Potatoes are a staple of the American diet.
Potatoes show up at breakfast, lunch and dinner in the American home. A hamburger at lunch seems lonely without French fries. Load a baked potato with cooked spinach, sour cream, bacon and cheddar cheese and it becomes a meal. Scalloped, fried or mashed potatoes accompany the dinner entr e. Potatoes come in a variety of colors and sizes.
Color
The plain Jane brown potato is the one you see the most in grocery stores. Potatoes do come in other colors including red, such as reddale and cranberry red; gold, such as Yukon and island sunshine; purple, such a carribe and cowhorn; and blue, such as allblue and AC domino. The color may be just the skin with the flesh being off-white or one uniform color throughout. The different varieties bloom in different colors. Interestingly, diseased potatoes have white and green flowers, according to Jessica Brinkert Holltan, author of the article "Pass the Potatoes."
Size and Shape
Baking potatoes weigh about 8 oz. and are the size of your fist. As of 2010, the record for the largest potato, 8 lbs. 4 oz., is held by Peter Glazebrook. Potatoes are oblong, round or narrow and long -- called fingerlings. Potatoes range in size from a marble to more than 8-inches long and 4-inches thick. New potatoes are harvested before, or while, the plant is flowering. The skin is thin and the potatoes small; however, they don't store well. Most potatoes are harvested when mature; the plant has flowered and is starting to wilt and yellow. Mature potatoes will store for several months kept in a cool place.
Uses
Fresh cooked potatoes are used as a filling side dish. Potato flour is dehydrated ground potatoes. Use as a replacement for wheat flour in breads, muffins and pancakes. It also thickens sauces and soups. Leftover cooked potatoes form the basis for noodles and pastas such as gnocchi. Potatoes appear in salads, such as potato salad mixed with mayonnaise, celery and onions and in soups, such as chowders or the French cold potato soup called vichyssoise.
Cooking
Cooking methods vary depending on the type of potato and the dish. Potatoes are divided into bakers and boilers. Baking potatoes, such as Idaho and russet are mealy when exposed to high, dry heat. They contain more starch. Boilers, such as red bliss and round white, absorb water but hold together and have more sugar and less starch. Potatoes may also be sauteed or fried, such as hash browns or French fries; baked in a casserole such as scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin and even grilled.
Warning
Potatoes, like tomatoes, are a member of the nightshade family. Only the tuber, the potato, is edible. The rest of the plant is toxic. Green skin on a potato is toxic as well as the "eyes," which are new potato plants sprouting.
Tags: Baking potatoes, cooked potatoes, French fries, Potatoes come, potatoes harvested
