Table Stock Potatoes

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There are over 200 varieties of U.S. table-stock potatoes, with different characteristics that can heighten different recipes. Here’s a quick guide on which potato type to use for your cooking:

• Russet – The most famous of U.S. potatoes, russets have a hearty skin and a light fluffy center. They have a mild, earthy flavor. Best for baking, roasting, pan frying, sautéing, frying, and for making creamy mashed potatoes.
• Red – They have thin skin that can remain firm through cooking. Reds have a moist, smooth texture and a subtly sweet flavor. Best for baking, roasting, grilling and steaming; and for making salads, soups and stews.
• Yellow – These have a velvety, creamy texture and a slight buttery flavor. Best for baking, roasting, and grilling. Perfect for salads, mashed potatoes, soups and stews.
• White – Creamy and dense, they have a thin delicate skin. There’s a slightly nutty flavor as well in white potatoes. Best for pan frying, sautéing, frying, and steaming. Also great for salads, soups and stews.
• Purple – They have a deep purple, blue or slightly red skin, and their flesh come in about the same color. They have an earthy flavor. Best for baking, roasting, steaming, microwaving and adding beautiful color and nutrients to salads.
• Fingerling – These potatoes are about 2 to 4-inches long, and appear either finger- shaped or oblong. Fingerlings can have red, orange, purple or white skin and flesh that sometimes appear streaked with different colors. They have a firm texture and a nutty, buttery flavor. Best for baking, roasting, pan frying, sautéing, steaming, and microwaving.
• Petite – Small and bite-sized, U.S. petite potatoes come in the same skin and flesh color of their larger cousins, as well as shape and texture. They have more    concentrated flavor than other potato types. Best for baking, roasting, pan frying, sautéing, steaming, and microwaving.