University of Virginia Library

POTATOES (THE SECRET).

“How do you cook the potatoes?” I asked, as we looked
through the kitchen.

“We slice them as thin as paper, put them in ice-water over
night, wipe them dry with a towel, then fry them quick.”

“What else do you do?”

Mr. Moon gave a profound look, and then said he, mysteriously,
“Well, there is one thing that I fool them all on. Do you see
this big dark oven?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I put them in there, after drying them with the towel,
where it is perfectly dark and hot, and dry them to a crisp before
they are fried; that makes them light-colored. That's a secret,
now—mum's the word!”