That boils?

September 19, 2005 2:32 PM

Has anyone here ever eaten a potato boiled in rosin?

Does that taste good? It's in the Joy of Cooking, apparently vestigial from a time when twenty gallons of boiling rosin would not be considered unusual.

posted by mzurer to Food & Drink (17 answers total)

Best answer: It's in the same edition of "Joy" as the squirrel recipes. They dropped those from the latest edition.

But descriptions of the result are mentioned here.
posted by GuyZero at 2:37 PM on September 19, 2005

I have the older Joy of Cooking and have long been intrigued by that very recipe. Unfortunately, rosin is not cheap, at least in the quantities needed, so I won't be trying it soon, even though the results sound good
posted by TedW at 3:23 PM on September 19, 2005

I've always wondered about this too. I love that it also has also has cooking instructions for opossum, muskrat, armadillo among other game and there's even a brief entry on blowfish (fugu).
posted by lobakgo at 3:51 PM on September 19, 2005

Brewer's Pitch might be similar to rosin:

Brewer's Pitch -- $8.00
Natural pine tar pitch. Ready to melt down for foodsafe watertight coatings of wood or metal containers. About 1 lbs - in volume about 16 oz.

At least it claims to be food-safe.
posted by ryanrs at 4:14 PM on September 19, 2005

Squirrel recipes?
posted by winston at 4:36 PM on September 19, 2005

Yep, squirrel. It also shows how to skin them.
posted by lobakgo at 5:34 PM on September 19, 2005

And apparently grey squirrels "are preferred to red squirrels, which are quite gamy in flavor."

It also tells how to cook beaver tail.
posted by lobakgo at 5:37 PM on September 19, 2005

Best answer: Yes--while in Lexington Ky. I had a potato boiled "baked" in resin--it was at a moderately upscale restaurant--it was delicious--when opened it was extremely light and fluffy--almost like mashed potatoes--enjoy it if you make or stumble on one--I am trying yo remember about the skin--I want to say it was very crispy but memory is hazy
posted by rmhsinc at 5:38 PM on September 19, 2005

I'll pay for the rosin if you come get the squirrel out of my attic.
posted by Frank Grimes at 6:09 PM on September 19, 2005

Response by poster: Wow - egullet.com actually has info on it, that was linked from my chowhound.com query.

Also, I am pretty sure Frank Grimes won the thread.
posted by mzurer at 6:36 PM on September 19, 2005

Best answer: If memory serves....Cracker Barrel restaurants used to do this. Why they do not any more, I'm not sure.

But I remember eating them as a child. They were marketed as "Rosin Baked Potatoes" but were actually boiled in VERY hot pine rosin. I remember the actual taste being odd...the potato itself was fluffy and just right, but the peel is shellacked in rosin, so as to be unedible.
posted by griffey at 6:36 PM on September 19, 2005

Best answer: There was a restaurant near Myrtle Beach, SC, that served rosin potatoes. It's been, oh, 25 years since I was there, so my memories are dim, but I remember them as having a consistency somewhere between baked and fried potatoes--I think they wrapped them in foil before boiling. Can't remember the name of the restaurant, though, and Google fails me.
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:45 PM on September 19, 2005

Oooh, thanks for asking, I've always been curious, too. I'm never giving up my JoC for a newer addition, just in case of ever coming across squirrels, turtles, bear, and/or rosin. You should try it, document it (photos!), and post the results here.
Plus, no-uncooked eggs... puss!
posted by mimi at 7:35 PM on September 19, 2005

Man, I need an older edition. Mine doesn't even have recipes for calf heart.
posted by kenko at 9:47 PM on September 19, 2005

Kenka: beef heart does just fine cooked as for potroast.
posted by Goofyy at 12:35 AM on September 20, 2005

Best answer: Yep - although when I had one it was listed as "Pine Tar Potatoes".

And it was terrific. Best I've ever had. I think it was somewhere in Nashville.
posted by cptnrandy at 6:44 AM on September 20, 2005

Family friends I knew who did this did it outdoors, only. It's kind of like deep frying a turkey, the stuff is a little dangerous because it has a very high boiling point.

There are two schools of thought about baking potatoes -- wrap them in foil, which is really steaming them, or don't wrap, which allows some moisture to escape and the tater dries out to some extent. Rosin cooking would be equivalent to wrapping and steaming, but it probably does a better job of sealing in the flavors. Such as they are.
posted by beagle at 9:14 AM on September 20, 2005