Potatoes are the most delicious food on the planet, there is nothing to compete with bread and water in popularity and spread like "French Fries" - for example - those golden fingers that tempt young and old around the world.
Below, a group of experts put in our hands some secrets that can improve the way potatoes are properly prepared, from purchasing and storing them, to preparing and cooking them.
To make this basic food for every home much easier and tastier.
Choose potatoes that are all-purpose
Byron Halliburton, head chef at a major hotel in New Orleans, told Insider, "Some varieties of potatoes are better for certain dishes than others."
For example, "Low-water, high-starch potatoes are more suitable for baking, frying or mashing."
But there are potatoes that can be considered "multipurpose", which are the yellow potatoes, as they "can be baked, mashed or used in soups and salads, and they have a buttery taste and creamy texture."
Check the quality
Halliburton emphasized quality assurance when purchasing, "The potato should be firm without any soft spots, bruises, or discoloration. The rind is clean and smooth, without scars, eyes, or roots."
Correct storage
Potatoes grow in the dark, and it is better to keep them in a similar environment;
So Halliburton advises storing them "in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place," warning of high temperatures, as they make potatoes begin to greenish due to a chemical that may be toxic, called "solanine."
He ruled out preserving them in the refrigerator, as "the starch begins to turn into sugar, which changes the taste."
Duration of use
If stored according to the previous recommendations, the potatoes can last for two weeks or a little longer, although Halliburton says it is best to use them within a week.
Freeze until one year
If potatoes are not consumed within the recommended time, Halliburton recommends storing them in the freezer "after cutting them according to the method in which they will be cooked later, slices, grated or cubes, and boils them a little in hot water", to be on hand for up to To a year.
Cold water to prevent oxidation
Peeled potatoes are oxidized when left for a long time.
To speed up the browning phase, Balac Patel, head chef at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, recommends that the peeled potatoes be rinsed, and placed in cold water until ready to slices, and that they can be left there for a few hours.
Halliburton, however, warns that "the prolonged soaking period will lose water-soluble nutrients."
Do not wash potatoes when storing them
Like most vegetables, potatoes are washed only when they are ready for cooking;
So Halliburton stresses not to wash or rinse it when stored;
Because "a wet outer surface may accelerate its deterioration".
Do not saline potatoes while they are hot
"Potatoes are very starchy and require more salt than others," says Chef Patel. "It is important to salted them while hot, whether they are fried, mashed or baked, as the heat helps transfer the salt to the heart."
Cooking in cold water
Halliburton warns of a common mistake of "putting raw potatoes in boiling water," and advises instead, raising them over a fire in cold, salted water, and letting everything boil together.
No to aluminum foil
For baked potatoes with a thin inner crust and crunchy, Halliburton recommends cutting out aluminum foil, "for a meal that's crunchy and delicious on the outside, light and full of steam on the inside."
Sprinkle with baking soda
To get a crunchy layer on the baked potato, it is best to boil it a little with half a teaspoon of baking soda before putting it in the oven.
"Baking soda breaks down the pectin in potatoes, pulling the starch to the surface, and we get a nice browning and crunchiness," Halliburton explains.
No wrong chopping
"Cutting a potato into very small pieces, or unevenly," says Lindsay De Matteson, a writer specializing in the field of cooking, "can make the small pieces cook faster and use a lot of water, which prevents the absorption of butter and cream later. Also if the pieces are not cut." Evenly, they will not be cooked at the same rate, which will result in them appearing raw during mashing, so it is advisable to cut the potatoes into quarters so that they are of equal size.
Do not overcook and mash
Overcooked potatoes, according to Mattison, become watery when mashed, and over-mashing potatoes releases a lot of starch and makes them sticky, and it's best to use a hand masher.
The secret is in the starch
The perfect fried potato sticks - according to food chemistry professor Karen Shish - are the ones that combine a thin outer crust with an ice-white filling, when dipped in hot oil.
Where the starch, which the potato contains, makes its outer shell acquire a golden color as soon as it comes into contact with the oil, then traps the steam to ripen the fingers, giving them crunchiness on the outside, and soft on the inside.
Frequent frying
Preparing french fries - according to researcher J. Kenji Lopez - begins "by cutting the potatoes into equal fingers 1 cm thick, rinsing them with water to remove the excess starch, and then drying them carefully."
To be fried twice;
The first takes 5 to 6 minutes on a low heat (163 ° C) to settle from the inside, and the second on a high heat (about 200 ° C), to get rid of the water and give a crunch and golden color.
But chef Heston Blumenthal, judging that this is not enough, offers instead a recipe to cook potatoes 3 times;
The first boil it a little, filtered from the water, and then repeat the same previous frying steps.