Elizabeth Schneider

Potato (Specialty Types): Fingerling potatoes

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top 1000Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini
Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini

By Elizabeth Schneider

Published 2001

  • About

Fingerling potatoes are among the more distinctive groups you’re likely to see. The informal term has come to describe narrow little tubers, whether fingerlike, crescent-shaped, or just wiggly and small. (Although “fingerling” describes anything tiny, this word of German origin commonly refers to fish, not potatoes.) Generally speaking, fingerlings are predictably petite, pricey, and uncommonly tasty and firm—ideal for steaming, boiling, baking, and salads.

Fingerlings and other market newcomers often wear bright-colored skins, a major selling point. Unfortunately, these tell little about a potato’s interior. Do not be seduced by mere appearance: indigo, fuchsia, and other eye-catching wrappers may lead you down the garden path (read the thumbnail varietal sketches for the inside story). Nor do ravishing colors in the raw necessarily mean rainbows on the plate, once a potato is cooked.