Funeral potatoes is a potato-based hotdish or

casserole A casserole (French language, French: diminutive of , from Provençal dialect, Provençal , meaning 'saucepan') is a kind of large, deep cookware and bakeware, pan or bowl used for cooking a variety of dishes in the oven; it is also a categor ...

, similar to au gratin potatoes, popular in the American Intermountain West and

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. It is called "

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

" potatoes because it is commonly served as a

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.potlucks and other social gatherings, sometimes under different names. The dish has been associated with members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) because of its popularity among members of the church.

History

According to ''Epicurious'', the dish "emerged in Utah’s Mormon community during the late 19th century". According to ''NPR'', the LDS Relief Society served the dish for organization functions, and it spread within the community. Recipes can be found in multiple Relief Society cookbooks dating to the early 20th century. By the mid-20th century recipes called for convenience foods. Because of its reliance on calorie-laden inexpensive convenience foods often stored by members of the church, the dish could be produced quickly, cheaply, and in large amounts, making it a common choice for occasions where large numbers were expected. It is common for families to store a casserole dish of funeral potatoes in order to have it on hand if needed.

Ingredients

The dish is similar to potatoes gratin or au gratin potatoes. The dish usually consists of hash browns or cubed potatoes, cheese ( cheddar or

Parmesan Parmesan (, ) is an Italian cuisine, Italian Types of cheese#Hard cheese, hard, Types of cheese#Granular, granular cheese produced from Dairy cattle, cow's milk and aged at least 12 months. It is a Grana (cheese), grana-type cheese, along wit ...

), onions, cream soup (chicken, mushroom, or celery) or a cream sauce, sour cream, and a topping of butter with

corn flakes Corn flakes, or cornflakes, are a breakfast cereal made from toasting flakes of corn (maize). Originally invented as a Breakfast, breakfast food to counter indigestion, it has become a popular food item in the American cuisine, American diet and ...

or crushed crackers or

potato chip Potato chips (North American English and Australian English; often just chip) or crisp (British English and Hiberno-English) are thin slices of potato (or a thin deposit of potato paste) that has been deep frying, deep fried, baking, baked, ...

s. Ingredients in some variations include cubed baked ham, frozen

peas Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum ...

, or

broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the Brassicaceae, cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large Pseudanthium, flowering head, plant stem, stalk and small associated leafy gre ...

florets.

Popularity

The dish is commonly served at social occasions and potlucks and in certain areas is an expected inclusion at funeral receptions in the Jell-O Belt. It is also popular as a side dish at other holiday gatherings in certain areas. The dish is most commonly known in the American Intermountain West and

. A similar dish is known in the American South. The dish has sometimes been associated with the LDS Church, and with the state of Utah in general, because of its popularity among members of the church. During the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, one of the souvenir collector pins featured a depiction of funeral potatoes.

Other names

In Texas the dish is known as Texas potatoes. It is also known as Mormon funeral potatoes, or Relief Society Potatoes. The dish, or similar casseroles, is also known by other names. In Iowa they are known as party potatoes.

References

External links