Consumer Information
Select potatoes that are well-formed, smooth and firm, and without discoloration, cracks, bruises or soft spots. Avoid potatoes with green-tinted skin -- "green" potatoes have been exposed to light and can have a bitter taste.
Potatoes are classified by shape, skin color and use. Russets are good for a variety of uses but are best for baking. Rounded or long whites can be used for either boiling and baking, and small red and specialty gourmet potatoes are ideal for boiling. "New" potatoes, small potatoes that are dug early before the skins have set, are best boiled or steamed.
|
RUSSET |
RED |
WHITE |
USE |
Baking, frying, mashing, roasting, boiling |
Baked, roasted & fried. |
Baked, fried, boiled, roasted. Especially good for potato salad. |
SELECTION |
Good-quality Russet potatoes will be firm, have a net-like texture to the skin and russet-brown coloring. They should have few eyes, and those few eyes should be shallow. |
Good-quality red potatoes will be firm, smooth-skinned and have bright-red coloring. They should have few eyes, and those few eyes should be shallow. |
Good-quality white potatoes will be firm, smooth-skinned and brilliant-white to cream coloring. They should have few eyes, and those few eyes should be shallow. |
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Do not wash your potato before storing. Washing speeds decay. Potatoes can be safely stored in a dry, dark place for three months at 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Buy only a week's supply if you must store them at higher temperatures; heat causes sprouting and shriveling. Do not store potatoes in the refrigerator. Below 40 degrees, potato starch turns to sugar and will result in darkening of potatoes during cooking. While this may create an off-appearance, it is in no way harmful. In fact, the dark spots just reveal the presence of a higher concentration of sugars.
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Bake, boil or steam potatoes in their skins. Some nutrients close to the skin are lost when potatoes are peeled before cooking. If you must peel them, use a vegetable parer and peel as thinly as possible. Do not soak peeled potatoes in cold water to crisp them, since some nutrients will dissolve in the water. Some recipes are provided to give you ideas for preparing your potato.
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Oven Baking Directions
|
Convection |
Conventional |
Equipment |
18” x 26” tray |
18” x 26” tray |
Oven Temperature |
375 ° F |
425 ° F |
Time |
50 ~ 55 min. |
55 ~60 min. |
210 ° F is the internal temperature of a perfect Sunspiced â baked potato.
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Microwave Directions
Wash and dry medium sized potatoes. Pierce with a fork in several places.
Arrange on a paper towel at least one inch apart.
Microwave on high as directed below. Turn potatoes once halfway through cooking time. Cook until potatoes just begin to feel soft when pressed.
Wrap in foil. Let stand 5 minutes.
Number of Potatoes |
Microwave Time on High |
1 Medium Potato |
3 ~ 5 minutes |
2 Medium Potatoes |
6 ~ 8 minutes |
3 Medium Potatoes |
9 ~ 11 minutes |
4 Medium Potatoes |
12 ~ 14 minutes |
Should I use Foil ?
Never bake (or especially microwave) potatoes in foil . This will not decrease baking time, but will result in a soggy potato interior with wet skin.
Wrapping a baked potato in foil after it has been baked will allow you to hold it up to 45 minutes. The best method for holding a baked potato is in a warming drawer. Second best is a heat-proof cabinet where foil-wrapped potatoes can be held for 45 minutes, but with an interior temperature loss of about 20 ° F.
Before serving a baked Sunspiced â Potato, use a fork to pierce the skin in the form of a cross. Do not cut with a knife, as this flattens the surface and prevents the potato from being fluffy. Open the potato just before serving by pressing the ends toward the center and lifting and fluffing the meat of the potato with a fork.
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The potato is a near perfect food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has stated that
"a diet of whole milk and potatoes would supply almost all of the food elements necessary for the maintenance of the human body".
The potato itself is 99.9% fat-free and yet it is a nutrient-dense food. Because of that, it is an important dietary staple in over 130 countries.
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