ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140070
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR
We've passed summer's midpoint, which means we'd better get our fill of picnicking while we still can.
For most people that means we're going to need potato salad. It's such an integral part of the fare, in fact, that serious debates have been known to occur over whether the best salad potatoes are starchy and absorbent or waxy and sturdy.
``The Old Farmer's Almanac 1997 Good Cook's Companion'' says that while bagged potatoes sold in supermarkets rarely list their variety, they do usually name the state where they were grown. The almanac's potato preference is for moist, lower-starch waxy types such as small California potatoes and red potatoes.
You can detect your potato's type, the almanac says, by dropping it into a brine made of one part salt to 11 parts water. Waxy potatoes will float, while mealy potatoes will sink.
Whichever potatoes you use, sprinkle them while warm with half the vinegar or other acid called for in your recipe before adding the other ingredients. They'll absorb the acid and be more flavorful.
The almanac, on sale for about $2.99 at newsstands, supermarkets and other retail outlets, is full of interesting and helpful information and recipes, including some good ones for potato salads. The following internationally flavored collection proves that while potato salad may be a picnic staple, it's not necessarily just standard American fare. Recipes for: PICNIC POTATO SALAD
GREEK POTATO SALAD
POTATO SALAD CHA CHA CHA
SUMMER POTATO SALAD
SPICY MASHED POTATO SALAD
POTATO SALAD WITH CHICKEN AND BEANS
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Summer Potato Salad (top) is made with cooked potatoes,by CNBgreen beans and feta cheese. Spicy Mashed Potato Salad is flavored
with green onions, sour cream and jalapeno sauce. Both recipes and
others are on Page 5. color