Potatoes

[rachael]

Can you tell me more about your experiences with potatoes? Our son's dietician didn't mention the soaking so I'm not sure if she gave us good information about them. We only use the white russet potatoes and I usually make "french fries." I cut them into fries, toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin, and bake them for about 20 minutes.

Should I be soaking the potatoes first? How long do folks usually soak them?
Is there a different kind of potato that is safer than russet?
Should I peel them?

Thanks for any feedback, it's been about 8 months since my 2-year-old son was diagnosed and I know I am nowhere near conquering the learning curve yet!

[colormist]

I don't soak my potatoes, however I do notice that anything homemade --except mashed potatoes-- makes me feel a bit off. I try not to have homemade potatoes more than once a week.

I usually buy frozen french fries, frozen hashbrowns, and refrigerated mashed potatoes (Bob Evans are amazing and they come in tiny serving size containers which would be perfect for a toddler!) and have no issues with these products so long as the ingredients are safe. I think the potatoes used in these products must go through some process that conveniently removes a lot of the unsafe sugars.

It's unlikely that your dietitian would know enough about what fructose is in what. Our livers are the best fructose detectors, so a lot of our advice is based on trial and error. Something might appear to have safe ingredients, but if we feel off after eating it, then we avoid that food. That's the challenge of raising a child with HFI. It'll be a lot easier when you can lean on him for telling you what makes him feel icky.

[rachael]

Good to know about the homemade potatoes. I'll be sure that we don't have them as often and will try some of the suggestions that you made.

I think you are right that it will be easier as he gets older. Right now it's impossible to tell if he's just being a toddler or if something we fed him isn't agreeing with his body. But his last blood test showed improvement and he hasn't vomited since we changed his diet (he used to vomit randomly once every few weeks) so something is definitely working!

[ukbill]

I have spent many years figuring out why potatoes are so variable, sometimes safeish other times just damn nasty.

Most pre-prepared fries are soaked in water as part of the process. as are fries sold in UK fish and chip shops. its only when "new potatoes" are about that I have to avoid them. Although some "Chip Shops" buy their potatoes pre prepared by a local company who coat them in a die to make them look brown on the outside with far less cooking than normally required.. however they stick this colour dye onto the potatoes with sugar!

Fructose acts like a salt in that it likes to equalise out its concentration throughout a liquid it is in. Hence soaking them in water dramatically reduces the Fructose load in the finished product.

I have experienced this many times because my mother used to use the water form cooking the veg and potatoes in gravy.. which made it too sweet for me to eat as a child.

Different varieties have far different sugar contents. (forget the labeled sugar content its always highly inaccurate) I find floury type potatoes suitable for Mashed potatoes are always far safer than the "waxy" yellow fleshed varieties.

I have discovered that roast potatoes with their skins on or baked potatoes are far more problematical than pealed potatoes. Also par-boiling, after a soak in plenty of water, the pealed Roast potatoes greatly reduces the Fructose load.

Shop bought plain "white" potatoes are so variable in their genetic mix as to be really iffy and hit & miss so I always spend a little extra and buy quality named variety potatoes.

In the UK I stick to 2 old varieties (new varieties always are bread sweeter! for stupid reasons) they are called Maris Piper and King Edward. King Edward by preference every time.

Red skinned potatoes are all far too sweet for me even if they are mashing varieties.

I hope this helps?

IF you have ANY worries or concerns please contact me anytime of day or night I will help as much as I can.

I also can tell you how to cook some green vegetables that are safe for your child to eat (in small quantities.. Please do not over do any vegetable they are highly over rated by dieticians basically because they reduce the amount of sweet foods people then eat.. which is not a problem with HFI children or should not be.

Artificial sweeteners and Glucose / Dextrose is rarely safe due to Fructose contamination.. just had a couple of bad days after eating something that contained "Dextrose" only on the label,

Let your child learn to dislike sweet flavours and he will thank you for all his adult life, because he will be able to keep himself safer in all situations where he cannot be certain the food is safe enough to eat.

Seasons greetings and smile you have a wonderful child who will grow up to be a strong healthy happy adult ..

Above all do not panic! Hypo eppisodes sort themselves out if you give him time and safe form of carbs to digest to re-balance his bloods as soon as there is enough phosphate available to do so.

[ann]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the detailed info on potatoes. However, could you tell me how long you soak your potatoes? And do you cut them up first, or just peel and soak whole?

I'm not aware of any white potato in the US that goes by the name Maris Piper or King Edward. The best I can find are labelled russets, and seem to be highly variable as to how sweet they taste. I've stopped eating them because of this, but if the soaking helps, may try again.

Ann

[ukbill]

Well the smaller they are chopped the less fructose will remain in them.

Best to peal and chop them small (if you are unsure of the fructose content) then soak them in plenty of water. The longer the better although after maybe 30 odd min a change of water will help.

Fructose seems to act like a salt in that it likes to equalise out its concentration in a liquid.

IF the potatoes are cut up small (1/2" cubes) 30 min soak with a change of water will get rid of much of the fructose. Unless they are yellow fleshed "waxy" type when I do not know if any amount of soaking will reduce the fructose to a safe enough level.

Always cook them in plenty of water. If they are cut up small the cooking time will be quite short 10 / 15 min perhaps? Larger pieces will take maybe 20 min on a fast boil in plenty of water of course.

Roast potatoes (an essential for a English style Sunday roast dinner) I make them by peeling and cutting the potatoes into large pieces (1/4 or 1/2 depending on size of potato), Soaking them in water for 30 min ot 1 hour then changing the water and boiling until nearly cooked through. If you are using potatoes of unknown safety change the water 1/2 way through the boiling process will help a lot!
THen drain the potatoes and place them in a plastic bag with seasoned flour inside and toss the potatoes to cover them with flour. then transfer potatoes (minus any remaining flour) into another bag where I add sunflower oil and gently ensure the potatoes are covered in oil and tip them into a roasting tin and put in the hot oven with the roast meat for about 35 to 45 min until golden brown and crunchy on the outside and fluffy and cooked through on the inside.

Its a bit of a complicated procedure but the resulting Roast potatoes are well worth the effort!

I hope this helps?

If you can get instant mashed potatoes (you might find it available on an "on-line shop") that always seems to be safe unless its been contaminated in the processing.

It is occasionally sold in camping type shops or in the USA I would guess those nutters calling themselves "Preppers" will almost certainly have it available because as a dry powder it's keeping lifespan is in many many years!

THe instant mash can be used to thicken soups and gravy if given enough time to fully wet out and for the starches to swell up and smooth out.

[ukbill]

Unpeeled potatoes are never good as in whole baked potatoes

Roast potatoes in their jackets can be done (for better taste) but just use larger potatoes and cut into at least 1/4's and soak for a bit longer before par-boiling and then roasting.

It is better to soak for a shorter time in a change of water than soak for a longer time with no change of water.. 2 x 15 min is better than 1 x 45 min if you get my drift?

If really in doubt then soak 2x and par boil (about 10 min depending on size of pieces of potato, 5 min if cut very small) in one lot of water then change and finish cooking in fresh water.

I hope this dos not put you off but its better to be safe than sorry. I am currently cooking a meal for 7 people with roast veg, roast and mashed potatoes Yorkshire puddings and leg of lamb.. etc etc. Full blown meal

I have pealed the potatoes 1st and put them in soak now roasting the larger pieces as above and boiling the smaller pieces to make mashed potatoes. its all in the timing. in a big meal it makes no difference really. other than a couple of extra min swapping water.

I am using King Edwards and Maris Piper of course so double soaking is not required.

Hoppy new year to everyone and I hope 20117 is a good year for everyone.

[ann]

Thanks! It does sound a little more time intenive, but getting some potatoes back in the diet every now and then would be worth it! The smaller cuts/repeat soaks/changing boiling water also makes a lot of sense. I think potatoes have gotten sweeter over the years, or else refining my diet further has made me more aware of the sweetness.

Your meal sounds delicious...hope you all enjoy it,and a Happy New Year to all also!

Ann

[ukbill]

Ahhh need to diet now.. eaten so much these last 2 days! but then that's what feast days are for after all.

And to your comments yes to both of them.

The better the diet you eat the more you will notice the sweetness of the foods you once thought were safe.

Modern varieties of Vegetables during breeding are all selected by taste to be sweeter and be more disease resistant.. not more flavoursome just sweeter for exactly the same reason in reverse that eating less sweet flavours makes you more aware of sweet flavours when you come across them.

This is done because everyone's diet is more and more based on sugary foods than ever before.. and people are dieing in their millions as a result.

The UK is trying to halt the process by introducing sugar taxes, but the manufacturers of food who just want to sell more product and do not care one bit about the health of their consumers, are fighting a strong rearguard action and throwing mega bucks into "research" that proves sugar is healthy for everyone!

Politicians who are "lobbied" by manufacturers with large fat brown envelopes of cash are also trying to delay and stop the laws coming into power.

The main reason I am against Genetically modified foods is not the modifications as such because that is generally safe (although making a food like sweet corn make a pesticide naturally is more than a bit iffy to say the least) it's because the "Scientists" employed by the Genetic modification companies are the same ones who a few years ago were "Proving" that smoking did not cause cancer, Asbestos did not cause lung problems, etc etc etc.

They are also morally corrupt.

I have met a room full of top scientists who happily admitted that using the product they sold to preserve grass in silage clamps, caused 5% of a farmer's animals fed the resulting silage to drop dead suddenly and without warning. "However this is perfectly fine because no one can prove its our product killing them" are the exact words they used!

I hear "scientists" from genetic modification companies making such stupidly incorrect statements about cross pollination and the "leaking" of their modified genome into the surrounding natural environment.

Its really insulting they would think no one would notice. Well they do know but no one with many billions of $$$ funding behind them so is not going to be heard, which is the same thing.

They are not making plants that will grow more food in poor environments, they are making plants not be effected by spray herbicides (usually their own products) so they can use say a herbicide that kills broad leafed weeds on a field containing a modified crop of a bread leafed vegetables.. ignoring the fact that in the field margins there will be maybe 20 or more weeds that can cross pollinate with their modified crop and transfer the resistance to the herbicide to the population of weeds in the wild.. therefore making the herbicide weed control in the future useless.

I believe there are now many square miles of American farm land that is now unusable as a result of Giant Hog Weed that has now become resistant to all the herbicides available to kill it! And the resistant super weed is spreading at an alarming rate.. well who would have thought it?? What a surprise.. the idiots.. and these are the same people who are designing foods for our table for us to eat!

Hence my opposition to Genetically modified foods sorry to say we just cannot trust anything the companies who make them say.. because they lie all the time.

Funnily enough being a continuous lier and person of really poor morals.. now seems to work well in the political arena as well as in genetic modification companies.

Sorry bit of a rant there Happy new year everyone!

[ukbill]

Just a quick update on Potatoes

Last weekend my partner quickly made some "rustic" mashed potatoes. by that she did not peal the potatoes just cut them in 1/2 and boiled them.. not in a lot of water.

I really took a kicking from them even though they were a normally "safe" variety (Maris Piper) and OK yes I did eat a lot of them Sausage and mash when hungry is delicious.. I had added hot milk and unsalted butter to the mashed potatoes which turned them very creamy and yummy.. but also masked the sweetness so were quite bad for me.

So anyone thinking of cooking potatoes for an HFI / Fructosemia person PLEASE take care.

Choose a floury variety and fully peel / chop small / soak / change water and cook in a lot of water process.

I know its a faf and a real pain in the proverbial but the only way to be safe.

Hope this helps?

Keep smiling

[colormist]

My mom always makes mashed potatoes with red potatoes (leaving the skins on). I make sure to only eat a half-portion size, but still feel a wee bit off afterwards. The skins are definitely bad news.