|
Potatoes
From Wikibooks, the
open-content textbooks collection
 A potato is a tuber.
Originally from South America the potato is now grown and
used as a foodstuff in most parts of the world, and is
valued for its relative ease of growing and its high
carbohydrate content. It is also extremely versatile in
the kitchen, and can be served boiled, roast, baked,
shallow-fried or deep-fried. There is a large number of
varieties of potato, each of which has its own qualities
and uses. Finally some potatoes are harvested while still
relatively immature ('new potatoes') while others ('old
potatoes') are left to grow to their maximum size. This
also affects the texture and flavor.
Sprouts and green parts,
caused by light exposure and age, can be very poisonous.
(they contain solanine) You should discard any such
potatoes. A single green potato can give a dangerous dose
of poison. If you insist on eating such potatoes anyway,
at least peel them and deep-fry them at 170° C (306° F).
Poisoning symptoms include gastrointestinal and
neurological effects.
Buying potatoes
For practical purposes,
potatoes can be put into three groups, although the
distinctions between them are not clear-cut, and there is
much overlapping. While the Russet Burbank baking potato
is probably the most pleasing for general use, potatoes
with oddly-colored flesh often provide antioxidants like
beta-carotene and lycopene. Odd colors may hide greening
and rotten spots though.
- The term new potato
is most frequently used to describe those potatoes
freshly harvested and marketed during the late winter
or early spring. The name is also widely used in later
crop producing areas to designate freshly dug potatoes
which are not fully matured. The best uses for new
potatoes are boiling or mashing. They vary widely in
size and shape, depending upon variety, but are likely
to be affected by "skinning" or
"feathering" of the outer layer of skin.
Skinning usually affects only their appearance.
- The term general
purpose potato includes the great majority of
supplies, both round and long types, offered for sale
in markets. With the aid of air-cooled storage,
general purpose potatoes are amply available
throughout the year. As the term implies, they are
used for boiling, frying, and baking,
although many of the common varieties are not
considered to be best for baking.
- The term baking
potato means a potato grown specifically for baking
quality. Both variety and farm location are important
factors affecting baking quality. A long variety with
fine, scaly netting on the skin, such as the Russet
Burbank from Idaho, is commonly used for baking.
With new potatoes, look
for firm potatoes that are free from blemishes and sunburn
(a green discoloration under the skin). Some amount of
skinned surface is normal, but potatoes with large skinned
and discolored areas are undesirable. For general-purpose
and baking potatoes, look for reasonably smooth, firm
potatoes free from blemishes, sunburn, and decay. Avoid
potatoes with large cuts, green spots, bruises, decay,
sprouting, or shriveling. Potato injuries tend to increase
the level of solanine, a deadly poison.
Cooking techniques
Boiling
Old potatoes normally
need to be peeled before boiling. Many new potatoes are
better when boiled in their skins, but you should of
course wash them first. Small potatoes can be cooked
whole. Larger potatoes will cook more evenly and quickly
if you cut them into roughly egg-sized pieces.
Put the potatoes in a
large enough pan and add enough water to cover them
easily. Add a little salt if you like. Bring to the boil.
Potatoes will take around 20 minutes to cook through. To
test whether they are done, press the tip of a cook's
knife into one. It should be able to slip in and out
easily. Serve with butter if you're not worried about your
weight, with salt if you're not worried about your blood
pressure, or with a sprinkling of chopped chives
if you want them to look nice.
Mashing
Boil a suitable variety
as above, but keep cooking for about 25% longer than
needed. Drain the cooking water and attack the potatoes
with a knife so that they are cut into small pieces. (This
is very therapeutic.) You then need to add some milk and
butter (according to taste and waistline) and puree all
ingredients. Use a potato-ricer for best results or a hand
held masher for possibly lumpy mash. You can use a food
processor if you want to produce horrid slime. You can add
salt and pepper or other herbs and spices as you wish.
Roasting
Roast potatoes are a good
and traditional accompaniment to roast meat. Prepare the
potatoes as for boiling, and parboil them for just a few
minutes. Then put in the roasting dish around the meat,
and baste them with the juices as cooking goes on.
Baking
On a cold day, few things
are nicer than a baked potato. Use a large potato, with
its skin on. Preheat the oven to very hot (gas mark 7) and
put in the potatoes for about an hour. Especially when
using an electric oven, it is important to protect the
potatoes from drying by covering them with foil or coating
them in oil. A lid over the whole batch will do, saving on
foil and oil.
You may put a metal
skewer through the potato to help distribute heat evenly.
Trial and error are, as usual, your friends. Serve the
potato as hot as you can stand it. Fillings can include butter,
grated cheese (something strong like cheddar
or red Leicester), baked beans, pesto - you name it. And
eat the skin - it really is good for you, like your mum
said.
Microwave
Perforate the skin with a
fork in many places to prevent the potato from exploding.
it is important to protect the potatoes from drying by
covering them with a damp paper towel or coating them in
oil. A low power setting may be a good idea, but you
wouldn't be using the microwave if you didn't want fast
cooking! Trial and error are, as usual, your friends.
Serve the potato as hot as you can stand it. Fillings can
include butter,
grated cheese (something strong like cheddar
or red Leicester), baked beans, pesto - you name it. And
eat the skin - it really is good for you, like your mum
said.
Deep frying
When you deep fry a
potato you turn it from one of the most virtuous
vegetables into the tasty, evil, fat-soaked trollop that
is the chip (or French fry, if you must). Chips are great,
and if you're in the UK, you're probably better off
getting them from your local chipshop, where they have the
proper equipment, the mountains of salt and the lakes of
non-brewed vinegar-like condiment that you need for best
results. Deep frying at home is never the same, and it can
easily cause a house fire. When things go wrong, the
flames commonly stand 2 or 3 feet tall.
But if you must, here's
the basic method. Chop the potatoes into chips and leave
them in some cold, preferably icy, water for at least
twenty minutes. Drain them and dry them as thoroughly as
you can with kitchen paper. Use good quality lard or
cooking oil with a high smoke point and heat it in a
deep-frying pan until it's hot enough. How hot is hot
enough?
The traditional guidance
is that a cube of day-old bread should brown in a minute.
If you don't have any day-old bread to hand, drop one of
your chips in; if the fat's hot enough it will start to
cook. Add the chips, using a frying basket. The
temperature of the fat will drop sharply, so keep the heat
high under the pan. Cook until the chips are browned.
Remove the frying basket, and allow the fat to get a
little hotter. Then plunge the basket back in for a few
minutes to complete the cooking. Keep a fire blanket
nearby at all times.
An alternative and safer
method is to use a specialist deepfat fryer.
|
