Chapter 18Chapter 18

PotatoesCopyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Potatoes

• For a large portion of the world’s peoples, starch is the mainstay of the diet.

• Starch supplies most of the day’s calories. In North America and Europe, the most important starches are:• Potatoes

• Rice

• Pasta

• Bread

• Starches are present in nearly all of our meals.2

Understanding Potatoes

• The potato wasn’t widely used until the last half of the eighteenth century.• An army pharmacist named Antoine-Auguste

Parmentier began promoting its use.

• Botanically, the potato is a tuber:• An enlarged underground stem with buds or eyes

that become new shoots

• Potatoes are traditionally classified as: • Starchy, low-moisture varieties

• Waxy, high-moisture varieties3

Understanding Potatoes

Potatoes are classified according to their starch content.

• The amount of starch determines the use for which they are usually considered most suitable.

• Within each group is a range of starch and moisture content.

• Depends not only on the variety of potato but also on the growing and storage conditions.

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Types

Types

Understanding Potatoes

1. Waxy potatoes• High moisture; high sugar; low starch content

• Hold shape well when cooked

• Firm, moist texture

• Use for:

• Boiling whole; for salads; soups; hash browns

• Any preparation where the potato must hold its shape

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Types

Understanding Potatoes

2. Mature or starchy potatoes• Low moisture; low sugar; high starch content

• Light, dry and mealy when cooked

• Types:

• Russets or Idahos: long, regularly shaped potatoes with slightly rough skin

• All-purpose potatoes: not as dry and starchy as russets

• Irregularly shaped

• Less expensive than russets

• Suitable for most purposes, but not usually used for baking 6

Varieties

Understanding Potatoes

New Potato• Not all small potatoes are new potatoes.

• Not all new potatoes are small.

• Any potato harvested before it is mature, while leaves

and stems are still green, is a new potato.• They have a lower starch content and tender, thin skin.

• They are shipped and sold as soon as they are harvested.

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Varieties

Understanding Potatoes

Yellow fleshed potatoes• Yukon Gold

• Yellow Finn

• Bintje (waxy)

• Butte (fairly starchy)

• Concord (waxy)

• Charlotte (waxy)

• Island Sunshine (medium starch)

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Varieties

Understanding Potatoes

Red-skinned Varieties• May have white, pink, or yellow flesh

• Most of them are of the waxy type

• Red Bliss

• All-Red (pink flesh)

• Early Ohio (white flesh)

• Early Rose (white flesh)

• Rose Gold (yellow flesh

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Varieties

Understanding Potatoes

Blue-skinned, white-fleshed varieties • When cooked, the skins may keep their color or turn

brown, grayish, or another color, depending on the variety.

• Several varieties are grown, including:

• Blue Pride

• Caribe

• Kerry Blue

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Varieties

Understanding Potatoes

Blue- or purple-fleshed varieties• A novelty item among potatoes.• May be waxy or somewhat starchy, depending on the variety.

Peruvian Blue/Purple Peruvian• Dark violet flesh that lightens somewhat when cooked.

All-Blue• Purple or reddish purple flesh that becomes lavender when

cooked.

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Varieties

Understanding Potatoes

Fingerling Potatoes• Fingerling potatoes are small potatoes, usually firm

and waxy, with a long, narrow shape.• Most popular fingerlings are yellow-skinned and

yellow-fleshed.• Available varieties are:

• Austrian Crescent (yellow)• French Fingerling (red skin, yellow flesh)• Russian Banana (yellow)• La Ratte (yellow)• Ruby Crescent (pinkish yellow skin, yellow flesh)• Red Thumb (red skin, pink flesh)

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Checking for Quality

Understanding Potatoes

Look for these signs of high-quality potatoes:

1. Firm and smooth, not soft or shriveled

2. Dry skin

3. Shallow eyes

4. No sprouts (sprouting potatoes are high in sugar)

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Checking for Quality

Understanding Potatoes

5. No green color• Green areas develop on potatoes stored in light.• These areas contain a substance called solanine.

• Solanine has a bitter taste and is poisonous in large quantities.

• All green parts should be cut off before cooking.

6. Absence of cracks, blemishes and rotten spots

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Storing and Handling

Understanding Potatoes

• Keep potatoes in a cool, dry, dark place, ideally at 55°–60°F (13°–16°C).

• Do not refrigerate. Temperatures below 45°F (7°C) convert potato starch to sugar.

• Refrigerated potatoes must be stored at 50°F (10°C) for two weeks to change the sugar back to starch.

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Storing and Handling

Understanding Potatoes

• New potatoes do not keep well.• Purchase only one week’s supply at a time.

• Potatoes begin to turn brown as soon as they are peeled. • To prevent browning, place peeled potatoes in cold

water immediately.

• Remove all green parts when peeling potatoes.

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Market Forms

Understanding Potatoes

1. Fresh; unprocessed

2. Peeled; treated to prevent browning

3. Canned whole; cooked

4. French fries; blanched in deep fat and frozen

5. Other frozen, prepared products

6. Dehydrated

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Boiling and Steaming potatoes

Cooking Potatoes

• Potatoes are peeled or left unpeeled for boiling and steaming. • For most purposes, they are peeled.

• Potatoes cooked with the skins on and peeled after cooking are best peeled while they are still hot.• The skins pull off more easily.

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Cooking Potatoes

Two additional points should be noted:

1. Boiled potatoes are generally started in cold water rather than hot.• This allows for more even cooking and heat penetration from

outside to inside during the relatively long cooking time required.

2. Potatoes are never cooled in cold water, unlike most vegetables.• This would make them soggy.

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Boiling and Steaming potatoes

Potato Purée

Cooking Potatoes

The basis of many popular preparations

• Starchy potatoes are usually used for purées.

• The flesh of starchy potatoes breaks apart easily and can absorb large quantities of butter, milk, and other enriching ingredients.

• Avoid excessive mixing of potato purée.

• Too much whipping or mixing damages cell walls, releasing excess starch that makes the purée gluelike in texture.

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Sautéing and Pan-Frying

Cooking Potatoes

Potatoes mixed or tossed while cooking:

• Potatoes are cut into pieces or into small shapes and cooked in a small amount of fat.

• They are turned or tossed in the pan so they brown on all sides.

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Sautéing and Pan-Frying

Cooking Potatoes

Potatoes cooked and served in compact cakes• The potatoes are not mixed while cooking, but are made

into cakes, which are browned on both sides.

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Deep-Frying

Cooking Potatoes

There are two kinds of deep-fried potato preparations:

1. Potatoes fried raw

• Potatoes that are simply cut into shapes and deep-fried until golden and crispy.

2. Preparations made from cooked, puréed potatoes

• Most of these products are made from duchesse potato mixture.

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French Fries

Cooking Potatoes

• Most French fries served are made from blanched, frozen product.

• The common practice is to blanch them in frying fat:

• This is done at a lower temperature so they cook through without browning.

• They are then drained and refrigerated until service time.

• Portions can then be finished to order in a few minutes.

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Recipe Pronunciations

• Pommes Natures (p.608)

• Colcannon (p.609)

• Ancho Mashed Potatoes (p.611)

• Duchesse Potatoes (p.612)

• Gratin Dauphinoise (p.617)

• Boulangère Potatoes (p.618

• Rissolé Potatoes (p.620)

• Parisienne and Noisette Potatoes (p.620)

• Château Potatoes (p.620)

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Recipe Pronunciations

• Rösti Potatoes (p.622)

• Lyonnaise Potatoes (p.623)

• Allumette Potatoes (p.625)

• Waffle or Gaufrette Potatoes (p.625)

• Dauphine Potatoes (p.626)

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