Potatoes come in so many shapes, colors, and varieties that it's easy to be confused in the produce aisle. Russet, Yukon Gold, red bliss, purple potatoes, fingerlings; the list goes on and on. Luckily, we've got the tips you need to pick the perfect spud and ensure your next batch of french fries is fluffy and your next potato salad isn't mushy.
Potatoes are generally grouped by starch content. Higher-starch potatoes are great for baking, while lower-starch potatoes are better for boiling. Once you learn which is which, you've got the secret for a chef's-kiss-worthy side dish every time.
The type of starch in baking potatoes, amylose, swells when it's cooked, expanding and making the interior light and airy, and contributing to a creamy whipped texture. Amylose starch also crisps when fried, leading to crunchy french fries, hash browns, and potato pancakes. Boiling potatoes are lower in amylose but higher in amylopectin starch, which becomes sticky when cooked, similar to rice. With boiling potatoes, the flesh sticks together and keeps its shape, perfect for recipes where the shape of the potato matters.
Fluffy jacket potatoes with crispy skin, french fries with steaming hot insides and golden brown exteriors, and creamy mashed potatoes that are light and full of flavor are all best made with baking potatoes. The starch in baking potatoes expands as it heats, which creates the texture we crave. These varieties are usually larger, which means they've had more time to grow and convert more of the potato's natural sugars to starch. Age makes them a bit drier as well, and that helps the starch fluff during cooking. When boiled, baking potatoes can practically dissolve, so take care to not boil mashed potatoes too long!
When shopping for baking potatoes, look for larger potato varieties like russet and Idaho with thick, brown skin. A few less common potatoes worth looking for in the baking category are Kennebec, German butterball, and Adirondack Blue. Kennebec potatoes are especially great for making potato chips because of their relatively thin peels! Store your baking potatoes in a cool, dark location. When exposed to light they may try to grow sprouts, which you can simply trim off when you peel them.
Roast Or Boil These Potatoes
Creamy scalloped potatoes, classic potato salad, and oven-roasted herbed potatoes require lower-starch boiling potatoes, also known as waxy potatoes. The texture of boiling potatoes allows them to retain their shape as they are cooked, and their firm interior can taste luxurious with a simple salt crust. These potatoes are usually a little smaller than the baking variety with more natural sugar content and moisture. This makes them perfect for recipes where the shape of the potato is important, like gratins and stews, because they are less likely to fall apart when cooked.
Boiling potato varieties include red-skinned potatoes like red bliss and ruby, blue Peruvian potatoes, and most of the small potatoes labeled as marble or fingerling. Russian banana is one popular type of fingerling potato that is delicious when roasted whole or steamed for a potato salad. It's worth noting that you can also achieve all of the above with an all-purpose potato like aYukon Gold, which has made it the darling of cooks everywhere. The Yukon is a hybrid of starchy and waxy potatoes, so feel free to use it in all your favorite recipes!
Potatoes are generally grouped by starch content. Higher-starch potatoes are great for baking, while lower-starch potatoes are better for boiling. Once you learn which is which, you've got the secret for a chef's-kiss-worthy side dish every time.
The texture of boiling potatoes allows them to retain their shape as they are cooked, and their firm interior can taste luxurious with a simple salt crust. These potatoes are usually a little smaller than the baking variety with more natural sugar content and moisture.
The starch in baking potatoes expands as it heats, which creates the texture we crave. These varieties are usually larger, which means they've had more time to grow and convert more of the potato's natural sugars to starch. Age makes them a bit drier as well, and that helps the starch fluff during cooking.
For boiling, salads and casseroles it is best to use waxy/smooth textured potatoes. These potatoes have a high water content and are low in starch. They have a dense texture and retain their shape during cooking. The most common varieties would be Nadine and Draga.
Plus, the way you prepare your potatoes may lead to micronutrient losses. For example, potatoes pack a significant amount of vitamin C. However, baked or microwaved potatoes have about twice the amount as boiled or fried potatoes ( 1 ).
Yes, you can boil a baked potato instead of baking it. Boiling a potato can be a great alternative if you're short on time or don't have access to an oven. It will result in a softer texture compared to baking, but it can still be delicious and versatile for various dishes.
Boiled potatoes have a milder flavor, baked a bit stronger, to my way of thinking. They are different textures/consistency. You can fry potatoes, make them into au gratins (another form of baking I guess), roast them over an open fire (puncture the skins first please! No exploding potatoes) or in the coals.
When your potatoes enter the hot oil, they will start to crisp up faster. Boil the potatoes in baking soda. I first came across this trick from a post on Serious Eats – baking soda creates an alkaline environment for the potatoes to boil in, which maximises the starch so our roast potatoes are extra crispy!
Russet potatoes are arguably the best potatoes for baking, although they are also great for mashing and frying. The main reason thick-skinned Russet potatoes are perfect for baking and more is because they contain significant amounts of starch.
If you're looking for a fluffy, basic potato that's great for mashing or baking, opt for a russet. If you're looking for a firm, waxy potato that's ideal for salads or soups, go with red potatoes. If you're looking for an all-purpose potato that boasts a buttery flavor and creamy texture, opt for Yukon Gold.
All potatoes can fit into a healthy diet, but purple potatoes, red potatoes, and sweet potatoes—which are often grouped with potatoes—stand out due to their high amounts of protective plant compounds and essential nutrients.
To get the most antioxidants, leave the skins on and choose colorful varieties like red and purple potatoes. The more color, the more antioxidants. Plus, the skin of some potatoes can have up to 12 times more antioxidants than the flesh. Baked potato skin is a great source of potassium and magnesium.
They're also chock full of starch, which is a carbohydrate. But even though a potato is considered a complex “healthy” carb, your body digests these carbs faster than other kinds of complex carbs.These broken-down carbs flood your blood with sugar.This makes your blood sugar spike quickly.
Baking is a dry heat cooking method that uses an oven to cook food, while boiling is a wet heat cooking method that uses hot liquid, usually water, to cook food. Baking usually requires the use of fats, such as butter or oil, while boiling does not.
For the silkiest fluffy mashed potatoes, start with firm, cool Russet Burbank spuds, also known as baking potatoes. They're the easiest to mash without becoming pasty and are even tastier steamed instead of boiled.
Boiling your potatoes for a little bit before roasting helps make sure that you get that beautiful crisp crust on the outside. If you don't parboil your spuds, the outside skin will remain quite tough, meaning that whatever fat you use will not be able to get inside the cracks.
Baking can also cause an 80% drop in vitamin A levels, twice as much as boiling. Therefore, from a nutritional standpoint, boiling rather than baking should be recommended for cooking sweet potato.
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Introduction: My name is Maia Crooks Jr, I am a homely, joyous, shiny, successful, hilarious, thoughtful, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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