The Uses for Potatoes
Potatoes are a common side dish in the American home with dozens of different ways to be served. While you may only think of potatoes as a vegetable to be baked or turned into French fries, there are many other uses for the lowly spud. From arts and crafts to home safety, the potato can make your life a little easier in many different ways. Does this Spark an idea?
-
Rescue Salty Soup
-
Even the most experienced cooks sometimes add too much salt to soup. Don't give up on a salty batch. Cut up two potatoes into large chunks and boil them in the soup for about 15 minutes. The raw potatoes will absorb the excess salt while they are cooking. Remove the cooked potato cubes with a slotted spoon and discard them before serving your newly tasty pot of soup.
Save Your Fingers
-
If you've ever broken a light bulb while trying to remove it, you know what a dangerous situation this can be. Be safe and don't try removing the metal ring with your bare hands. Turn the power for this outlet off at the circuit breaker. Slice a potato in half. Push the flat, cut surface of the potato over the metal ring and any jagged glass it may still retain. Turn the potato to unscrew the light bulb remains. Discard the potato and light bulb pieces, and wipe out the lamp opening before inserting a new bulb.
-
Crafts
-
Whether you'd like to create a set of custom-stamped cards and gift tags or you want to teach your children a new craft, potatoes make ideal stamps for stamp-pad art. Use a paring knife to carve out shapes on the flat surface of a potato half. Leave the design raised for a positive picture, or carve out the design for a negative look. Roll or brush paint or ink onto the potato surface and push the colored surface onto your paper or cards. The potatoes will stay in shape for many repeated stampings.
Clean Your Hands
-
Many vegetables will stain your hands while you are working with them, from the bright orange of carrots and pumpkins to the brownish-red of pomegranates. Remove these stains easily by cutting a potato in half and rubbing the cut surface over the stained part of your hands. The potato will pick up the stain, much like a white T-shirt in a washer full of red towels, and your hands will be normal-colored once again.
-
References
- Photo Credit potato image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com
