Potato steamer
A potato steamer is a large steam boiler that is heated with wood or electricity.
Potato steamers are mainly used for fattening pigs for steaming the starchy main feed, potatoes . Pigs cannot digest the potatoes when they are raw. That is why the feed potatoes are steamed shortly after harvest and used as instant feed or stored as winter feed in silos or heaps .
Potato steamers are available as individual boilers, as stationary systems, such as the Stöckse potato steaming system , or as a mobile device on a chassis. The mobile potato steam boiler systems used in inter-company operations made it possible to clean and steam large quantities of potatoes in advance on site.
history
In the 1950s, many small yards had their own little kettles on their floorboards in which they would cook their fodder potatoes. As the number of livestock increased, mobile steam boilers were initially used on farm wagons, which moved from farm to farm and did their job. But as a result of the economic boom after the Second World War and the associated boom in agriculture , that was soon no longer enough. Fixed steaming systems with significantly greater capacity were often built. The heyday of potato steaming was the 1960s. Back then, farmers briefly received a state bonus for steaming their potatoes. But with the increasing spread of industrially manufactured concentrate , the importance of steaming systems steadily decreased. Gradually they were shut down and torn down or fell into disrepair.
Potato steamer column
Steamed feed potatoes
Steamed feed potatoes in a feed barrel
Restored Stöckse potato steaming system
Potato steamer in the Alsatian Farmer's Museum in Ungersheim
