Everything You Need To Know About Potatoes
Potatoes have more uses than you could ever imagine and are readily available all year long. They are versatile, convenient and nutritious. With so many varieties, flavours and textures – potatoes are exceptional with many
Everything You Need To Know About Potatoes
Potatoes have more uses than you could ever imagine and are readily available all year long. They are versatile, convenient and nutritious. With so many varieties, flavours and textures – potatoes are exceptional with many different cuisines. From adorning robust British dishes to swimming in Indian curries and spices, potatoes are always a hit.
All about Potato Varieties
Canadians love potatoes. Favourite preparation methods include mashed, roasted and baked – either alone or in a casserole. However, it’s important to choose the right potato variety to ensure a quality eating experience. Here’s a quick overview.
Baking Potatoes: These starchy potatoes generally have a very thick skin. When they cook, their texture becomes dry so they are perfect for light and fluffy baked and roasted potatoes. Because they fall apart when cooked, they make a great thickener for soup. Traditionally, they have been recommended for mashed potatoes but because they are absorbent, unless they have a lot of butter and cream added to them – the mash they make can be gluey. For today’s palate, a white or yellow potato is better suited to make smooth, mashed potatoes.
Examples: Russet Burbank, Russet Norkotah, Frontier Russet and Shepody. Also called Idaho potatoes.
Yellow, white and red potatoes have less starch than bakers. They usually also have a thinner skin, and can be boiled, baked, roasted, steamed, pan fried, and grilled. When these potatoes cook, they hold their shape well, making them a good addition to a potato salad, soup, or stew.
Whites are usually large, round or oval with light to medium skin and white flesh. They are very versatile and taste delicious boiled, steamed, mashed, French fried, roasted, scalloped, and au gratin.
Examples: Superior, Kennebec, Cherokee, and Envol
Red potatoes have rosy red, thin and somewhat glossy skins. They tend to hold their shape very well when cooked and are well suited for roasting, boiling, steaming, baking, sautéed, salads and soups.
Examples: Chieftain, Rideau, Norland and Sangre.
Yellow fleshed potatoes are round or oval in shape with light gold, thin skin and light yellow flesh.
Examples: A Yukon gold is perhaps the best known yellow potato and is considered to be among the best all-purpose varieties. It has a golden buttery flavoured flesh.
How to Select and Store
- Make sure you pick the right potato for the right recipe!
- When picking them, choose ones that are firm and have a good shape and are free from excessive marks and blemishes.
- Avoid those that have bad spots, are a bit wrinkly or have sprouts popping out of them.
- Avoid potatoes that have a green skin.
- Dispose of any potato more than half of which is green, as it will be bitter and inedible.
- Don’t store potatoes in a closed plastic bag as they need to breathe. It’s best to keep potatoes in a cool, dark place to maintain their quality.
- Most varieties of potatoes can last a long time (up to two weeks) if stored in a cool and dark place with good ventilation.
- Whether boiling, roasting steaming, mashing or baking, make sure to scrub your potatoes well and dry with a paper towel.
- To prevent the flesh of the potato from darkening on contact with air, cook it as soon as it is cut or place it in cold water until you are ready to use it. This brief soaking will also prevent the potato from falling apart during cooking (use fresh water for cooking).
- Use an 1/8 teaspoon to remove the eyes from the potato.
- Choose potatoes that are all about the same size – this will ensure they are all cooked and ready to eat at the same time.
- The smaller you cut your potatoes pieces for boiled or mashed potatoes the quicker they’ll cook. That said, the skin of a potato holds a lot of nutrients so if you are able to keep them on, all-the better! Even better, rustic style mash (that includes the skin) is delicious.
- When mashing potatoes, allow the potatoes to steam dry in the pot you boiled them in over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes. This will remove any excess water so you have a drier, lighter mash.
- If you’re making a lot of baked potatoes, use a muff