Types of Potatoes

There are many varieties or types of potatoes, but for cooking purposes, we can say that there are basically six types : yellow, red, russet, white, fingerling, and blue potatoes.

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, mealy texture like the Yukon Gold type. Potatoes for baking purposes are high in starch, and when they are done, the texture is very soft.

In fact, you can find some of the most common varieties of potatoes and the best way to cook them:

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 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.

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.