Types of Potatoes
There are many different types of potatoes, but
for cooking purposes,
we can say that there are basically six types: yellow, red, russet,
white, fingerling
and
blue potatoes. They can be grown using the potatoes gardening seeds.
It is important to know what type of potatoes you
should use when baking and boiling. For example, if you want to add
potatoes to soups
or stews you should use yellow, blue or red potatoes. These
potatoes are low in starch, and this means that, when
boiling, they will not fall apart. If you want to bake, then
you should use potatoes with a dry texture like the Yukon Gold
type.
Potatoes for baking purposes are high in starch,
and when they
are done, the texture is very soft. They should not be confused when cooking sweet potatoes which are
another different vegetable.
In fact, you can find some of the most
common
varieties of potatoes and the best way to cook them:
Yellow
Potatoes:
Best
for: Mashing, steaming, boiling,
baking, roasting
Example: Yukon Gold
Yellow potatoes are considered "all purpose",
which means that you can use them to cook easy potato recipes like
mashed or baked potatoes.
Red Potatoes:
Best for: steaming,
boiling,
roasting, au gratin, scalloped
Example: Norland, Klondike Rose
Russet
Potatoes:
Best for
: baking,
boiling

Russet potatoes are high in
starch. Russet are perfect to cook mashed potatoes and also are good
for baking.
White
Potatoes:
Best for: mashing, boiling,
steaming, au gratin, roasting
Example: White rose

The white potato variety usually are low in
starch, which means that it is great for boiling to make a great potato
salad.
Fingerling
Potatoes:
Best for: baking,
and boiling,
roasting

Also known as "finger
potatoes", fingerling potatoes are "finger-shaped" and they are usually
low in starch.
Learn about generating potato electricity
Blue Potatoes:
Best for: steaming, baking,
boiling
Example: Russian Blue
Also known as purple
potatoes. This type is great for all kind of dishes because
they are
usually "medium" in starch.
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