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Anonymous A started this discussion 9 years ago#66,270
Selecting Potatoes
Boiling potatoes are red or white. They're small and round with thin skins that look waxy, signaling more moisture and less starch. Baking potatoes, also known as russets or Idahos, are large and long with brown, dry skin. Their lack of moisture makes them bake up fluffy. Long, white all-purpose potatoes are also known as Maine, Eastern, or California potatoes.
New potatoes are not a variety of potato; they are simply small potatoes of any variety that have yet to mature. They look waxy with thin, undeveloped skins that are often partially rubbed away.
For all potatoes, choose those that are firm with no soft or dark spots. Pass over green-tinged potatoes; they contain toxic alkaloids, such as solanine, that the potato develops when exposed to light. Also avoid potatoes that have started to sprout; they're old. If you buy potatoes in bags, open the bags right away and discard any that are rotting, because one bad potato can spoil a bagful.
Anonymous A (OP) double-posted this 9 years ago, 32 minutes later[^][v]#815,571
There is a lot of confusion over potatoes. With hundreds of varieties available to growers and dozens if you shop at a farmers' market, you might feel like you need a cheat sheet to navigate your way through which varieties are best for which dish.
Even at an average supermarket, there are usually at least five varieties of potatoes. Most of us know which one to get for a baked potato (test: what's it actually called?) and most know what a sweet potato look like (wait, yam? sweet potato? which is it?), but beyond that, selecting the right potato for the right dish remains a mystery.
Basically, potatoes fall into three categories: starchy, waxy, and those in-between.
Those with a high starch content, like Russets, are great for baking and frying. Because of their starch, they don't hold together very well but are absorbent so are best paired with something to absorb (think butter and sour cream.) They are decent mashed, but care must be taken not to over work them, else you'll have a gluey mess. A starchy potato excretes a milky film onto the knife when sliced.
Those with a less starch, like most red-skinned potatoes, have a more waxy texture so they hold their shape while cooking. They work well for dishes like soups, stews, potato salad and scalloped potatoes where you would need to boil, slice, or roast. You can usually determine if a potato is waxy by its thin skin. If the skin feels very thin to the touch and you can easily scratch off a piece (don't do this before buying it!), it's probably waxy.
A third category would be medium starch potatoes which are more all-purpose, and they'll work in most potato dishes. Yukon Golds are a commonly available all-purpose potato.
Knowing which potato to use for which dish is the first step toward success with potatoes. Most people who say they don't like potatoes probably haven't had a potato that was cooked properly. A scalloped Russet, for example, will be cloyingly dry and fall apart.