POTATO BASICS
Picking the Perfect Potato
Choose potatoes that are firm and free of blemishes. Selecting the right potato for your needs is easy if you understand the relationship between a potato’s appearance and its intended use.
Long-shaped potatoes are most suitable for baking, microwaving or frying. These potatoes will fluff up when baked.
Round-shaped potatoes keep their shape and their texture stays firm, making them an excellent choice for salads.
How to Prepare Potatoes
There are many ways to prepare potatoes for yourself and/or your family. We’ve compiled a few helpful hints here. Have your own tips on how to prepare potatoes? Send them in!
- Consider cooking and eating your potatoes with the skins on, as the skin contains a great deal of nutrients and dietary fiber. If you are peeling, use a peeler or sharp knife to slice off just the skin, because the flesh close to the skin is also rich in nutrients
- If peeling potatoes in advance of when you intend to cook them, cover them in cold water and add a little vinegar or lemon juice to the water to avoid browning.
- When mashing potatoes, avoid using an electric mixer or food processor as this often makes potatoes very sticky. If you enjoy your mashed potatoes moist, add a little heated milk, butter or margarine as desired!
- Potatoes can be prepared on the barbecue in a variety of ways, but one popular way is slicing uncooked potatoes, placing in an aluminum pie plate or foil packet, adding vegetable/olive oil or butter and spices, and placing the foil on the grill. You can also bake potatoes on the barbecue… wrap in foil and make several holes with a fork through the potato and the foil.
The Perfect Boiled Potato
Choose round-shaped potatoes of uniform size. Round shaped varieties keep their shape and stay firm when boiled.
Scrub potatoes, peel or leave peel on. If necessary cut in uniformly sized pieces.
In a heavy saucepan with a tight fitting lid, cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender. Approximately 30-40 minutes for whole potatoes; 20-25 minutes for cut up potatoes.
A little vinegar or lemon juice added to the cooking water will prevent darkening of the potatoes.
Cooking times may change depending on size and variety of potato. If they are cooked at a full boil in too much water, long-shaped potatoes may not hold their shape.
Store potatoes in a well-ventilated area with temperatures about 7˚C-10˚C (42˚F-45˚F).
The Perfect Baked Potato
Choose evenly sized, long, oblong-shaped potatoes. Russet type potatoes are the most popular variety for baking.
Gently scrub potato and pierce skin before baking. Bake the potatoes for one hour at 200˚C (400˚F) in a regular oven or at 40-45 minutes at 200˚ (400˚F) in a convection oven.
Hold potatoes at 90˚C (180˚F) no longer than 15 minutes. Hold for 30 minutes in a convection oven. DO NOT stack potatoes while baking.