potatoes
I used a spiralizer on a potato and wrapped it tightly around the outside of a metal ring mold. When I deep fry it, it sticks to the mold, even after using non-stick spray. I am going for something like in the photo.
Any ideas of how I can solve this?
Many thanks 🙂
Tough question - there are a lot of non-scientific ways to measure small/medium/large potatoes and nobody seems to agree on exactly what weight each is. However, there are a few ways I identify large vs medium at home.
In my experience, a large potato is about the size you would get in a restaurant (I know, not very specific). That is, when I cook at home, the potatoes I purchase tend to be medium - round (not oval) and about the size of a tennis ball or baseball. When I'm at a restaurant their potatoes are noticeably larger, and generally more oval shaped it seems (closer to a sweet potato in shape and size), which makes them great for stuffing like for a loaded baked potato. Luckily most of the recipes I have at home that involve potatoes don't require precise measurement, so I just stick with my eyeball measurements and don't even bother weighing them.
I found a source online that says this:
According to Shape magazine, eatbetteramerica.com and prevention, a medium potato is the size of a computer mouse, so somewhat bigger than that.
And I think I can get behind that answer. I'd say your average computer mouse (like, one you would get with a new PC, not a fancy third-party mouse) is about the size of an average medium potato. Another way to eyeball: I'm a 30 year old male with hands that are neither very large or very small. The medium potatoes in this bag are about the size of a loose fist for me. So a large potato would be bigger than either of those things.
As for measurements, I have a bag of medium potatoes and it says they're 5.3 oz (150g) a piece. I weighed one and it was closer to 6.5oz (185g). Based on that I'd say a large potato would be anything over 8oz (225g), pushing as high as 12oz (340g).
I found a way to search online for this info: calories. By searching for "large potato calories" I was able to find pages with weights and measures:
So, in short, it seems like I would consider these good numbers:
Below is a picture of the medium potato from my bag, compared to some common household/kitchen items. The gift card is the size of a normal credit card, and the knife is a common steak knife from my utensil drawer. Apparently a medium potato is almost exactly the size of a 1 cup measure!
I used to cook plenty of purple sweet potatoes when I was living in africa:) Sounds like you maybe cooked them too long...
They can be extremely tasty, sweet with a "perfumy" hint if you are lucky. They are best boiled with the skin on like you did and peeled afterwards (as the taste is preserved better that way). As for cooking time it really depends on the size (which means the potatoes are likely done at different times) but you can always feel when they are done by pressing on the potato with a fork - it should give slightly/be soft. I think it usually took me about 30min but I didn't use a clock. It may shorten the cooking time slightly to make holes in the potatoes with a fork (this also adds to the "creaminess").
I guess they do sometimes get a softer, more "creamy" consistency than your usual potato when well done. However the taste is richer and in my opinion far superior to orange sweet potato. If you prefer a firmer potato, just let your potatoes stay on the firm side (in my experience, though, the taste is enhanced by letting them go soft). But boiled ones would anyways mainly be for puddings as it gets rather sweet.
For panfrying I would suggest avoiding boiling the sweet pots first. Simply peel/wedge them raw, fry them as chips until done and serve with a spicy/hot dip - yum.
Best Answer
Try wrapping your mold with non-stick baking paper between the metal and the potato.