them, and the water should almost invariably be boiling when they are
put in.

Potatoes are much better when steamed. Peas and several other
vegetables are also improved by this mode of cooking them, although it
is seldom adopted in England.

* * * * *

MASHED POTATOES.

Boil till perfectly tender; let them be quite dry, and press them
through a cullender, or mash and beat them well with a fork; add a
piece of butter, and milk, or cream, and continue beating till they
are perfectly smooth; return them to the saucepan to warm, or they may
be browned before the fire. The chief art is to beat them sufficiently
long, which renders them light.

Potatoe balls are mashed potatoes formed into balls glazed with the
yolk of egg, and browned with a salamander.

* * * * *

POTATO WALL, OR EDGING.

Raise a wall of finely-mashed potatoes, of two or three inches high,
round the dish; form it with a spoon to the shape required, brush it
over with egg, and put it in the oven to become hot and brown; if it
does not brown nicely, use the salamander. Rice is arranged the
same way to edge curries or fricassees; it must be first boiled till