Hash browns, also spelled hashed browns and hashbrowns, are a popular American breakfast food consisting of finely julienned potatoes that have been fried until golden

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

. Hash browns are a staple breakfast item at

diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

s in North America, where they are often fried on a large, common cooktop or grill. Hash browns are a popular

mass-produced Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. ...

product sold in refrigerated, frozen and dehydrated forms.

Etymology

The word ''hash'' is derived from the French word , which means 'to hack' or 'to chop'. In other words, hashed brown potatoes can be interpreted literally as "chopped and fried potatoes".

History

The following recipe for "brown hashed potatoes" appears in the 1835 edition of the ''Minnesota Farmers' Institute Annual'': Cited b
''The Old Foodie''
whose article is cited b
''TastingTable''
Hash browns first started appearing on breakfast menus in New York City in the 1890s. The name was gradually changed to "hash-brown potatoes".

Preparation

A chef may prepare hash browns by either grating potato or forming riced potatoes into patties before frying with onions (moisture and potato

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diet ...

can hold them together); however, if a binding agent is added (egg or flour for example), such a preparation constitutes a potato pancake. Hash browns are sometimes made into patty form and frozen for ease of handling, and the compact, flat shape can also be cooked in a toaster oven or toaster. For best results, in both cooking and flavor, it is recommended that hash browns be made using starchy potatoes such as russet potatoes. If a dish of hash browned potatoes incorporates chopped

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

, leftovers, or other

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

s, it is commonly referred to as '' hash''. Hash browns are also manufactured as a dehydrated food, which is sometimes used by backpackers. In the United States, ''hash browns'' may refer to shredded, pan-fried potatoes or diced/cubed potatoes, the latter also being known as country fried potatoes or home fries. Some recipes add diced or chopped onions, and when bell peppers are added to cubed home fries the dish is known as Potatoes O'Brien.

References

External links

United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Hash Brown Potatoes
(PDF) {{Subject bar , portal1=Food , commons=yes , commons-search=Hash browns , b=yes , b-search=Cookbook:Hash Browns , d=yes , d-search=Q1710389 Deep fried foods Fried potato Potato pancakes

Etymology

History

Preparation

See also

References

External links