Consumers

Nice to know

Preparation
The majority of the nutritional value in a potato is right beneath the skin. Therefore, the best way of cooking a potato is with the skin on. In this way, the greatest amount of the nutritional value and taste is preserved. The skin can be removed as soon as the potatoes have cooled down enough to hold. If you peel the potatoes anyway, try to peel as thin as possible. Another option, in order to preserve as much taste and nutritional value as possible, is steaming. To do this, it is not necessary to use a dedicated steamer, a steaming basket is available which fits a normal saucepan is available from many domestic stores. Frying potatoes is getting happens most quickly if potatoes are precooked and cooled down. Of course baking uncooked is also fine and according to some "potato experts" even more delicious, but this takes some more time.

Ready in time
Most probably, as an ingredient for a "quick-meal", you don't have immediately potatoes in mind. A potato simply needs to become cooked. Even though, there are also fresh potatoes suitable to prepare a quick meal.

Some tips:
Before cooking, cut the fresh peeled potato in small cubes or thin slices. In this way, the potato becomes earlier cooked than complete tubers! Please be alert that floury potatoes will fall to pieces even more quickly then.

In the microwave, potatoes can also be cooked very rapidly. For example in an oven dish with potato slices. Usually 10 minutes on full capacity will be enough to cook the potatoes.

A baked potato from the microwave is quickly done: polish up the potato, prick with a fork and 10 minutes on full capacity in the microwave (depending on the size longer or shorter in the microwave). Don't forget to cook down 5 minutes in foil.

If you prefer the crunchy crust, the potato still has to be roasted in the oven for a further 40 minutes and packed in foil.

Tasty tips
Some practical tips for a tasty potato:

Cooked

sprinkle the potato with some spices and a cube of butter

instead of gravy: sour cream and some lemon juice

Try to cook the potatoes in water with salt and a teaspoon of cumin

cooked potatoes with f.e. mustard- or cheese sauce

A number of good potato varieties to cook are a.o. Redstar, Bildtstar, Berber, Victoria, Vivaldi and Annabelle.

Fried

frying potatoes in olive oil, rather than in butter, gives a different taste.

sprinkle fried potatoes with cajun spices instead of salt.

beautiful golden yellow potatoes? sprinkle the potato with curry powder when they are almost cooked.

melt some cheese over the fried potatoes and sprinkle with salt.

A number of good potato varieties to fry are: Annabelle, Victoria, Bildtstar, Redstar.

Baked
Actually, a baked potato is a cooked potato in the skin. By baking a potato slowly in the oven, a tasty crunchy crust appears. In the microwave the potato remains to be more soft. Make crosswise cuts in the baked potato at the top and fill the potato with :

herb butter

sour cream with chives

grated cheese

smoked salmon with crème fresh

A number of good potato varieties to roast are a.o. Adora, Platina, Remarka, Vivaldi, Victoria and Carlita. Of course potatoes have a wide range of applications. For example think about oven dishes, puree, french fries, roasted potatoes from the oven and salads. Tips and recipes can be found on a lot of extensive recipe pages.

Storage
A good potato is firm, free from green and without sprouts. How long a potato can be stored without loosing it's quality, depends on the variety, but specially also on the storage circumstances. A too humid room results in rotten tubers and a too warm room results in the fact that tubers are sprouting earlier and become soft. Do not wash the potatoes before they are preserved, this enlarges the extra risk of rotten tubers.

Therefore, potatoes can be best stored in a cool, dark and well ventilated room, preferably in a carton box or a crate. Not in a plastic bag, because the potatoes have to be able to "breath". Storage in the refrigerator is not recommended, because with low temperature, starch is converted into sugar, which gives the potato a sweet taste. Too much light and the potatoes will soon be green. These green spots often taste bitter and are not healthy. If these spots are cut away, the rest of the potato can safely be eaten.