{{short description|Fried potato dish}} {{about|the savory potato food|the cannabis-infused cake|Hash brownie}} {{Infobox food | name = Hash browns | image = Mmm... sliders and deep fried hash browns (7958927842).jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | caption = Shredded hash browns, pictured with slider sandwiches | alternate_name = Hashed brown potatoes | type = | course = Side dish | country = United States | region = | national_cuisine = | creator = | mintime = | maxtime = | served = | main_ingredient = Potato | minor_ingredient = | variations = | serving_size = | calories = | calories_ref = | protein = | fat = | carbohydrate = | glycemic_index = | similar_dish = | cookbook =Hash Browns | other = }} '''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. Hash browns are a staple breakfast item at diners in North America,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ophdenver.com/breakfast-restaurants-hash-browns-vs-home-fries/ | title=Battle Breakfast Restaurants: Hash Browns vs Home Fries - OPH | date=21 July 2017 }}</ref> where they are often fried on a large, common cooktop or grill.
Hash browns are a popular mass-produced product sold in refrigerated, frozen<ref>{{cite book |last = Butts |first = L. |title = Okay, So Now You're a Vegetarian: Advice and 100 Recipes from One Vegetarian to Another |publisher = Broadway Books |year = 2000 |isbn = 978-0-7679-0527-5 |url = https://archive.org/details/oksonowyourevege00laur |url-access = registration |access-date = January 5, 2017 |page = [https://archive.org/details/oksonowyourevege00laur/page/64 64] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1 = Snider |first1 = N. |last2 = Boisvert |first2 = C. |title = Frozen Food Encyclopedia for Foodservice: Formerly Frozen Food Institutional Encyclopedia |publisher = National Frozen Food Association |year = 1985 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RKFPAAAAMAAJ |access-date = January 5, 2017 |page = 114 |quote = Frozen hash browns are scored on color, defects, texture; grading also is based on flavor and odor. }}</ref> and dehydrated forms.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Maji|first=Nebadita|date=2021-12-15|title=Are Hash Browns Healthy?|url=https://easychoicehealthplans.com/are-hash-browns-healthy/|access-date=2021-12-15|website=EasyChoiceHealthPlans|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Etymology == The word ''hash'' is derived from the French word {{lang|fr|hacher}}, which means 'to hack' or 'to chop'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=hash|title=Hash |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |language=en|access-date=2017-05-25}}</ref> In other words, hashed brown potatoes can be interpreted literally as "chopped and fried potatoes".{{Cn|date=August 2022}}
== History == The following recipe for "brown hashed potatoes" appears in the 1835 edition of the ''Minnesota Farmers' Institute Annual'':<ref name="min-farmers">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mTsZAQAAIAAJ |title=Minnesota Farmers' Institute Annual |date=1835 |pages=270 |language=en}} Cited by [http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2012/06/incomplete-history-of-hash-browns.html ''The Old Foodie''], whose article is cited by [https://www.tastingtable.com/1170875/the-hazy-origin-of-hash-browns/ ''TastingTable''].</ref>
{{Blockquote |text=Chop cold boiled potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Put some clarified butter into the frying pan. Add the potatoes, cover and cook slowly until the potatoes are nicely browned on the underside. Fold and turn out on a warm platter. }}
Hash browns first started appearing on breakfast menus in New York City in the 1890s. The name was gradually changed to "hash-brown potatoes".<ref>{{cite book |title = American Language Supplement 2 |first = H. L. |last=Mencken |author-link=H. L. Mencken |publisher = Knopf Doubleday |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=G-WrlQMn8OYC&q=hash+brown+potatoes+H+L+Mencken&pg=PT709 |date = 2012 |isbn = 978-0-307-81344-2 |access-date = December 2, 2015 }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1170875/the-hazy-origin-of-hash-browns/ | title=The Hazy Origin of Hash Browns | date=22 January 2023 }}</ref>
== Preparation == [[File: Matteos Sandwich Bar, Fitzrovia, London (8025911425).jpg|thumb|Hash browns are often served as part of an English breakfast.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-04-07 |title=Let’s hash out what belongs in a full English breakfast |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/apr/07/lets-hash-out-what-belongs-in-a-full-english-breakfast |access-date=2025-02-23 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>]] A chef may prepare hash browns by either grating potato or forming riced potatoes into patties before frying with onions (moisture and potato starch can hold them together); however, if a binding agent is added (egg or flour for example), such a preparation constitutes a potato pancake.{{Cn|date=August 2022}}
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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=전|first=수미|title=감자|date=2004-09-17|publisher=김영사 |isbn=9788934915904}}</ref> If a dish of hash browned potatoes incorporates chopped meat, leftovers, or other vegetables, it is commonly referred to as ''hash''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://recipes.net/articles/what-is-hash-food/ | title=What is Hash Food | date=13 February 2024 }}</ref>
Hash browns are also manufactured as a dehydrated food, which is sometimes used by backpackers.<ref name="Miller 1998">{{cite book |last = Miller |first = D. |title = Backcountry Cooking: From Pack to Plate in 10 Minutes |publisher = Mountaineers Books |year = 1998 |isbn = 978-1-59485-292-3 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pzUVCgAAQBAJ |access-date = January 5, 2017 }}</ref>
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.<ref name="auto"/> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Spieler |first1=M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2dbMY8PQrUYC&pg=PA24 |title=Yummy Potatoes: 65 Downright Delicious Recipes |last2=Giblin |first2=S. |publisher=Chronicle Books LLC |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4521-2528-2 |page=24 |access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.afamilyfeast.com/potatoes-obrien/ | title=Potatoes O'Brien | date=11 May 2022 }}</ref>
== See also == * Potato pancake * Boxty * Bubble and squeak * Croquette * ''Perkedel'' * Fried potatoes * Home fries * Potato waffle * ''Rösti'' * Tater tots * Funeral potatoes * Latkes * Aloo tikki
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{commons category}} {{Wiktionary}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071202102027/http://www.ams.usda.gov/standards/fzpothab.pdf United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Hash Brown Potatoes] (PDF)
{{Potato dishes}} {{Subject bar |portal1=Food |commons=yes |commons-search=Category:Hash browns |b=yes |b-search=Cookbook:Hash Browns |d=yes |d-search=Q1710389}} Category:Deep fried foods of the United States Category:Fried potato Category:Potato pancakes Category:American breakfast foods