COLUMN: PO-TA-TOES: Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew
Timothy Mackie
Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: Entertainment
In honor of the upcoming Feast of St. Patrick, this issue's food column will focus on the most quintessentially Irish of foods. No, not Guinness. While most people associate potatoes with Irish cuisine, the spud (Solanum tuberosum, to be exact) comes from Peru and Chile originally. The conquistadors obtained it from the Incas (in exchange for smallpox, thanks a lot, jerks) and introduced it to Europe.
Europeans were slow to adopt the lumpy vegetable, since along with tomatoes and eggplant, it belongs to a family of plants whose European members are all poisonous. Gradually, people in the poorer corners of the continent (like Ireland) discovered that potatoes were hardy, could be grown almost year round, and were insanely nutritious. Despite the bad rap they get from current dietary trends, potatoes have some of the best protein in the plant kingdom and back quite a few vitamins and minerals. Unless you're eating fries every day, potatoes are just as good for you as any other root vegetable. Today, they are the world's fourth largest food crop, with the average human eating 73 pounds of spuds each year.
Potato Basics:
1. There are three main types of potatoes that you can buy in supermarkets: white, red, and russet. Of these, white and red potatoes have thin skins that are good for soups or roasting, while russets have the thick skin that makes for amazing baked potatoes.
2. Store potatoes in a dry, dark place to keep them from sprouting. If your potatoes start to grow eyes (sprouts), remove them before cooking. While potatoes keep longer than most vegetables, they will get soft and lose their flavor if you keep them too long.
3. Potatoes grow underground, so unless you want to eat dirt and pesticides, wash them thoroughly with running water rubbing them well with your hands. If you have a clean scrubbing brush, use that.
4. Potato peel contains lots of flavor and vitamins, so don't remove it unless you absolutely have to.
Europeans were slow to adopt the lumpy vegetable, since along with tomatoes and eggplant, it belongs to a family of plants whose European members are all poisonous. Gradually, people in the poorer corners of the continent (like Ireland) discovered that potatoes were hardy, could be grown almost year round, and were insanely nutritious. Despite the bad rap they get from current dietary trends, potatoes have some of the best protein in the plant kingdom and back quite a few vitamins and minerals. Unless you're eating fries every day, potatoes are just as good for you as any other root vegetable. Today, they are the world's fourth largest food crop, with the average human eating 73 pounds of spuds each year.
Potato Basics:
1. There are three main types of potatoes that you can buy in supermarkets: white, red, and russet. Of these, white and red potatoes have thin skins that are good for soups or roasting, while russets have the thick skin that makes for amazing baked potatoes.
2. Store potatoes in a dry, dark place to keep them from sprouting. If your potatoes start to grow eyes (sprouts), remove them before cooking. While potatoes keep longer than most vegetables, they will get soft and lose their flavor if you keep them too long.
3. Potatoes grow underground, so unless you want to eat dirt and pesticides, wash them thoroughly with running water rubbing them well with your hands. If you have a clean scrubbing brush, use that.
4. Potato peel contains lots of flavor and vitamins, so don't remove it unless you absolutely have to.
Be the first to comment on this story