The Best Way to Cook Different Potato Varieties
Guide to Northwest Potatoes
When you think of a potatoes, you probably picture brown-skinned russets, the ubiquitous French fry and baking spuds. Because they are so prevalent (and uniformly predictable), we’ve come to think of all “potatoes” as tasting like russets. Think again! The Northwest has a colorful range of flavorful, texture-rich potatoes. Here is a guide to a few of the many varieties:
Red Potatoes – Chieftain, Red Pontiac, Red Lasoda
True to their name, red potatoes have smooth reddish skin and white flesh. Reds are generally round and waxy, with a firm texture. They have less starch than russets or whites. Good in soups, potato salads, boiled, steamed, sauteed, roasted, and scalloped/au gratin.
Yellow Potatoes – Yukon Gold, Yellow Finn, German Butterball
Yellow potatoes have golden flesh and skin, with a buttery flavor. These versatile potatoes are good boiled, mashed, steamed, baked, roasted or French fried.
Blue Potatoes – All Blue, Russian Blue
Sought after for their unique color, blue potatoes have a deep purple flesh and skin. With low moisture and high starch (solids) content, blues are often boiled, steamed, baked, mashed or roasted.
White Potatoes – White Rose, Cascade
As you might expect, white potatoes have white flesh and a smooth light skin. Whites have less starch than russets. They are good in soups, boiled, steamed, mashed, roasted, fried, au gratin, scalloped and in potato salads.
Fingerling Potatoes – Russian Banana, French Fingerlings
Fingerlings have a distinctive elongated shape with light yellow flesh and smooth skin. Flavorful, waxy and firm textured, these unique potatoes are delicious roasted with herbs. Fingerlings are also good steamed, boiled, baked or in salads.
Russet Potatoes – Russet Burbank
Perhaps the best known of all potatoes, russets are large with brown, netted skin and white flesh. High in starch, russets are the quintessential baking potato. They are also good mashed, roasted or French fried.
More on Potatoes:
Potato: The Vegetable That Transformed the World
