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Potatoes
Appears in
Published 2007
In the early nineteenth century, potatoes were virtually unknown in the Old World and in parts of the New World as well. They had been planted in France in the eighteenth century, but because they were judged by the flavor of their greens, they failed to become popular. By the end of the nineteenth century, classic French cookbooks contained close to a hundred recipes for cooking potatoes.
Until relatively recently, cooks in the United States found only three types of potatoes in the market: russets, sometimes called Idaho potatoes, used for baking; white waxy potatoes; and red waxy potatoes. Now, we find everything from Yukon Golds, which are perfect for mashing, and fingerling potatoes, sometimes called rattes, to exotic purple potatoes. Waxy potatoes remain firm when cooked and are best in gratins or stews when you don’t want the potatoes to fall apart. Irish stew is sometimes made with both russets, which dissolve and give body to the sauce, and waxy potatoes, which hold their shape.