On Potatoes.

That $1.29 5-lb bag of Eastern White potatoes got me thinking about potatoes in general. Over the past few years, I seem to have become a potato person. I never thought this would happen.

True, potatoes can be a cheap and dependable carbohydrate for meals, but that’s no reason to simply consume them. They store well and keep, vary in taste, size, color, and texture and are infinitely useful. The Incans cultivated many hundreds of varieties adapted to both varied sun conditions and terrains, up and down the sides of the Andes. But I never really ate potatoes before. Maybe it was the “fattening” [untrue] rep they had? My grandmother ate potatoes with dinner every single day of her life and lived to 92. Maybe a nascent gene from the Polish side of my family is surfacing? Either way, I’m a convert now.

However, Eastern Whites are not usually my first choice for potatoes. But at less than 26-cents per pound, I was not passing up that bag. In fact, I went back at the end of the week for a second bag (there was a limit of one per store visit.) At that price and with that quantity on hand, I didn’t feel so guilty about the waste incurred while I practiced “turning” potatoes for Pommes Fondant [potatoes sautéed in duck fat w/thyme.] Really? You have no duck fat stored in your freezer? You should. I certainly hope you didn’t waste any of that rendered liquid gold left over the last time you roasted ducks for a party of 12 … but I digress.

These Eastern Whites are fairly basic spuds. They could have been any of a number of varieties. The bag listed Maine as their place of origin, so they were probably MaineStays: a high yield, late maturing type with white skin and white flesh. I chunkily cubed two huge ones last night and dropped them into a pot of vegetable soup. I steamed a number of small ones and tossed them with butter, salt and parsley as a side dish with broiled bone-in chicken. They were OK, serviceable. I would not roast them; the moisture content is a bit high and they don’t caramelize that well (I’ve done it before). I’m sure they’d be about OK to mash. But again, not my first choice for that preparation.

My faves? Well, that all depends on what you’re doing with them. Here are my thoughts on a scant few varieties:

All around goes to Yukon Golds. They’re widely available, good with the skin on or off, good large or small, and flavorful all on their own. I’ll use these for any dish. Unpeeled: They’re unbelievable cut as steak fries and roasted with a ton of garlic and sea salt. Great quartered and roasted with fresh rosemary and other root vegetables. Excellent baked like an Idaho, since the golden interior already is like butter – but please, do feel free to add more. Peeled or unpeeled: steamed then sliced warm over a salad. Peeled: Great peeled and steamed – my favorite potato with steamed sweet potatoes in a Sherry vinaigrette with fresh sage leaves that I make, eaten hot, warm or cold. Sliced for scalloped potatoes, they’re already creamy and buttery. Diced for potato salads with all fresh summer ingredients. Try these for latkes. And of course, mashed. Yukons end up golden and creamy like nobody’s business.

Purple. I love these, not only for the color. Roasted, skin on: very good, nutty but sweet. Steamed, quartered w/butter: very good. Sliced warm on a salad: ditto. Small purples, Red Bliss and Yukons together on the grill for Red White & Blue potatoes on the 4th of July. Try to find smaller ones. Fresh only, please. Make sure the skin is smooth and taut. These can be pricey if you can find them, so buy only good ones. Once they shrivel, the taste (and cooking results) seem to go south. Easily a dozen blue/purple varieties. What you probably find is the “All Blue,” although you may find true Peruvians if you’re lucky. I plan to grow a type of blue this summer.

Fingerling. Nutty, golden, delicious. Useful. Shapewise, can be amusing. Can be pricey. Keep the skins on and roast with entire heads of garlic. Then squeeze the garlic cloves out of their paper, toss with the fingerlings in a large bowl and sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Oh yeah, delish. Excellent sliced warm over a salad, and don’t forget the bacon. Many, many varieties. What you find is likely “salad fingerlings.” I plan to grow Russian Banana fingerlings this summer.

Red Bliss or “New” Potatoes. The only kind my mother buys, I’m not as big a devotee. But please, keep the skin on. Small, round baby ones are good to roast with rosemary. You can’t go wrong with reds if you’re doing a clambake or lobster boil. Some people like them mashed, skin on, for “dirty potatoes,” but I find the moisture content too high for uniformly good results. Good for summer potato salads. Good with lemon and fresh parsley, too.

Russet Burbank. America’s spud. Actually, Russets account for 40% of U. S. potato growing acreage. All around useful and available everywhere. French fries, boiled, baked, roasted, hash-browned, mashed. Soups, stews, pot roasts. But to me, they’re just baking potatoes.