Next, the machine mashes or chews the produce, breaking down cell walls.
The pretty elaborate appliances, tongs or their equivalent, which would be needed to enable him to hold it conveniently while hot, could hardly have been devised till a very much later period; but then he may have been content to forge it inconveniently, because the great ease with which it mashes out when hot, perhaps pushed with a stout stick from the fire to a neighbouring flat stone, would compensate for much inconvenience.
Certainly much more simple than brewing your own beer, which involves barley, hops, making mashes and so on.
Gradually, the traditional recipe for southern sweet potato casseroles, soufflés or mashes emerged, with a dish based entirely on the quality and quantity of the sweet potatoes.
