One of the secrets of winter potato harvesting is to buy several different varieties(2-3). Thanks to this approach, some of the tubers are highly likely to survive until spring. Also, choosing from several varieties allows you to diversify your diet. Based on this rule, you can choose from medium and late ripening varieties. They are tastier than the early ones due to their higher starch content, and for the same reason they last longer.

Exists international classification, dividing potato varieties into 4 subgroups: A, B, C, D, depending on the degree of density. In the domestic market, it is mainly the fourth subgroup, characterized by friability and softness, that is in demand.

The chemical composition and properties of potatoes are largely determined by color. Thus, white varieties are rich in starch and vitamin C, and are distinguished by their juiciness and softness. These include:

Red-hued tubers have a special delicate taste, do not crumble during cooking, and contain a record amount of antioxidants. Ideal for long-term storage:

• Roseval;
• red-thumb;
• sheri;
• Kamensky;
• rose-finn-apple.

The yellow color of the peel indicates its saturation with carotene. This fruit is moderately sweet and has a pleasant taste. It is recommended to stock up on the following varieties of yellow potatoes:

• adretta;
• symphony;
• Vineta.

Attention! Tubers early varieties will be stored until November at the latest. Next, such a product begins to sprout, becomes soft and dries out.

Where to buy

Whether to go to a store for a large purchase or give preference to the market is a matter of individual choice. An important criterion availability can be considered for purchase complete information about the product - from the country of cultivation to chemical composition. The last characteristic will help you decide how best to use potatoes. For example, tubers with a starch percentage above 15% are better suited for making purees. A product with a starch content of 20% or more is ideal for frying. Potatoes, which contain less of this component, for preparing first courses.

In many stores, potatoes are sold packaged, with all the required information indicated. Market sellers can also provide the necessary data at the buyer’s request. However, often stores and markets offer a product with minimal or no information. In this case, the buyer can only rely on his own experience in choosing potatoes and on the seller’s recommendations.

Advice. Before making a large-scale purchase, it is recommended to buy 1-2 kg “for testing”. This way you can be sure of the taste of the potatoes.

Rating by appearance

You can understand the properties of a particular variety by paying attention to visual characteristics potatoes:

Presence of nitrates and other fertilizers

Most manufacturers to obtain good harvest use fertilizers. The only difference is that some use organic, while others use nitrogen, the so-called nitrates. You can check whether nitrates were used. To do this, you need to cut the fruit; if it contains nitrates, the cut will ooze. Natural potatoes are more elastic and do not release juice.

You can prepare tasty and high-quality potatoes by evaluating root vegetables in accordance with the recommendations of experts. By choosing firm fruits without damage, giving preference to a proven variety, you can enjoy delicious potatoes until the next harvest.

How to choose potatoes: video

If you do not live in a private house and do not grow your own potatoes in the country, you have to buy them at the market and in the store. Today, potato prices are not as low as we would like, and therefore the buyer has to choose potatoes with special care every time.

No one wants to pay money for a low-quality product when, during cleaning, you have to throw away almost half of the entire root vegetable.

But low-quality potatoes are found everywhere, and you can avoid troubles only by paying attention the right choice potatoes in a store or market..

How to choose potatoes at the market

1. Since you have access to a box of potatoes in stores and at the market, and you don’t buy a lot of them, try to inspect all the tubers. Preference is given to small and medium-sized potatoes. Large root vegetables are very unpredictable in terms of quality; they can turn out to be rotten, empty, or severely damaged by diseases and pests.

2. To choose potatoes on the market and not make a mistake, you need to pay attention to tubers with the most correct symmetrical shape. It is better to put damaged, “wounded” and suspicious tubers aside.

3. Pay attention to any spots, lesions or spots on the peel. Usually, underneath all these minor problems there are deep lesions that go deep into the root crop. When cleaning all these areas you will have to simply cut them off and throw them away.

4. To choose the right potatoes at the market and in the store, you will also have to pay attention to the color of the tubers. Green potatoes should be set aside. If you buy such potatoes, all green areas will have to be cut off, since they contain poison - solanine, which in large quantities is harmful to humans.

5. The next point in choosing potatoes is the most difficult to check. We are talking about the environmental purity of the product, which depends on the places and conditions of its growth. High-quality potatoes will be grown in natural conditions without nitrate fertilizers and other chemicals. Pressing your fingernail on the root vegetable will help you choose potatoes at the market here. If the peel bursts, this is good sign potatoes without nitrate. A bad sign would be the nail sinking into the peel, as if into soap.

6. If your task is to select the ideal tubers, set aside the wrinkled, sprouted, shriveled, twisted root vegetables. But if you still peel sprouted potatoes, cut off the thicker layer of the peel, since it is in this layer that all the unfavorable substances are located.

7. Since buying potatoes is only the beginning of their culinary journey, consider the varieties and methods of further culinary processing. For example, pink root vegetables are good for frying, yellowish ones are good for soup or cabbage soup, and white crumbly varieties make excellent purees.

8. If you are used to buying potatoes for future use and in bulk, take care of them proper storage. Potatoes are stored in dark places, preferably with medium temperature.

If a root crop is exposed to frost, it freezes and spoils. If the tuber is kept warm or exposed to sunlight, it quickly germinates, turns green, and deteriorates.

When storing potatoes in large quantities, you should periodically check them, that is, sort them out. During the selection process, it is important to eliminate rotten and damaged tubers from the total mass, as well as break off sprouted shoots and sprouts. If you don’t do this, then by spring or even mid-winter all your potatoes will sprout, turn green, rot, become soft and tasteless.

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Which potatoes are best for storage?

Our people can eat only one potato all year and at the same time, it is deliciously varied and healthy. Because potatoes are our everything and we can cook anything from them too. But in order to create a strategic reserve until the next harvest, and at the same time not expose your body to danger, you need to take care now of preparing good-quality potatoes for the winter. How to choose the right potatoes? Let's find out.

Potatoes for storage

For winter storage, choose not just one variety, but 2 – 3. There will be a higher chance that at least some of them will last until spring, and at the same time you will have potatoes for various culinary purposes.

From “pink” and “white” it is better to take white: this variety is more stable. “White” is considered to be a potato with a light skin, but its shades vary.

Also better buy, late varieties– early ones are preserved worse.

It is better if the potatoes are clean and dry, without soil residues - this indicates that they were harvested during dry times. If the product is wet and the earth is stuck to it, then the harvest occurred during the rainy season, and the potatoes have absorbed moisture, so they will not last long. Make sure there are no greenish barrels.

To get started, buy a couple of kilograms to try. Cut the potatoes and look for rot or dark spots inside. You can simply smell the tubers - they should not smell unpleasant. A foul odor may indicate that the root crops are grown in soil with low oxygen content. And such things are not stored for a long time.

How to choose potatoes by appearance

Large potatoes are easier to peel, which is why most people buy them. However, small ones are usually cheaper. Opinions are divided on the usefulness. Some experts believe that in medium and small potatoes nutrients more, and large fruits are a sign of excessive application of mineral fertilizers.

Others advise choosing only large potatoes, since large tubers have time to ripen better, which means they contain more vitamins and protein, they are tastier and healthier.

Avoid potatoes with thin, flaky skin. This is a sign that the tubers are not ripe and will not be stored for a long time. Ripe potatoes have a smooth, thick skin that does not peel off.

Don't buy potatoes straight from the field. If it has just been dug up, it cannot be taken into the basement. Before storing potatoes, they should rest for 2–3 weeks.

The most delicious potatoes, which grew on the sand. It is crumbly, starchy and aromatic. But potatoes from peat bogs, due to the increased content of nitrogen compounds, taste worse and are less healthy.

Run your hand over the tuber; if you feel grains of sand, you can take it. You can identify a peat plantation by the black color of the dust on the potato skins.

Good potatoes grow on loams and black soils. If there is gray or brownish plastic dirt stuck to your potatoes, buy with confidence.

Buying potatoes in a store

You can, of course, not prepare potatoes, but buy them at the store. Moreover, reputable manufacturers write on the packaging for what culinary purposes this variety is most suitable: for cooking, for salad, for frying. Now they have begun to import foreign varieties from Holland, Israel, Poland, and domestic suppliers are not too lazy to provide such information. By the way, the quality of washed packaged potatoes is almost the same, and it’s up to you to decide which manufacturer you prefer.

With a starch content above 15 percent, the variety is more suitable for purees. If this figure is lower, then - for soup and salad.

In order for potatoes to be fried and not crumble in a deep fryer or in a frying pan, they must contain at least 20 - 24 percent dry matter. If there is no data on the package, then take it for a sample and evaluate the quality yourself.

A store is not a market where sellers will name the varieties they sell and their characteristics - there is information either down to hundredths of a percent or there is none at all.

Should I buy washed or unwashed potatoes?

The same varieties grown under the same conditions are sold in unwashed and washed form. True, during the washing process, potatoes are sorted - defective and non-standard specimens are removed. Therefore, the risk of buying sick or spoiled products here is minimal. But washed potatoes are stored somewhat worse, so for a “strategic reserve” it is better to buy unwashed ones.

Potato diseases

When purchasing, first check to see if there are any green specimens among the tubers. Green color indicates the presence of alkaloids. These are toxic substances that are formed in tubers when exposed to sun rays. “Green” potatoes should not be eaten.

Potatoes can be affected by late blight. Externally, diseased tubers look quite attractive, but inside the potatoes are blackened. It is almost impossible to notice late blight from the outside, so ask the seller to cut a suspicious specimen. If the "autopsy" gives a disappointing result, do not hesitate to walk away, there is no need to buy here.

Other potato diseases can be identified by eye. Small round holes indicate that this potato was riddled with wireworms. Brown spots on the surface are scab disease. Grooves filled with soil - the potatoes are damaged by the larvae of the May beetle.

Testing potatoes for nitrates

It is easy to determine that potatoes were grown on mineral fertilizers, including nitrogen fertilizers. Try picking at it with your fingernail. If it easily entered the tuber, you should not take such potatoes. Another sign of excess nitrates is moisture oozing from the cut. Natural potatoes are elastic, juice does not leak from them, and when the skin is damaged, a characteristic cracking sound is heard. But you can accurately determine the amount of nitrates only if you have a nitrate meter.

When purchasing, it’s a good idea to ask where the potatoes came from. This is to assess the environmental reputation of the area - the presence of chemical plants, toxic and radioactive waste repositories, etc. A dosimeter to check radioactivity would also be useful.

Fairy tales

It is very difficult to grow organic potatoes without the use of chemicals; their cost is fabulous. So all producers of “natural” potatoes are lying. They only replace mineral fertilizers with organic ones. Potatoes with this technology are tastier, but they are still grown using pesticides. Although, if pesticides are used correctly, then there is no particular danger to your health.

The main signs of good potatoes

And so let's sum it up. A good potato should be: hard, dense, not split when cut, with a smooth skin, without roughness, without dark and green spots on the skin, with shallow eyes.

Where is the best place to store potatoes?

To store potatoes, choose a dry, dark, cool room. The best option– a cellar or basement that does not freeze. Optimal temperature storing potatoes + 2 degrees C, with air humidity from 85 to 90 percent. It is best to place potatoes in bins or boxes with holes for ventilation. Place the boxes on a stand 15–20 centimeters high, at some distance from the wall. Place 2 - 3 apples in the box between the tubers, then the potatoes will not sprout.

Happy shopping. I hope that my tips will help you choose environmentally friendly, healthy and tasty potatoes. So, without delay, go buy potatoes for future use. As soon as the first frost hits, its price will rise. And after buying good potatoes, you need to choose a modern pan to cook these potatoes.

Alexander Bobyr

We owe the appearance of potatoes in our lives to Christopher Columbus, who brought this crop from South America to Spain in the 16th century. In 1710, citizens of the Russian State tried potatoes for the first time - thanks to Peter I, who brought an outlandish root crop from Holland, but it was popular garden crops it became only towards the end of the 19th century. At first, the peasants who idolized turnips were hostile to the appearance of the new vegetable, dubbing it the “devil’s apple,” so Russian potato varieties appeared a little later, when the unusual product finally took root in Rus' and turned into “second bread.” The pleasant taste, nutritional value of potatoes, as well as the high content of vitamins B and C, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and amino acids have turned it into the most popular food in our country. It ranks second in importance after wheat, and people like to repeat: “In Rus' without potatoes is like a party without an accordion” or “Potatoes are our mother, and bread is our breadwinner.”

Description of potato varieties

There are about four thousand potato varieties in the world, which are classified according to different characteristics: ripening time, pulp density and tuber color.

Middle, mid-late and late potato varieties are tastier than early and mid-early varieties, since the less time the potato takes to ripen, the lower its starch content, and this affects the taste of root crops.

Based on the density of the pulp, potatoes are usually divided into four types - A, B, C and D, however, similar designations can most often be seen on imported potato packages. A is a non-boiling salad type potato with a minimum starch content, B is a weakly boiling potato variety, which is used for making chips, C is a highly boiling potato with medium mealiness, ideal for deep-frying, and D is a very mealy variety that is suitable for purees and casseroles.

It is difficult to say which variety of potatoes is the most delicious, since everyone has their own preferences and tastes - for example, Europeans value grades B and C, while Russians love class D potatoes, soft, crumbly and melting in the mouth.

Yellow potato varieties contain a lot of carotene - they are moderately sweet, not very boiled and pleasant to the taste, and the most popular among them are Rosalind, Symphony, Adretta and Vineta.

Red potato varieties contain a large amount of antioxidants, do not crumble when cooked, have a delicate delicate taste and are stored for a long time, so if you don’t know how to choose potatoes for the winter, buy red-thumb, sheri, roseval, rose -Finn-Apple” or the Ural “Kamenskoye” variety - you can’t go wrong!

White potato varieties, rich in starch and vitamin C, boil well and are juicy; among them, the most delicious are “white rossa”, “tiras”, “gypsy”, “minevra” and “erou”.

How to choose the right potatoes?

Despite the fact that large potatoes are more pleasant to peel, medium and small tubers contain much more nutrients, so if your goal is to choose a variety to store for the winter, do not focus on size. Also pay attention to the thickness of the peel - the thicker it is, the more mature the potato is considered, which means it has a better chance of surviving until spring.

Do not buy potatoes that have turned green or sprouted, as they are full of alkaloids that can cause poisoning. Small holes on the surface of the tubers indicate that the potatoes were “tasted” by a wireworm, brown spots are a sign of scab, a disease caused by fungal microorganisms, and the deep grooves are traces of the larvae of the cockchafer.

If the nail easily cuts the tuber, from which moisture oozes, then the potato was grown using nitrates. High-quality potatoes should be hard and elastic, with a smooth skin without external defects.

The best varieties of potatoes for boiling are those with red and pink skins, as they are not very starchy and hold their shape well. The most delicious variety of potatoes for mashed potatoes is round, with white skin and white flesh, as they are very crumbly, tender and boil instantly. For salads and frying, take less starchy varieties that retain their shape after heat treatment - oblong tubers of yellow and Brown with a yellow core.

You can often see on store shelves newest varieties potatoes - black, red, purple, blue and other colorful fruits of modern selection. The brighter the color of the tubers, the more the potato contains useful properties and antioxidants. You can talk a lot about potatoes, but it’s better to move from words to action - boil, fry, bake, stew and prepare a variety of tasty, appetizing and healthy dishes. As they said in Rus', eat potatoes and bread and you will live to be a hundred years old!

© Alexei Novikov | Dreamstime.com

This product is truly magical. In addition to being useful, it is also disastrously versatile. Well, what can you cook from potatoes? Yes all. An inventive Russian person can eat almost exclusively this irreplaceable product and at the same time it is varied, tasty and healthy.

But in order to eat this strategic product all year long, without exposing your body to danger and your taste buds to tests, you need to take care of buying high-quality potatoes for the winter in the fall. How to choose the right potatoes? Let's try to figure it out.

Appearance

It’s always more pleasant to peel large potatoes, which is why we try to buy larger ones. However, as for nutrients, medium and small potatoes have more of them.

Rules for long-term storage of cabbage in a cellar or in a home pantry - in.

How to get rid of chemicals in vegetables and fruits - read on.

Remembering the summer taste of new potatoes, I want this aromatic side dish with herbs and butter to appear on our table in winter. Therefore, when choosing, we sometimes give preference to potatoes with thin, flaky skin. And in vain. After all, such a skin is the first sign that the root vegetables are not ripe, and therefore will not be preserved for a long time. A mature root vegetable has a thicker and smoother peel, without peeling.

Before the purchase large quantity potatoes for winter supplies, ask whether they have been lying around since they were dug up or whether they were brought directly from the field. If the potatoes have just been dug up, they most likely won’t last long. Before laying on long-term storage potatoes need to “rest” for 2-3 weeks.

Which varieties to choose

The most delicious varieties Lorch, Smachniy, Ella, Stolovy 19, Ideal, Loshitsky are considered. However, the taste depends not only on the variety, but also on the soil in which it was grown. Very tasty potatoes grown on sandy soil. It is starchy, crumbly and aromatic. But potatoes grown on peat bogs contain an increased proportion of nitrogen fertilizers, which not only worsen their taste, but also reduce their benefits.

Diseases

• Be sure to check that there are no green specimens among the tubers. After all green color– a sign of the presence of alkaloids. This poison is formed in tubers under the influence of sunlight. Tubers with green skin are unsuitable for consumption.

Late blight on potatoes

• The most insidious potato disease is. Its insidiousness is manifested in the fact that outwardly the tubers look completely healthy, while the inside of the tuber is blackened. Phytophthora can be noticed from the outside only with very severe damage. Don’t be shy to ask the seller to cut a suspicious tuber for you. If you see blackened specimens among the potatoes, don’t even think about buying them.

Other “potato” diseases can be seen with the naked eye.

Wireworm

• Small round holes, for example, indicate that a wireworm managed to feast on these potatoes.

• Brown spots on the skin are evidence of a disease - scab.

Defeat by Khrushchev

• Large grooves filled with soil are a sign that the tuber is infected with the larvae of the cockchafer.

Testing for nitrates

Check whether the potatoes were grown on nitrogen and mineral fertilizers Can in a simple way, picking out a small piece. If the nail easily fits into the tuber, like cotton wool, you shouldn’t take it.

A sign of a large quantity is moisture oozing from the cut tuber.
Ecologically clean potatoes should be elastic, no juice should ooze from them, and when the skin breaks through, a characteristic, barely audible crack should be produced.

It will be easier to test for nitrates if you have a nitrate meter.

When purchasing, do not forget to ask where the crop came from. It goes without saying that you should be familiar with this area, and its environmental reputation should not be “tarnished” by the presence of any chemical enterprises, much less man-made disasters. It would be a good idea to use a dosimeter to check for radioactivity.

We hope that your cellar will boast environmentally friendly, healthy and high-quality potatoes!

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