Organic Potato Primer (Types Of Potatoes & Their Uses)

 Like anything else, there’s more than meets the eye with regards to potatoes. When you visit your organic supermarket and see Yukon Potatoes in one bin and Russet Potatoes in another are you confused as to your best selection for what you are going to cook? Well, here are some basic facts on the world of Organic Potatoes.

Probably the best way to approach this is to look at what we are trying to cook with the potato and what would be the best selection for that particular purpose.

For making Baked Potatoes: We feel the best potato is a Russet also known as an Idaho Potato. These are high starch and yield the best results for baking.

For making Boiled Potatoes: You can go with either New Potatoes or Red Potatoes for this. These are low starch potatoes and generally are best for this dish. As an aside, “New” Potatoes mean just that..they’re new or recently harvested. You see, it’s typical to hold potatoes in cold storage after harvesting. This allows the potato time to “cure”. Curing results in the potato developing a higher starch content and a tougher outer skin. So a starchier potato that is more resilient to handing results. In contrast, a New Potato will have a low starch content and a more delicate skin (actually one way to test if the new potato is actually New and not an old New Potato is to rub the skin with your finger. If the potato is truly new the skin will rub off).

For making French Fries: We recommend using a Russet or Idaho Potato.

 For making Mashed Potatoes: You again want to use a Russet Potato or Idaho. It’s high starch content will produce fluffier mashed potatoes.

For making Roasted Potatoes: Good choices for Roasted Potatoes include Red Potatoes(such as the Red Bliss Potato), fingerling potatoes & white rose potatoes.

For making Scalloped Potatoes: We recommend using a Russet or Idaho Potato.

The Intermediate Potatoes: The above recommendations are either for high starch or low starch potatoes. But what if your personal preference goes for starchier boiled potatoes or less starchy French Fries? Then you can choose what we call an intermediate potato. These have starch contents between the two extremes. These include Yukon (or Yukon Gold) Potatoes, Purple Peruvian Potatoes & Yellow Finn Potatoes.

 So there you have it, some straightforward guidlines for the best potato to use for the different recipes. Good luck with your dishes involving one of the most popular vegetables on earth and live naturally.