Potatoes are a versatile and very tasty vegetable. You can prepare a huge number of dishes from it, and you will never get tired of it, even if you eat it every day.
How to buy potatoes correctly
You can always find potatoes in any market or in any store. But not everyone knows what to look for when buying. And it’s quite easy to choose, you just need to know some of its features.
Size. Most people like to buy larger potatoes because they are easier to peel than small ones. But it is best to take medium-sized potatoes (7-8 cm), because... it contains more nutrients. The peel should be smooth, without cracks.
Green. Potatoes should never be green! This is a sign of alkaloids, which are poisonous. Potatoes turn “green” when they come into contact with sunlight in the process of growth.
Diseases. The most common disease is late blight. Outwardly, this disease is not noticeable at all. But when you cut the potatoes, you can see the blackened inner part, which is inedible. In addition, there may be small black dots or holes on the potatoes - these are traces of the cockchafer or wireworm. This copy is also not worth buying. And when buying, it is best to ask the seller to cut one potato.
Purity. It is best to take potatoes without sticky soil. In this case, there will be no overpayment for weight, and it will be possible to check the entire surface of the root crop for the presence of diseases or greens. But washed potatoes are stored for a shorter time.
Nitrates. Before buying, you should pierce a couple of tubers with your fingernail: if this resembles “piercing cotton wool,” then you should not take such potatoes, because this is a sign of the presence of nitrates. Root vegetables should be firm and elastic. And it’s best if there are small sprouts on the potatoes - this indicates that the product is not genetically modified.
Potatoes can be young or old. Young potatoes have very thin skins, they are easy to peel and boil quickly. But such potatoes contain less starch, although this does not in any way affect their excellent taste qualities. And if the skin is not only thin, but also flaky, then this indicates that the potato is unripe - it will not be stored for a long time. Old potatoes have thicker and smoother skins.
In winter, potatoes should be purchased especially carefully. After all, sellers often try to sell frozen potatoes, which taste sweetish, although some people like it. If the potatoes are frozen, they will become damp to the touch when exposed to heat.
Potato varieties
There are a huge variety of potato varieties. There are some that are more suitable for boiling, and there are those that are more suitable for frying. When purchasing, you can ask the seller which variety is best to purchase, depending on the future dish.
For mashed potatoes, varieties with a high starch content (Sineglazka, Lugovskoy, Golubina, Elizaveta, etc.) are best suited.
For soup, it is better to choose varieties that do not fall apart when cooked (Krasavchik, Leader, Alvara, etc.).
For a unique fried potatoes varieties with a low starch content (Kolobok, Impala, Nadezhda, etc.) are best suited.
The most delicious potatoes are grown in the Voronezh, Kursk and Lipetsk regions, as well as in the Moscow region.
How to store potatoes
In order for potatoes to be stored for a long time, they must be free of damage and disease. It is best to choose root vegetables with strong skins. In addition, its shelf life depends on the variety and time of harvest (it is preferable to take September potatoes).
Potatoes must be prepared for storage: dry in the sun on all sides, cleaned of dirt, but not washed. Root vegetables should be carefully sorted, separating diseased tubers from healthy ones. Most best way Potato storage boxes are boxes. As a last resort, you can sprinkle the potatoes in a pile (no higher than 1 meter).
For long-term storage For potatoes, a cellar, balcony or corridor is suitable. In winter, root crops should not be allowed to freeze: you can cover them with an old blanket, and in summer, they should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
At home, potatoes can be stored from 1 to 3 months. And if the room temperature is not higher than +4 C, then the potatoes can last for about 9 months.
Potatoes will not be stored in the refrigerator for a long time ( high humidity) and may deteriorate.
Combination of potatoes with other products
This unique vegetable goes well with many foods. Potatoes will be especially tasty with creamy or sunflower oil, fish, greens, sauerkraut. Although nutritionists advise not to eat potatoes too often, because... It is a fairly heavy food and has a high calorie content.
Potatoes for long-term storage
If you are buying potatoes for winter storage, it is better to choose not one variety, but at least 2-3. This will make it more likely that some will last until spring, and in addition, your supplies will have potatoes for various culinary purposes. Potato varieties differ in purpose. But to establish "specialization" in appearance You can’t - you need to know the characteristics of the variety.
Buying potatoes in the store and at the market
In a supermarket, you can glean something from the inscription on the price tag or packaging. It’s good when the manufacturer writes for what culinary purposes the variety is suitable: for salad, for boiling, for frying. Now both foreign (Holland, France, Israel) and domestic suppliers often supply packaged potatoes with such explanations. By the way, the quality of washed packaged potatoes is the same everywhere; which country to choose is a matter of taste.
It’s more difficult when, instead of assigning a variety, they write: “delicacy potatoes,” “domestic potatoes,” or something like that. Then we arm ourselves with a magnifying glass and look for the “composition” column, if the label is present.
Starch content above 15% - suitable variety for puree . Below 15% - For soup and salad . Dry matter - no less than 20-24%, and reducing sugars - no more than 0.5% - such potatoes can be fried, they will not crumble in a frying pan or in a deep fryer and will not acquire a bitter chocolate “tan”. It happens that any data on the composition and purpose of a variety is missing. Then all that remains is to take the bag for testing and evaluate its qualities yourself.
At the market, many sellers can name the varieties they sell. Also useful information.
The most delicious varieties potatoes
For mashed potatoes It is recommended to take high-starch “loose” potatoes. The puree will be tender and fluffy, although very high in calories. Varieties: Blue, Lorch, Sineglazka, Lugovskoy, Adretta, Elizabeth.
When cooking mashed potatoes, it is better to put the tubers in boiling water, and for salad - in cold water. Until the water boils, some of the starch will be washed out of the “salad” potatoes, and they will not crumble.
For soup and salad - varieties with reduced starch content. They do not fall apart when cooked and do not disrupt our weight loss program: Leader, Handsome, Alvara, Red Scarlett, Nevsky, Luck, Nikulinsky.
Soon a new product may appear in grocery supermarkets salad variety Gourmet- with dark blue flesh and a high content of antioxidants. It can also be eaten fresh.
For frying
We choose varieties with a high dry matter content and the ability to “keep” starch from breaking down into sugars. Thanks to this property, potato slices retain their shape when fried. Varieties: Leader, Hope, Kolobok,Bryansk early,Zhukovsky early, Impala, Felox.
Which potatoes are better stored - washed or unwashed?
To wash or not to wash potatoes - not really important question. The same varieties, grown in the same way, are sold in washed and unwashed form. Only during washing are the potatoes sorted, removing tubers with defects and custom size. Therefore, there are practically no sick or spoiled people here. But washed potatoes store worse - if you need a “strategic reserve”, take unwashed ones.
What size potatoes to choose
If potatoes of the same variety are sorted by size, choose the largest one. Tubers that were ahead of their “brothers” in development had time to ripen better - they have more protein, vitamins, they are healthier and tastier.
Where do the best potatoes grow?
The best domestic potatoes grow in the Lipetsk, Voronezh, Kursk, Tambov, Tver regions, and in the Moscow region. This is a temperate climate plant; heat dramatically reduces the quality of its tubers. Potatoes brought from Bryansk, Leningrad region and from the north of Ryazan, you need to choose more pickily. In these regions there are both good and not quite suitable soils for potatoes, which produce a product of not the best quality.
Special mention should be made about the soil: when we buy unwashed potatoes, we have the opportunity to evaluate it. The worst option is sand (run your palm over the peel - you will feel hard grains of sand). On sand, the tuber is “liquid”, it is poorly stored, and darkens when cooked.
Potatoes from peat bogs can suffer from the same problems if they have been poorly cared for, but to a lesser extent. Peat can be recognized by its deep black color; when it dries, it hardly brightens, crumbles, and is present mainly in the form of dust on potato skins.
It is easiest to grow good potatoes on black soil and loam. If you see a potato with black, gray or brownish plastic “dirt” stuck to the tubers, take it boldly.
Why do potatoes turn dark when cooked?
There are many reasons for this, but we cannot identify any of them when purchasing. If farmers have gone too far nitrogen fertilizers, put the tubers in the storage too high, did not comply temperature regime, beat and squeeze the potatoes when harvesting - they will darken during cooking, especially after they have been kept warm for a couple of days. In fact, all modern varieties are relatively resistant to this scourge, but none completely solves the problem. Better than others in maintaining an “unblemished reputation”: Lorch, Handsome, Blue, Nikulinsky.
Fairy tales and storytellers: is it possible to grow potatoes without chemicals
Potatoes require fertilizers and protection from pests and diseases. Truly organic potatoes (without the use of “chemicals”) are incredibly difficult to grow, and their cost is incredible. Therefore, all suppliers of organic potatoes are a little disingenuous. Usually they only mean replacement mineral fertilizers organic. Tubers with this technology are more tasty, but their cultivation still requires pesticides. However, there is no need to panic - the main thing is that pesticides are used correctly.
Signs good potatoes:
- dense, hard;
- does not “crack” or split when cut;
- the peel is smooth, without roughness;
- has no dark spots on the skin;
- with shallow eyes.
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 maturing. They are tastier than the early ones due to their higher starch content, and for the same reason they last longer.
There is an international classification that divides 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 for purchasing can be considered the availability of 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 greater than 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 own experience choice of potatoes and 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 the visual characteristics of 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
Potatoes are one of the most important foods in the diet of almost any person. It is loved by adults and children; it is prepared by the thousands different ways, it is present in many dishes; it is no longer possible to imagine any menu without it. Add potatoes to milk, meat, fish, vegetables - and the taste of the dish will only benefit. Probably no other culinary product has such “versatility”. Potato nutritious, tasty and healthy - a rare combination.
As soon as this product was brought to our region by Peter the Great, it was not rightfully appreciated, to put it mildly. It took a long time before people realized the full value of potatoes. Now it is called the “second bread”, and for good reason - it is truly a miracle product.
It is not surprising that every gardener strives to get the highest quality and bountiful harvest this magnificent culture. After all, even if you have a supply of one potato, you won’t go to waste! Of course, over time, every smart gardener will gain experience in growing it. However, how will it come? Through mistakes, crop failures, losses and other unpleasant things. Therefore, we will extract the experience of others and use it in practice, that is, in the garden.
Don’t forget, potato yield depends 40% on planting material, and by as much as 60% - depending on the growing conditions! Everything is in your hands.
In general, potatoes are a fairly unpretentious crop, but there are many tips, as well as small secrets that will help to significantly increase the yield and its quality. Let's list some of them:
Secret No. 1. Disinfection and disinfection of planting material
The very first thing that needs to be done is to disinfect the tubers. Firstly, this will protect them from infection with diseases (for example, nematodes or late blight), and secondly, the mixtures with which they need to be treated will have a growth stimulating effect. In addition, planting material will become more stable and, as a result, the yield will be higher.
The word “treatment” means either spraying from a spray bottle (aerosol treatment) or soaking in a solution. Here is a list of the most effective disinfectant solutions:
- Dissolve a teaspoon of copper sulfate in three liters of water. This is a solution to soak for 2 hours.
- You can use special preparations “Baikal EM-1” or “Fitosporin-M”. All information on their use must be indicated on the packaging.
- If you are a principled opponent of any “chemistry,” try the following: dissolve a kilogram of crushed garlic in ten liters of water. This can be sprayed onto the tubers or kept in the solution for 3 hours. The solution has a disinfecting effect.
- The next option is to dissolve half a gram of potassium permanganate (colloquially potassium permanganate) and five grams of copper sulfate in ten liters of water. And also add fifteen grams boric acid(you can buy it at the pharmacy). Due to the latter addition, the solution will acquire not only disinfecting, but also nutritional properties. You can also add 50-60 grams of superphosphate to this solution.
- The following solution should only be used for aerosol application. Its components are half a gram of potassium permanganate, fifteen grams of boric acid, thirty grams of potassium sulfate, a gram of copper sulfate and forty grams of urea. One liter of solution is enough for 100 kg of planting material. Just keep in mind that if the tubers have already sprouted, then aerosol treatment cannot be used, since this solution is more aggressive. If the tubers have sprouted, you must first green them and then process them.
Secret No. 2. Pre-sowing treatment with microelements
This treatment is necessary to accelerate the emergence of seedlings and, of course, to increase the yield. Potatoes are an unpretentious crop, and pre-sowing treatment nutrient solution is necessary, but the concentration of microelements in it will be lower than in solutions for other crops.
To make ten liters of this solution, you need to take:
- 40 grams of ammonium nitrate (ammonium nitrate);
- 25\60 grams of ammophos\superphosphate (optional);
- 40\50 grams of potassium chloride\potassium sulfate (also optional).
There is also a recipe based on potassium nitrate:
- 40 grams of potassium nitrate (potassium nitrate);
- 40 grams of any nitrogen-containing fertilizers (ammonium nitrate, for example, or ammophos);
- 40 grams of superphosphate.
In addition, a complex of microelements must be added to any of these solutions:
- Cobalt nitrate / ammonium molybdate (optional) - one gram per ten liters (0.01%);
- Copper sulfate (to put it simply, copper sulfate)\borax\zinc sulfate (optional) - five grams per ten liters of solution (0.05%).
- Potassium permanganate - fifteen grams (0.15%, respectively).
Secret No. 3. Incisions
This is one of the most famous and effective ways increase productivity. The yield increase can reach up to 11-12%, and in some cases up to 15%! Its essence is to make a special stimulating incision, thanks to which sprouts located in the lower, middle, and upper parts will grow. Without using this trick, only the sprouts in the upper part will grow, and, as you understand, the more stems the bush has, the better the harvest will be in the end.
This simple operation should be performed two months before planting, that is, even before the germinating eyes appear. Don't forget to disinfect the knife you use to make cuts! It can be disinfected in brilliant green, potassium permanganate solution, and other disinfectants. There are two types of cuts: 
- Circular cut
This type of cut is relevant in case of early forcing of potatoes. It is made with a disinfected knife one centimeter deep (the depth of the phloem layer) so that it encircles the tuber. If this method is used, the outflow of all growth and nutrients is blocked to the apical part of the tuber, and, accordingly, the substances go to the lower lateral buds. What stimulates their development. And this affects the number of stems. The number of stems affects the yield. It's simple.
- Transverse cut
In this case, it is necessary to make a cut perpendicular to the axis of the tuber, leaving a small “bridge” a centimeter thick. The tuber does not split into the umbilical (lower) and apical halves, but the connection between these parts is interrupted. What does this give? All nutrients disperse evenly into different parts of the tuber (along all eyes), and they all germinate at the same time. The output is many powerful stems.
After any type of cut, the tubers must be laid out (on boxes or the floor) for germination. To avoid the transfer of diseases, do not forget about disinfection and use only completely healthy planting material for this process.
By the way, to make it easier to control the depth of the cut, figure out how to make a kind of one-centimeter limiter and attach it to the knife blade.
Secret No. 4. Proper watering
Potatoes, despite their hardiness and unpretentiousness, still love moisture. There is an opinion that it does not need to be watered at all - it is fundamentally wrong. Potatoes need to be watered. In hot summers it requires watering warm water to the root depth at least three times.
Watering is carried out under the bush or with a hose between the rows. Irrigation by sprinkling is far from the best best idea. With this method, there is a risk of developing diseases, and the tops can be affected by late blight. In general, it's better not to do this. In general, no matter what people say, watering potatoes in hot summer conditions can significantly increase the yield!
Secret No. 5. Furrow direction
Another interesting secret when growing potatoes is that when planting potatoes in furrows, their geographic direction must be taken into account. There is also some debate about this among potato growers, but the priority is still the direction of the furrows from north to south. When planting in this direction, yields should increase significantly.
What is the reason for this? It's very simple. The sun in our latitudes rises at sunrise and moves west. Accordingly, the first half of the day the beds will be illuminated from the east, and the second - from the west. This will give the plants uniform “doses” of lighting, which is what they actually need.
By the way, to ensure that the bushes receive as much heat and light as possible, consider the following indicators when planting:
- The distance between tubers is 35 centimeters;
- Between furrows - 70-80 centimeters.
Secret No. 6. Special break
So, the potatoes have bloomed. Two to three weeks after this point, simply take and break the stems at a height of about fifteen centimeters. Break it carefully so that the integrity of the branch is maintained.
What's the secret? The growth of the bush itself will stop, and all the nutrients will go down to the tubers, which will give impetus to their development. The result is a more abundant harvest. After all, our goal is not to grow huge bushes, but tubers.
This trick was invented almost a century and a half ago, and it has already stood the test of time and proven its effectiveness, so don’t worry about your plants - everything will be fine with them. The only point is that this method cannot be used on sick, weak bushes.
Secret No. 7. Two harvests from one bush
It would seem that it does not sound very logical, but it is quite possible to “crank it out” if certain agrotechnical nuances are observed.
First of all, make sure that your soil is suitable for this purpose - it should dry out quickly and warm up in the spring. This will allow you to start work faster. Clayey, heavy soils in the lowlands, unfortunately, are completely unsuitable.
In order to expect a repeat harvest, in early to mid-June, carefully dig up only the largest tubers, leaving the small ones on the roots. After this, bury everything except the selected large tubers back.
That's it! In a week, the bush will take root and by autumn it will again be able to please you with an excellent harvest. Only in the case of a double harvest, keep in mind that you will have to feed the bushes somewhat more abundantly due to more active depletion of the soil.
Secret No. 8. Balanced diet
It's not a secret, but a reminder. Balanced feeding is extremely important for the life and development of the plant and a good harvest. Feeding must be done in three stages.
The signal to start the first feeding should be weakly growing tops, stems, and their unhealthy pale color. If you notice these signs, it’s time to carry out the first stage of feeding. Compositions for fertilizing:
- Traditional composition: for 10 liters (bucket) of water - a tablespoon of urea.
- For opponents of “chemistry”: everything is the same, but instead of urea - 0.5 liters of bird droppings.
- Plant composition: Infuse a kilogram of finely chopped nettle in 10 liters of water.
Consumption - one liter per bush.
It begins during the flowering of the bushes. To feed, dissolve a glass of wood ash in a bucket of water. That's all. You can add a tablespoon of potassium sulfate, but you can do without.
The most important stage of feeding. When the potatoes have already bloomed, it will accelerate the growth of tubers. As usual, this time we dissolve a glass of bird droppings (or mullein) and two spoons of superphosphate in a 10-liter bucket.
Feed half a liter per bush.
That's it! By following these simple agricultural secrets, you will get a harvest that will amaze you. Put at least a little effort into the process of growing potatoes - and it will pay off in full when you eat a wonderful potato on a cold winter evening. potatoes in uniform.