Wednesday’s Helping: Potatoes

Digging into this vegetable

Do you love taters? We like them baked, boiled, and fried. Potatoes are a tuber and not a root with red, yellow, brown, or violet skin that can range from smooth to rough. Flesh colors tend to be white, yellow, or violet. Many people think of them as comfort food. Their flavor is starchy and bland when cooked, and they offer a rich and creamy texture. The plant -- scientifically known as Solanum tuberosum -- originated in the Andes Mountains of South America. Spanish explorers discovered potatoes and brought them to Europe in the 16th Century. Europeans were initially slow to embrace a food item that’s a member of the nightshade family. Folklore holds that Irish immigrants eventually brought the potato to the United States in the 18th Century. Now, there are more than 90 edible varieties of potatoes. It’s become a staple food in the United States and many other countries. Select potatoes that are firm, smooth, and free from wet or dry rot. Avoid potatoes that are sprouting and greenish in color. Here is a primer on a few types of potatoes:

Red potatoes- These are round-shaped with rosy red, or reddish-brown skin. The flesh is commonly white, though sometimes it can be yellow and even red. They tend to be low in starch and are ideal for boiling, steaming, roasting and grilling.

Russet potatoes- These have a brown net-like skin that covers white flesh. They’re oval-shaped with many shallow eyes. They become soft and fluffy when cooked. Russet potatoes are HIGH in starch and therefore, raise blood sugar so be judicious when consuming them. They are ideal for baking, mashing, and roasting. These are the preferred potatoes for making French fries.

Purple Potatoes- Their purple skin ranges from light blue to dark blue to purple. The color is best preserved when microwaving this vegetable, but it is also tasty when steamed or baked. We've used these in potato salad.

Yukon Potatoes- These are often referred to as Yukon Golds. They can be identified by their rich yellow skin and buttery yellow insides. Yukon Golds retain their yellow color even when cooked. This is a good potato for mashing or adding to soups.