Potatoes
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 varieties
3
Understanding Potatoes
Types
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.
4
Understanding Potatoes
Types
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
5
Understanding Potatoes
Types
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
Russet Potato
• A russet potato is a type of
potato that is large, with
dark brown skin and few
eyes.
• The flesh is white, dry, and
mealy, and it is suitable for
baking, mashing, and french
fries.
• Russet potatoes are also
known as Idaho potatoes in
the United States
7
All purpose Potato
• all-purpose potatoes
usually suffice as a
substitute for any starchy
or waxy potato recipe.
• sometimes called chef
potatoes
8
Understanding Potatoes
Varieties
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.
9
New Potatoes (young potatoes)
• They're harvested
while the potato plant
leaves are still green
• have thin, delicate skin
and moist, sweet flesh,
and they can be used
interchangeably with
red potatoes
• new potatoes should
be used within a few
days of buying
10
Understanding Potatoes
Varieties
Yellow fleshed potatoes
•
Yukon Gold
•
Yellow Finn
•
Bintje (waxy)
•
Butte (fairly starchy)
•
Concord (waxy)
•
Charlotte (waxy)
•
Island Sunshine (medium starch)
11
Yukon Gold Potato
• Yukon Gold is a large cultivar
of potato most distinctly
characterized by its thin,
smooth, eye-free skin and
yellow-tinged flesh. This
potato was developed in the
1960s by Garnet Johnston in
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
12
Yellow Finn Potato
It is medium-sized with
yellow flesh and skin that
varies from white to yellow.
Although its yields are
described as low, the cultivar
was widely grown in
California by small-scale
producers during the 1990s.
13
Bintje Potato
• large oval-shaped tubers with pale yellow skin and
yellow flesh. It has shallow eyes.
• It is used for boiling, baking, and for French fries,
mashed potato and potato chips.
14
Concorde Potato
They are oblong, with
pale yellow flesh.
They are small, about
the size of a chicken
egg. These are waxy
potatoes, good for
salads and boiling.
Good flavour hot or
cold.
15
Charlotte Potato
These are long potatoes which
continue to grow well even when
left in the ground longer than
they really should. For a salad
potato they are on the large side
with thin light brown skins which
are smooth with very shallow
eyes. The texture is slightly
waxy and the flesh is yellowcream coloured.
16
Island Sunshine Potato
Small to medium in size and are round to oblong in shape. The light tan to brown skin has a
rough texture with coarse brown spots and patches covering the surface. There are also a few
shallow to medium-set eyes found across the skin. The flesh is firm, dense, moist, and dark
yellow to gold. When cooked, Island Sunshine potatoes have a sweet, mild flavor and a flaky
texture.
17
Understanding Potatoes
Varieties
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
18
Understanding Potatoes
Varieties
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
19
Understanding Potatoes
Varieties
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.
20
Understanding Potatoes
Varieties
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)
21
Fingerling Potatoes
• like new potatoes, their skin
is so thin that they don't
require peeling, and they're
typically small enough that
you don't need to cut them
up, either.
• Perfect for salads, like
potato salad with creamy
dill dressing, or a kale salad
with marinated mushrooms
22
Austrian Crescent (yellow)
medium maturing yellow
potato variety. It is grown
for specialty markets and
stores well. It can be used in
salads or for roasting. It is
also known as 'Kipfel' the
German name for
"croissant".
23
French Fingerling (red skin, yellow
flesh)
• radiant rose-red skin and deep yellow flesh with an occasional
red ring.
• The flesh is creamy, smooth, and gourmet-quality flavor.
• The plants are tall and spreading and the tubers resist
common scab.
• They are best boiled or roasted.
24
Russian Banana (yellow)
• have thin skins with firm, buttercream colored delicious flesh.
• They range in size from 3 to 4 inches long, with dense flesh
that cooks up solid, keeps its shape well and slices neatly.
• These gourmet fingerlings have a rich, chestnuty flavor and
waxy texture perfect in potato salads
25
La Ratte (yellow)
• small potato with a unique nutty flavor and smooth, buttery
texture.
• The nutty flavour is said to have come from the types of
soils the variety is grown in by the French farmers.
26
Ruby Crescent (pinkish yellow skin,
yellow flesh)
• Red Thumb fingerling potatoes are
small in size and are wide, tubular,
and oblong in shape, averaging 67 centimeters in length.
• The semi-smooth skin is ruby red
with a few shallow eyes, brown
russeting, and some dark brown
spots dispersed across the
surface.
• The flesh is marbled with pink and
creamy white and is waxy and
firm.
• When cooked, Red Thumb
fingerling potatoes have a uniform
shape and are creamy with an
earthy, buttery flavor.
27
Red Thumb (red skin, pink flesh)
• small, finger shaped potatoes which grow small and
narrow.
• They vary in skin color from yellow to orange to
purple.
• They are primarily known for their roasting qualities.
28
Understanding Potatoes
Checking for Quality
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)
29
Understanding Potatoes
Checking for Quality
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
30
Understanding Potatoes
Storing and Handling
• 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.
31
Understanding Potatoes
Storing and Handling
• 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.
32
Understanding Potatoes
Market Forms
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
33
Cooking Potatoes
Boiling and Steaming 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.
34
Cooking Potatoes
Boiling and Steaming 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.
35
Cooking Potatoes
Potato Purée
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.
36
Cooking Potatoes
Sautéing and Pan-Frying
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.
37
Cooking Potatoes
Sautéing and Pan-Frying
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.
38
Cooking Potatoes
Deep-Frying
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.
39
Cooking Potatoes
French Fries
• 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.
40