Potato varieties and how to prepare them

In short: Potatoes are distinguished by cooking type: waxy, fairly waxy and floury. Each variety suits different dishes.

In more detail: Starch content determines how the potato breaks down on cooking.

In detail

• Waxy: Little starch, keep their shape. For salad, fried potatoes and gratin.
• Fairly waxy: All-round, for boiled potatoes, jacket potatoes and bakes.
• Floury: Lots of starch, fall apart softly. For mash, dumplings, soups and croquettes.
• Storing: Dark, cool (4–8 °C), airy and not in the fridge (starch turns to sugar).
• Green patches: Contain solanine; cut away generously. Cut out sprouting parts generously.
• Acrylamide: Deep-fried or heavily browned potatoes form acrylamide, so fry golden instead of dark (maillard-reaktion).