Cooking Potatoes. Nutritious and Delicious Dishes
15 April 2010
Potatoes, 'the treasure of the Incas', are very familiar to us now, but were not accepted as a staple food in Europe until well into the 18th century. Once established the humble potato quickly became a major food source for millions of people in many countries. It is rather cheap, nutritious, very delicious, you can prepare lots of dishes with this vegetable. That's why people around the whole world like it.
Potato types
The many different varieties of potatoes fall into two major groups, floury and waxy. There is very little difference in nutritional content between them, but floury potatoes are better for roasting, mashing and frying while the waxy varieties are best for steaming, boiling and using in salads.
Chips (fries)
Deep-fried potato chips are perhaps the most popular form of serving and eating this tuber. The fat content of chips varies - thin French fries have a larger surface area to content, so contain more fat per 100g. Thick cut chips are slightly lower in fat and oven chips contain the least.
Nutritional content
This is mostly starch, but because of the comparatively large amounts eaten, potatoes contribute more fibre, protein, iron and vitamin C to the diet than most other vegetables. Vitamin C is stored near the skin, so potatoes are best left unpeeled or peeled very thinly.
Dishes with potatoes:
Baked Sweet Potato and Carrot Puree
Crispy cheese, cabbage and potato bake
Fish fingers, baked beans and mashed potato
Hete bliksem: Apple and potato mash
Potato and green pepper ratatouille
Potatoes in Curry-Coconut Stew