Although I rotate the starches I eat to include whole grains, corn, sweet potatoes, and pasta (as I do within other food groups) in an effort to consume a varied and balanced diet ... it's really white (as opposed to sweet) potatoes I love the most and could eat daily as I never get tired of them! Is my English and German ancestry the reason why?
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| Russet (or Idaho) |
A potato is a tuber root vegetable, a perennial in the nightshade family. There are nearly 4,000 types of potatoes in nature. They are categorized by their content of starchy compounds to solid-to-water ratio and texture. Potatoes are classified as 1) starchy (i.e., mealy or floury), 2) waxy, or 3) all-purpose.
Below are several varieties of potatoes commonly found at the supermarket:
1) Starchy potatoes - Have high solids, amylose starch, and low moisture. Russet (a/k/a Idaho potatoes), Goldrush, and Long White are three examples of starchy potatoes. They are good baked, mashed, or fried, mm, like French fries. They pick up moisture and lose their shape when boiled. Personally, I don't think that's a bad thing in a vegetable medley as it thickens the broth! I also like to use Russet in American potato salad mish-mashed with eggs, onions, and celery.
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| Red potatoes |
2) Waxy potatoes - Are high in moisture and sugar, but low in starch (here called amylopectin). Waxy potatoes include red potatoes, fingerlings, new potatoes, golden, and baby potatoes. They hold their shape when boiled, so they work well in soups, stews, and for making scalloped potatoes or German potato salad. Ideally in German potato salad, you slice and hope the slices hold their shape, yet in our family, we use whatever variety of potatoes, waxy or not, we have on hand. We want dishes to be delicious but aren't foodies. A foodie would use the right type of potato.:)
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| Blue potatoes |
3) All-purpose potatoes - Are medium in starch and therefore fall between starchy and waxy potatoes. They are suitable for most recipes as they hold their shape better than starchy potatoes and are good for roasting, making potato salad, pan-frying, boiling in soups, and gratins. You can bake or mash them also, although they are less fluffy than starchy potatoes. Examples include Yukon Gold, White, Blue, and Purple potatoes.
Potatoes are rich in vitamin B6, potassium (in fact higher than bananas), and dietary fiber. What's more, like most brightly colored vegetables Blue and Purple potatoes are packed with antioxidants, containing 2 - 3 times more antioxidants than white potatoes.
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| Yukon Gold potatoes (left) and white potatoes (right) |
Over the years I've leaned towards buying Russet potatoes, but have eaten red, golden, fingerling, white, and blue potatoes. Hey, does a bad type of potato even exist? I volunteer to try as many of the 4,00o potato varieties on earth that come my way! |
| Yellow potatoes |
What's your favorite potato? Our family eats potatoes in one form or another with most of our dinners (over rice, corn, or pasta -- which we eat less often). How about yours?
