Chipped, fried, sautéed, boiled, baked, or mashed—potatoes are one vegetable we simply couldn’t do without. But what type and variety of potato should you be growing? Read on and watch our video to find out about the different potatoes types so you can choose the best potato varieties to meet your needs.
Photo by Fotolia/vm2002.
Culinary Uses for Potatoes
Choose potato varieties that suit their end use. Starchy potatoes are great at absorbing liquids, causing the potato to break apart in cooking. These types are great for making baked potatoes, mashing, or cutting into wedges and roasting.
Waxy potatoes hold together better. They are ideal for cooking in soups and stews, and for making potato salads.
Look closely at the descriptions of different varieties and make sure you pick one that’s suitable for how you want to cook it.
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My main varieties of potatoes are Red Pontiac and Kennebec. I will also grow a few Red Lasoda and if I can find the seed potatoes a few Russets. I plant most of my potatoes in compost in stacked tires but always have some extras which I put in the garden proper. I live in the River Valley area of Arkansas and both the Pontiac and Kennebec varieties do well for me with the other two doing acceptable.