By Janice VanCleave | Leave A Comment
Lumpy vs. Fluffy Smooth Mashed Potatoes
Whether your mashed potatoes are fluffy or lumpy depends on the type of potato you use.
I never gave the name of potatoes much thought. Until I did some research on potato types I thought the names mainly referred to where they they were grown or was some market tactic to raise the price, such as for baking potatoes.
Types of Potatoes
Which potatoes make nice smooth fluffy mashed potatoes?
Waxy Potatoes: New Potatoes
- waxy potatoes are low in starch and high in moisture.
- waxy potatoes retain their shape after cooking, brown easily
- waxy potatoes are great for pan-fried potatoes or potato salad
Mealy Potatoes: Russets or Idahos
mealy potatoes are high in starch and low in moisture
mealy potatoes are good for baking as well as making smooth, fluffy mashed potatoes.
Starch is one of the chemicals in food that starts being digested in your mouth. For information as well as a test for the presence of starch, see STARCH DIGESTION
Photo credits
di the huntress http://blissfullydomestic.com/wp-content/uploads/potato-salad.jpg
andybullock77 http://blissfullydomestic.com/wp-content/uploads/potatoes-mashed.jpg
ABOUT Janice VanCleave
Janice VanCleave is the author of 50 + science experiment books for kids with fifteen foreign transl{read more}
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Just want to be sure I understand, the entire purpose of this post is to get people to not buy organic?
Hi Ariana,
Guess I need to say OOPS!!! No, I am not discouraging the purchase of organic foods-My purpose is to point out to be careful about labels. “All Natural,” ” No Chemicals,” and “Organic” are labels that are often being misused. As a chemists, they were incorrect from the start, but everyone basically understood what was being advertised. Have you noticed how many vegetables and fruits are being labeled as “organic?” One week I bought Fugi apples and the next week the sign changed to organic Fuji apples–cost a bit more. All the apples were organic the last time I shopped. “NO TRANS FAT” is another label that is often misleading. Some products have zero trans fat, but they are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Trans fat, saturated fat, and total cholesterol are all things to reduce in ones diet.
Janice
I remember a poster in our high school chemistry class that said “What in the world ISN’T chemistry??”
I love your point here. Labeling and marketing buzzwords are really annoying. That being said, we need to use SOME kind of terminology to differentiate the, um, toxically grown food from the… um… non-toxic food? For better or for worse, “organic” is the term that’s evolved in this usage. But if we were to come up with some better term, I’d be all for it.