There's alway's a place for potato's

February is national potato month and a perfect time to brush up on our potato knowledge.  Potato's are such a versatile food but if not cooked properly can ruin even the most simple dish.

Recently over the Super Bowl weekend, I purchased a potato salad from my local deli, (sometimes even Chef's need a break from cooking) and I wish I had made it myself.  The potatoes weren't cooked all the way and were almost crunchy.  This could have been a very simple overlooking of procedure or quite possibly the wrong potato for the application.  Let's start off with types of potatoes first:


Yukon Gold- A great low starch all purpose potato, good for most all uses.

Red Potato- More of a waxy potato, best for Au gratin, Scalloped, and roasting.

Russets- A moderate to high starch potato, best for baked and mashed

Fingerling- Low starch potato, this makes a fantastic sauteed or roasted side dish.


Now unless you are making a traditional roasted or baked potato, you will most likely be boiling your potato for use in a potato salad, or any other dish that would require "par cooking".  When boiling any potato, to check if they are done just pierce the potato or the cube with a fork, there should be slight resistance but the potato should slide off the fork easily.  If your fork slides easily into the potato and requires little to no effort to remove then you've overcooked them.

Once they are done, pour into a strainer and allow to cool uncovered until ready for use.

Here are some fun potato facts for you:

Potatoes and lettuce are the 2 most popular vegetables in the U.S.


During the Alaskan Gold Rush, potatoes were almost worth their weight in gold.  Potatoes were so valued for their Vitamin C content that some miners traded their gold to get them.