This section is from the book "The Modern Housewife Or Menagere", by Alexis Soyer. Also available from Amazon: The Modern Housewife Or Menagere.
Steam about ten fine potatoes for about thirty-five minutes, put them into a stewpan or bowl, with two ounces of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, a smaller spoonful of pepper, and half a pint of milk, and beat them very well up with a large fork, then add by degrees a gill of milk, and continue beating, and dish them lightly on a dish. Should you require to keep them warm, do so in a stewpan. I do not approve of putting them into moulds and then in the oven, as it makes-them heavy.
 
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