The potato is a tuberous crop from the perennial nightshade Solanum tuberosum, with white or violet flowers and roots in the soil that end with oval or elongated tubers. Edible tubers are the reason this is cultivated, rich in starch, that is why this is used as food and feed.

Types of potatoes

Potatoes are of several types: sweet, red, white, dark, purple, small or elongated. All of these potato varieties have different cooking characteristics, taste and recommendations.

Here’s a description of the four most common types of potatoes:

Sweet potato

Taste: With a moderate sugar content, sweet, tasty and savory. Texture: Wet, velvety and slightly waxy. Utility: In salads, pasta, roasting or grilling.

Red potato

Taste: With a moderate sugar content, sweet. Texture: Creamy and slightly waxy. Utility: In soups, in steaks, in salads, pasta.

White potato

Taste: With a low sugar content, a bit sweet. Texture: Slightly dense, creamy. Utility: Stuffed, boiled, steamed, in salads or fried.

Purple potato

Taste: Low in sugar and slightly nutty. Texture: Hard, sticky, wet and floury. Utility: For baking, salads or barbecue.

The potato was grown for the first time approximately in the year 8000 B.C., in Peru, and did olny reach Europe in 1570, when it was used to feed domestic animals. Over time, potato was not only used in gastronomy, but as a remedy against diseases by the Incas. Not far from today, the potato was used for house cleaning. Today, this ingredient is the base of some of the most popular dishes and can be found in over 4,000 different varieties worldwide.

Potatoes are part of the complex carbohydrates-food group, it is a good source of potassium, contains phosphorus, folic acid, vitamins A, B2, B6, vitamin C (which is destroyed at high cooking temperatures).
Improves kidney and stomach function, has antibiotic properties (juice), lowers blood pressure and treats ulcers, gastritis.
On top of that, it is not fattening,  relieves dry cough (through inhalation of steam of the potato tincture ) and removes eyelid swellings (through external applications), soothes burned skin and sunstroke.

Nutritional values ​​for 100g food:

Energy value: 353 kJ, 85 kcal

Fat: 0.1 g, Carbohydrates: 19 g, of which sugars 1.0 g, Fiber 3.1 g, Protein: 2 g, Salt: 0.01 g

Preparation and consumption
 
Due to the high starch content, potatoes must be cooked in order to be digested. While French fries are highly acidic and contain too many calories, according to Dr. Susan E. Brown (The Acid Alkaline Food Guide), baked potatoes, barked or steamed, are alkaline. As 10-50% of potassium will infuse in the boiling water, soups are beneficial, while boiling and throwing out the boiled water equals the waste of nutrients. Although one of the most popular side dishes is mashed potato made with cow’s milk and a lot of butter, besides teak, this combination is incorrect (because it associates proteins with carbohydrates), it is difficult to digest and promotes fattening. Any dairy product associated with potatoes makes potatoes hard to digest. Potatoes should be combined properly with cereals, vegetables, greens, salads, uncooked dishes.

Attention!

Except the tubers, all parts of the plant contain solanine (alkaloid) and are toxic (also used as insecticides). Also, solanine is present in large quantities also in barked potatoes and the ones that turned green already. Do not eat barked or green potatoes. Solanine intoxication has consequences as nausea, vomiting, stomach irritation, headache, poor general condition. Repeatedly draw the attention of your children’s nursery school to this issue, because, for economic reasons, potatoes are not usually thrown away and are introduced into the kids’ soups and mashed potatoes. The same thing is practiced by many grandparents who want to save money and do not bother to throw away the barked and green potatoes.