Hash browns are a popular potato dish that can be prepared in various ways and served at any time of day. They are often associated with breakfast and can be made at home or found in restaurants. Variations include Swiss rosti, Jewish latkes, and Irish boxty.
Hash browns are a potato dish made by grating, julienning, or finely dicing potatoes and frying them. There are several forms of hash brown and numerous individual cultural variations such as rösti and latkes. Many North Americans associate hash browns with breakfast food, although they can be eaten at other times of day as well. A huge assortment of restaurants offer hash browns, and they’re also very easy to make at home.
The potatoes used in hash browns can be prepared in a number of ways. Some cooks, for example, pre-cook them by baking or boiling them, so they cook all the way through on the stove. Others use raw potatoes, grating them coarsely and then patting or juicing them so they aren’t overly starchy. Potatoes can also be mixed with other ingredients such as onions, zuccini, peppers, sweet potatoes, and anything else the cook can dream up.
Once the potatoes and other ingredients have been chopped and mixed, they are fried, usually in a heavy skillet that will conduct the heat evenly. Butter, oil, or a combination of both can be used to make hash browns, and the heat is generally kept around the medium. When the heat is right, hash browns become brown and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Most cooks press the hash browns down as they cook, forming a flat potato cake.
Some cooks form their hash browns into patties or shapes like smaller tots. These shapes can make hash browns easier to manage as they cook, as a full pan of hash browns is difficult to maneuver. Once fried to perfection, hash browns are served with condiments such as salt, pepper, ketchup, applesauce, hot sauce, and sour cream, depending on personal taste and region of the world. Sides like sausage and eggs are common in North America.
Swiss rosti are hash browns that can be mixed with onion, bacon, apples, and other ingredients before being formed into roughly circular potato patties. Many Swiss consider them to be a classic dish and can be served with any meal, not just breakfast. In Jewish tradition, latkes are a form of hash brown that are used in the celebration of Hanukkah. Latkes are mixed with small amounts of matzo flour, onion and egg and formed into small patties which are fried in oil. Another variation on the theme is boxty, a type of Irish potato pancake with a thin, almost pancake-like texture.
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