How do y'all make loose/patty hash browns?

[FrankZ]

Please let us know how it goes. That would be really convenient for me.

I can't eat potatoes all the time. Sometimes my arthritis is pickier about the nightshades. Sometimes I have been eating other nightshades, like tomato and more would put me into the "too much nightshade" zone that aggravates my arthritis. So, it can be tricky having enough potato at home without having them go off. I don't really have anywhere cool to store them other than the fridge, and that's a bit overcrowded, as is the freezer.

Kathleen dry canned several jars of potatoes. That is pretty neat really.

 

[grumpyoldman]

taxlady: please explain how "potatoes" affect your arthritis, also never heard the term "nightshades"
i'm 68 and have arthritis and consume lots and lots of potatoes and never heard of the connection

 

[taxlady]

taxlady: please explain how "potatoes" affect your arthritis, also never heard the term "nightshades"
i'm 68 and have arthritis and consume lots and lots of potatoes and never heard of the connection

I'll be happy to, when I have a few spare minutes. I think there might be a better place to post that than in this thread about how people make hashbrowns.

 

[caseydog]

Been thinking about this line. When someone mentions Home Fries to me I don't think shredded. I think wedges, thick slices, stuff like that. Except where French Fries are deep fried, home fries are shallow pan fried.
Hash browns are yup, shredded and pan browned.

Where I live, home fries are diced potatoes that are pan fried. But the name means different things to different people in different places. Can you imagine that happening with food?

CD

 

[caseydog]

taxlady: please explain how "potatoes" affect your arthritis, also never heard the term "nightshades"
i'm 68 and have arthritis and consume lots and lots of potatoes and never heard of the connection

Nightshades are a type of fruit, ummmm sort of. Yes, tomatoes are a fruit. So are some peppers. They can be a problem for people who are sensitive to them, including people with arthritis.

The world of food is not as simple as fried chicken and hash browns. When I was 18 I could eat anything and not get sick or gain weight. Now that I am 63, I can look at some foods, and get sick or fat. Ain't getting old just grand?

Yeah, I'm one of those people with the genetic marker that makes cilantro taste like soap.

One of the best things about this food forum is that, on a regular basis, I learn something new. Well, it isn't always the best thing, but I'd say it is a lot better than average.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

Nightshades are a type of fruit, ummmm sort of. Yes, tomatoes are a fruit. So are some peppers. They can be a problem for people who are sensitive to them, including people with arthritis.

And potatoes are in the nightshade plant group. Not sure what you are saying here, casey.
Luckily with my arthritis, they don't seem affect me. Perhaps if I ate more of them maybe...
I'm more affected by shellfish, which I eat and then suffer for it should it be in excess. And processed meats, sigh...
A few other nightshades are eggplant (love them!) the new popular Goji berries, tomatillos and even paprika and Cayenne.
to top it all off, on foods that I should be careful with, one is spinach! arghhhh - love it - eat it, not good for my kidney stone history. Actually any dark green leafy vegie. Just what all nutritionist try to cram down your throat!

So live dangerously folks, eat those potato nightshade Tater Tots. Grate up that Russet and fry away!

 

[pictonguy]

I'm a home fry guy. I don't mind hash browns and have gone through the trouble of making them but I generally just buy frozen which is once in a blue moon.

I normally get local small potatoes and a few different varieties and blanch first in water or oil. Then I pan fry generally in duck fat and sometimes add butter to the duck fat and add onion, herbs like parsley, thyme, rosemary, sometimes garlic, maybe yellow or red bell pepper and if I'm having them with fish I'll add lemon zest.

 

[Kathleen]

Nightshade foods are fruits and vegetables that are members of the Solanaceae family of plants. It's not limited to fruits. There are vegetables, fruits, some spices (including cayenne and paprika) in the group. A fast google search about nightshades will yield a lifetime of information.

 

[grumpyoldman]

you folks make cooking and eating soooooooooo complicated haha

 

[Kathleen]

Or we like to know what we are eating and how it affects us. Some enjoy the science behind cooking as well. I know that I do.

 

[grumpyoldman]

i like to know what i'm eating also, thats why i keep things simple , as to the science , i'll leave that to the folks wearing the lab coats

 

[Kathleen]

I once rocked my lab coat. It's also never too late to start learning if you were not already embracing "life-long learning." Annnnnd.....it's fun to see how new things combined with old practices turn out. Cooking is my favorite hobby as it combines all of my other hobbies....

 

[grumpyoldman]

my hat is off to you and your fellow lab techs. carry on !!

 

[grumpyoldman]

these food forums are a hoot haha, they are the only places on earth that can make cooking a French fry complicated

 

[FrankZ]

these food forums are a hoot haha, they are the only places on earth that can make cooking a French fry complicated

You don't get great fries easy.

 

[grumpyoldman]

i'll admit sometimes i almost bust a gut reading this stuff haha

 

[dragnlaw]

I enjoy reading how other people do things. Some I like and may even try. It doesn't mean everyone has to like the way someone else does things. We all have our reasons.

Just like you say with your musical instruments, if you really want to learn you will! That holds true for learning music or languages and even cooking. But you have to want to.

I want to try everything! At least once, twice if I liked it.
But I'm also basically lazy and some of recipes have a lot going on in them and can be just too much for me.

 

[Janet H]

Have you tried dehydrating potato shreds to so this?

Interesting factoid:
Those dehydrated shredded potatoes are cooked before they are dried. They are also usually salted a bit. Both these things contribute to the awesome hashbrown end result. Try it - you might be surprised

 

[BAPyessir6]

I went and looked and doesn't seem too hard.

Might be trying it once we get through the hot water issue.

I just wonder how you would keep them from oxidizing/browning due to oxygen presence. Or does them browning not matter if you're dehydrating?

 

[BAPyessir6]

Interesting factoid:
Those dehydrated shredded potatoes are cooked before they are dried. They are also usually salted a bit. Both these things contribute to the awesome hashbrown end result. Try it - you might be surprised

Ahhh, I assume cooking them first inhibits oxidization or at least prohibits it, as the "enzymes" or whatever that causes browning are most likely killed with heat?