POTATOES
Potatoes fall into three types. Potatoes containing relatively high moisture and low starch are described as waxy and are called boilers. These are the potatoes that hold their shape as cubes and slices in potato salads, gratins, and stews. At the market, they are the smooth round reds, round whites, and oblong White Roses. Potatoes low in moisture and high in starch are described as mealy and are called bakers. When cooked, their flesh is dry and fluffy, exactly right for baking, frying, and mashing (even though they are boiled). These are the knobby, tuber-shaped russets, or Idahos, at the market. While a baking potato will crumble in a potato salad, boiling potatoes are superb baked. They will not be fluffy, but their skins will be crisp and their flesh will absorb pan juices or butter beautifully. A baking potato is the one to use in soup to give it body—it will fall apart gracefully, as in Vichyssoise. Russets are also the recommended type for frying. They have the ability to release their starch, given ample soaking and rinsing. Starch absorbs fat and, if not flushed out of the potato, results in heaviness. Russets can make crisp-on-the-outside and fluffy-on-the-inside fries. Russet potatoes that are either baked or boiled for mashing should be eaten or mashed right away, because they will lose their fluffy texture if left to stand. Keep potatoes out of aluminum and iron pots, where they will turn gray. The flesh of some potatoes is between waxy and mealy, having moderate moisture and starch. Called all-purpose, a few of these potatoes match the quality of the best boilers and bakers.
    Potatoes are next classed according to age—whether they are new or storage. New potatoes are babies, harvested before they develop the potential their variety prescribes. No matter what the variety, new potatoes are boiler types, because they have not had enough time to develop much starch. (The opposite is not the case, however. Some of the potatoes that take longest to mature, called late-season, are also low in starch. The variety is the determining factor.) New potatoes are best steamed or roasted, always in their skins, and served with melted butter and chopped herbs or swathed in cream sauce. Purple-skinned, white-fleshed Caribes make especially delicious new potatoes. Somewhere in this vast country, potatoes are freshly dug and sent to market every month. That means when the sign at the market in January says, “New Potatoes,” you should be able to rub the skin off with your fingers. If you cannot, it is a storage potato, no matter how small its size. Storage potatoes have been cured in the sun, their skins toughened, and held in cold storage for weeks, sometimes months.
    Like heritage apples, old-fashioned American and favorite continental varieties of potatoes are being grown again. White Rose is a pleasant potato, but there are many that are far more flavorful. Thus far, the most flavorful potatoes we have tasted are Yellow Finn and Bintje; the best boilers, Butterfinger and Russian Banana; the best bakers, Russet Burbank and Lemhi Russet; the best all-purpose, Red Gold. The most beautiful has to be All Blue, with its sparkling lilac-blue flesh.
    Look for the following colors at farmers’ markets, and ask your supermarket produce manager to find some.
    Blue potatoes through and through are All Blue (round all-purpose). Purple through and through is Purple Peruvian (fingerling baker). Yellow through and through are Yellow Finn (flat, round, or pear-shaped all-purpose), German Butterball (round to oblong all-purpose), and Yukon gold (standard all-purpose). Red through and through is All Red (round boiler). Red and yellow—red skin, yellow flesh—are Rose Finn Apple and Ruby Crescent (both fingerling boilers), Desiree (round to oblong all-purpose) and Red Gold (standard all-purpose). White flesh with buff skin is Anoka (standard boiler).
    Select potatoes that are firm and heavy for their size, with taut skin and no cuts, dark spots, cracks, mold, or other sign of spoilage. If there is a greenish cast to the potato or a green patch on it, avoid it—the green part   was exposed to the sun and will be bitter (even mildly toxic). Avoid those that have sprouted; they will be soft and even bitter. Store potatoes, unwashed and unwrapped, in a cool, dark, dry, well-ventilated place. After storing, should you find your potatoes have turned green or begun to sprout, cut off the green or sprout with 1/4 inch of the flesh beneath it (or discard them).
    Potatoes have great affinities with butter, cream in any form, cheese, chives, dill, onions, garlic, parsley, chervil, rosemary, sage, oregano, bacon, mushrooms. Allow about 6 ounces per serving.
    To Prepare: Leave skins on whenever possible—the skin is valuable nutritionally and packs a great amount of a potato’s earthy flavor. If it is essential to peel, use a swivel peeler. Flesh exposed to air will darken if not cooked soon, so work quickly or drop pieces in a bowl of cold water mixed with a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar. Also use a stainless-steel knife, for carbon steel will discolor the flesh. When baking whole potatoes, be sure to prick the skin in several places to avoid steam buildup, which can cause a potato to explode in the oven.
    To Boil: Place 1 or 2 pounds potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Add 1 teaspoon salt for each quart of water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender when pierced with a thin skewer or knife tip. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for whole small or baby potatoes, 20 to 25 minutes for medium, and 35 to 45 minutes for whole large potatoes. Slices 1/4 inch thick will cook in 5 to 7 minutes.
    To Steam: Place whole potatoes or slices in a steaming basket over 1 to 2 inches boiling water and cook, covered, until tender all the way through when pierced with a thin skewer or knife tip. For whole potatoes, allow 15 to 20 minutes for small or baby potatoes, 30 to 35 minutes for medium, and 35 to 45 minutes for large potatoes. Slices 1/4 inch thick will cook in 10 to 15 minutes, a few minutes longer if there are layers.
    To Bake: Set whole potatoes on an oven rack or a baking sheet. A baking nail or thick skewer through the center will carry heat evenly through the flesh, but it is not necessary. Do pierce the potato in several places to make sure that it does not explode in baking. Halved and quartered potatoes bake faster and have wonderfully crisp surfaces. Bake at 400°F until tender when tested with a thin skewer, 45 to 60 minutes for whole potatoes.
    To Microwave: Microwaved potatoes are, to our taste, a last resort. Peel and quarter 4 medium baking potatoes and arrange in a 2-quart baking dish. Cover and cook on high until tender, 9 to 12 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. Let stand, covered, for 3 minutes. Immediately mash a microwaved potato if your goal is a fluffy texture.
    To Pressure-Cook: Whole large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) potatoes can be pressure-cooked with 1 1/2 cups liquid at 15 pounds pressure for 15 minutes; 1 1/2-inch-diameter potatoes need just 1 cup liquid and 10 minutes’ cooking; 3/4-inch-thick slices need 1 cup liquid and 5 minutes’ cooking. Cool the cooker at once.
   
   mashed potatoes
   buttermilk mashed potatoes
   mashed potatoes with cabbage and scallions (colcannon)
   smashed potatoes with basil pesto
   pan-fried golden potatoes with rosemary and lemon
   hash brown potatoes
   potato pancakes
   golden potato pancakes (rösti)
   potato galette
   no-fail french fries
   shoestring potatoes
   franconia, or browned potatoes
   baked potatoes with cheese and bacon
   oven-roasted “french fries”
   pommes anna
   gratin dauphinois
   sautéed tiny new potatoes
   potato and chicken bake
   celery root and potato gratin
   tex-mex potatoes
   blue cheese and bacon potatoes