The potato tuber comes in a wide variety of varieties - sometimes floury, sometimes waxy, for jacket potatoes or for roasting, grilling or deep-frying. And for each potato dish it should be a different type of potato. As a hobby cook and housewife, you sometimes get desperate: what kind of mashed potatoes should you use and which potatoes are better for potato pancakes? We have put together a list for you with all your favorite dishes and the varieties that go with them.
How do the potato varieties differ?
In principle it just depends on the starch content. What is better for one dish is less favorable for another. The amount of starch in a potato changes with age and also affects how floury it is. For example, a new potato contains less potato starch than an older potato. But of course the type of potato also plays a role, as does the conditions that prevailed during cultivation: more sun also means more starch and this also applies to later storage.
Which potatoes are suitable for which potato dish?
New potatoes, waxy potatoes and floury potatoes – which dishes are each type best suited for? We summarize:
New potatoes and waxy potato varieties
Starch content between 12 and 14 percent.
Both variants have a low starch content, which ensures that they retain their shape and consistency. So they won't get mushy if they cook or cook for longer. New potatoes (all those harvested before August 11th) also have the characteristic of having a very thin and tasteless skin that does not need to be peeled and does not taste bitter. Perfect for jacket potatoes, as you're probably thinking. Early potatoes have not yet had a storage period and therefore end up directly on the shelves of supermarkets etc.
These two potato variants are best cooked with:
- Fried potatoes
- Chips
- Frittata
- Gratin
- potato salad
- Baked potatoes (e.g. rosemary potatoes)
- Jacket potatoes
- Apples
- Raclette
- Boiled potatoes
- Cubes (e.g. in potato soup or other soups or as croutons)
Now that you know which potatoes are suitable for chips, you might as wellwhich ones prepare!
Use less waxy varieties
Starch content about 15 percent.
They differ from the waxy varieties above in that they become a little softer on the outside during cooking and can lose their shape. However, they are also solid on the inside. If you prepare them with their shell on, it can tear open, which is not the case with the ones above. However, what has been said should in no way be viewed as negative characteristics, because in fact mainly waxy potato varieties are the perfect middle ground if you are not so sure. Wondering which potatoes are suitable for fries? Then you will receive your answer. Anything that needs to be fried or fried can be done with these potatoes, as well as the following dishes:
- casserole
- Fried potatoes
- Stews
- Gnocchi
- Gratin
- Potato soup
- Dumplings
- Jacket potatoes
- Apples
- Squash potatoes
- Raclette
- Roast
- Boiled potatoes
- Schupfnudeln
Floury potato varieties for dishes that change the texture
Starch content about 16.5 percent.
As you know, floury potato varieties quickly become mushy than the varieties mentioned above, and they also have a rather dry taste. This makes them ideal if you are preparing dishes like mashed potatoes or similar, where you don't need whole and well-formed pieces, floury ones are optimal. For example, use them for:
- Stews
- Baked potatoes
- Gnocchi
- mashed potatoes
- Potato pancakes/grater cakes
- Dumplings and dumplings
- Croquettes
- Schupfnudeln
- Sauces (for binding)
- The soup
Craving potato pancakes?Here you will finda potato pancake recipe for the oven.
Floury potato varieties are also suitable for sweet dishes. Did you know that you can use it to make dough for cookies, cakes and even waffles? However, the tubers must first be cooked and then mashed. It's this texture that makes them perfect for tying. Among other things, you can bake the following with floury potatoes as an ingredient:
- Biscuit dough
- pastries
- Yeast dough for breads and plaits
- Cookies
- Muffins
- cookie
- Pudding
- Waffles
Which potatoes can you eat with the skin on?
As far as the shell is concerned:Don't eat, but enjoy cooking. But even then there are some conditions and rules that you should adhere to.
- The shell contains natural toxins that can only be dangerous in large quantities, but should still be avoided. These substances are found in the whole potato, but in larger quantities in the peel.
- The shell forms a protective layer that prevents important vitamins and minerals from being lost while gardening.
- For this reason, peeling is recommended: either before preparation or at the latest afterwards (to preserve the minerals).
- The water in which youunpeeledYou should not eat potatoes that have been cooked, as the tubers release some of the toxins.
Green areas and so-called eyes are areas with an increased concentration of toxins.
A notice:The lists are for guidance only and are by no means hard and fast rules, without which the dishes mentioned would not be successful. Ultimately, you can use any type of potato according to your taste, for whatever you want. For example, if you like firmer pieces in mashed potatoes, use waxy varieties instead of floury ones.
