Handy Hints and Tips: All about Potatoes!

1. Don't buy potatoes that are soft or have excessive cuts, cracks, or bruises or discoloration. Avoid green potatoes because they have been exposed to light and are actually sunburned, which turns the flavor bitter. You can peel or pare the green away if it is only partly green, but if a potato is more than half green, throw it out. Before storing, check over potatoes and use any bruised or imperfect ones first.

2. Keep potatoes cool, but not cold, in a dark, well-ventilated place. Too much refrigeration converts potato starch into sugar, creating a sweet taste and causing potatoes to darken prematurely when frying.

3. "Grown in Idaho" is the mark of genuine, quality-controlled Idaho-grown potatoes, and means that they meet the Idaho Potato Commission's high standards.

4. To bring out the true flavor of a potato, bake it on its own, unwrapped. Wrapping a potato in foil locks in moisture and steams the potato, so you end up with more of a boiled taste.

5. When baking a number of potatoes at a time, choose spuds similar in size and shape for uniform cooking.

6. Pierce a baked potato with a fork to test if it is done. If the fork does not go in easily, bake a little longer. (An internal temperature of 210 degrees is optimum. 

7. For pan fries that don't stick, use potatoes that have been steamed or baked. Since previously cooked potatoes require only heating and browning, frying at a high temperature minimizes annoying sticking.  

8. For a quick and different breakfast, top each serving of hash browns with a poached or fried egg.

9. Though making mashed potatoes seems easy, they are actually pretty finicky. To avoid ending up with a sticky, gluey mess, make sure you use the right kind of a potato. The starchy (Russet) or all-purpose (Yukon Gold) potatoes are the potatoes that work best. You should never use waxy potatoes (i.e. red bliss, fingerlings, etc.) to make mashed potatoes. Starchy potatoes break down better, resulting in a creamier mash.

10. Try using unpeeled potatoes when making au gratin potatoes. Not only does this save you time, but you get more nutrition as well. Much of a potato’s fiber and vitamins are found in or directly under the peel.

By Arlene Bascom