 
is not enough protein present to resist the pressure of the 'starch. 
Such waxy potatoes retain their shape better than the mealy ones 
and are more suitable for garnishing meats, for salad making, and 
for the preparation of many fancy dishes. As has been shown, the 
proportion of protein to starch is greater in young than in mature 
tubers, and therefore, in American potatoes at least, the early varie- 
ties are most likely to have this waxirfess. In point of flavor there is 
almost as much difference as in consistency; the nitrogenous tubers 
usually contain a larger proportion of acids, and perhaps also of 
sugars and solanin (see p. 13), than do the starchy ones. 
POTATO PRODUCTS. 
The chief article manufactured from potatoes is starch, which is 
used for laundry purposes, for sizing paper and textiles, and for 
other technical purposes ; it also finds many uses in cookery, though 
not so generally now as before cornstarch became common. One of 
the good qualities of potato starch is that a relatively short time is 
required to cook it thoroughly, and so gravies, etc., can be quickly 
made with it and yet not have a raw taste. 
Potato starch is sometimes marketed under the trade name of 
potato flour, particularly that of foreign make. The term is also 
applied to a different kind of product fairty well known in some 
European countries, which is made by grinding dried potatoes. Such 
a product is also called potato meal, which is perhaps a more distinc- 
tive name for it. A somewhat similar preparation is known as potato 
flakes. Both of these are much used in certain parts of Europe in 
bread making, particularly when wheat flour is scarce. Plain boiled 
and mashed potato may be used for the same purpose. The best re- 
sults are obtained when not more than one-third of the flour is re- 
placed by potato meal or flakes. The recipes commonly call for not 
more than one part of the latter to three parts of flour. Such potato 
bread is more moist than ordinary wheat or rye bread, the potato 
starch holding more water than that from the cereals. Similar mix- 
tures of potato and flour are often used for pancakes, batter cakes, 
etc., and sometimes a kind of batter cake or similar dish is made from 
potato without flour. Many cooks think that ordinary wheat bread 
and rolls are lighter if the yeast is started with potato before the 
flour is mixed in, which would indicate that the potato supplies the 
yeast with better food for its growth than does the flour. 
