Purple potatoes, Garnet Yams
Today's Potatoes Make Yesterday's Idaho Jealous
Purple potatoes, Rose, Garnet - spuds of yesteryear might be green with envy. Yes, potatoes can be green too! Simplicity, comfort and nutrition too. Try new potatoes.
Purple Potatoes? You bet! How about La Ratte? German Butterballs? Rose Finnes? Who doesn't love potatoes?
Potoatoes can be ultra rich like Robuchon's whipped potatoes. Rumored to be half butter, half potatoes. They can be simply baked, boiled or microwaved and be just as satisfying.
Sweet Potatoes or Yams?
Although we often hear them called yams, sweet potatoes are not the same as yams. They are however, delicious and nutritious. Newer varieties now more readily available include garnet yams. Try the organic heirloom fingerling garnet yams. They cook up quickly, they're gorgeous and delicious. Loaded with nutrition: excellent source of beta-carotene, vitamin A, C, Folate, & Fiber.
Did you know sweet potatoes rank above carrots, spinach, greens, broccoli, peas, corn, tomatoes and squash for percentage of USRDA of six nutrients and fiber?
Simply microwaved (prick first!), steamed, or boiled, they can be a delicious meal or side dish. Drizzle with maple syrup, if you like. My "Killer Sweets" are a holiday or anyday favorite.
White potatoes or Gold
For mashing try Yukon Gold potatoes. Now these are readily available in most supermarkets. Cooked in broth, they have so much flavor, creamy texture, golden color. Only the slightest bit of butter or milk is needed to make them taste so rich and satisfying.
Recently, I learned about Jim Cook's German Butterball Potatoes. These are even better than Yukon Golds, in that same style: golden, creamy, buttery tasting on their own. Thin skins and small size (about the size of limes) these beauties are terrific roasted, rough mashed or boiled.
The Potato Rainbow - Purple, Garnet, even Green?!
Fingerlings- so called because their small long shape resembles fingers - began showing up in purple and orange (sweet potatoes.) Now we have Russian Banana Fingerling potatoes (golden), Purple potatoes, how about Rose Finns are rosy on the outside but golden inside. Waxy texture makes them perfect for potato salad. The French La Ratte have nutty flavor and buttery texture.
A word about green potatoes. These can be poisonous - if you eat about three pounds of them in one sitting. The chemical called solanine is at work turning potatoes green, and it's dangerous, but it's unlikely one would eat enough to get sick. I file this one with the "cook pork till it's shoe-leather" worries. After all, when was the last time we heard about trichinosis or solanine poisoning?
Spud facts:
- Excellent source of fiber
- Nutrition is not just in the skin (about half the fiber is, but the other nutrients are in the spud)
- An average baked potato has more potassium than a banana
- Peru is one of the world's potato centers: 9,000 varieties are counted there and they have a unique scientific museum cataloging the DNA of all varieties.
- People used to believe potatoes were poisonous
- The US lags behind Belarus, Croatia and even Malawi in per capita consumption.
