Meatless Mondays: Potatoes
4 different kinds of potatoes from the farmers’ market
Do you remember the Atkins days when potatoes were beyond passé? “Too starchy!” “Carb bombs!” Poor, maligned potatoes. Like everything, potatoes can be very good for you in moderation. Did you know that potatoes have a moderate amount of protein and vitamin C? Spanish colonizers noticed that the soldiers who ate potatoes were less likely to develop scurvy than those who didn’t because of the vitamin C in the potatoes. It is also a decent source of folic acid and very high in potassium. With the skin, a medium potato (about 6 ounces) has 4 grams of fiber. Potatoes are virtually sodium- and fat-free and will only set you back 168 calories. Waxy potatoes have a little bit less starch and calories, but are still rich in potassium and fiber. Compare that to 2 slices of ciabatta, which has 260 calories, a lot of salt, and hardly any fiber or one cup of cooked white rice, which has 205 calories and negligible fiber.
Did you know that potatoes are in the same botanical family as tomatoes and eggplants? The nightshade family is so named because these plants can produce neurotoxins. Potatoes’ neurotoxin is called solanine, which is made in the green parts of the plant and any green spots on the potato itself. Light exposure hastens solanine production, which is why most guides tell you to store your potatoes in a cool, dark place. All potatoes make solanine, but the government regulates how much is allowed to be present in potatoes for sale. In order to feel any effects of the solanine, you’d have to eat 3 pounds of potatoes or 2.4 pounds of the skins. A child would feel the solanine by eating 1.5 pounds of potatoes of 1.4 pounds of the skins.[1] Just to be on the safe side, throw away sprouted potatoes or ones that are all green.
Have you looked at the varieties of potatoes out there to buy? Potatoes originate in South America, where they have been cultivated since at least 500 B.C. Check out this website for more history of the potato. Or read this Smithsonian article about the role of the potato in creating today’s civilization. Or look at the National Geographic photo feature of some of the more unusual potatoes one can buy in South America. My favorite is “Makes the Daughter-in-Law Cry.” In New York, Cornell University certifies 70 different kinds of potatoes. At my farmers’ market, I’ve seen about 20 of them.
We usually roast potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe some rosemary, so our preferred potatoes are the waxy type. If I were to mash potatoes, I would select Russets or Idahos. The picture above is of Adirondack Blues, Carolas, Red Sunsets, and another pink one whose name I’ve forgotten. I’ve also liked German Butterballs and La Rattes. Every once in a blue moon, I’ll make mashed potatoes with regular red potatoes, boiling them with their skins and with a clove or two of garlic. I like my mashed potatoes pretty rustic, with lots of butter and salt. Even though I’m from Michigan, I’m not much of a potato salad person. However, I’ve been told that waxy or medium-waxy is the way to go for a non-mushy potato salad. Tomorrow, I’m making curried red lentils with potato and chicken in my slow cooker using starchy russets. I’ll let you know how it turns out and if my kids will deign to consume it. How do you use potatoes? What’s your favorite kind? Have you found a way to tell whether a potato is starchy or waxy just by looking at it in the store?