Russet Potato
Selection Information
Usage: Baking, frying, mashing, roasting, boiling. Russets are often used to make french fries
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.
Storage: Do not wash raw Russet Potatoes before storing - washing them speeds development of decay.
Store Russet Potatoes in a cool (40 - 50° F), dry, well ventilated, dark place to protect them from light exposure and to inhibit quick sprouts from growing. If your potatoes do begin to sprout or grow, cut off the sprouts. If you don't have good storage available, buy in smaller quantities and more often.
Do not refrigerate or freeze uncooked potatoes as this changes the potatoes' starch into sugar. This alters the taste of potatoes and causes the flesh to darken when cooked.
Avoid: Avoid product that is soft, wrinkled, is sprouting at all, has cuts in the skin or is green-tinted.
Seasonal Information
Russet Potatoes are available year-round.
Washington Russet potatoes are available from August through January.
Russet Potato Nutritional Information
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Russet Potatoes are Fat-free, Very low sodium, Source of fiber, High in vitamin C, Cholesterol-free. Russets have a high sugar content.
Russet Potato Tips & Trivia
- Burbank Russet Potaotes were developed by Luther Burbank in the 1870's but he sold the rights to them in 1875.
- Do not store potatoes in the refrigerator. Refrigeration converts the starch in potatoes to sugar which will cause the potato to darken when cooked.
- Prolonged exposure to light causes greening and makes the potato taste bitter. Peel or pare green area from the potato before using.
- The world's most important vegetable, the potato was first cultivated in the Andean region of South America by native Indian populations. Spanish explorers took the tuber back to Spain in the middle of the 16th Century, and from there it spread to the rest of Europe. The potato was promoted in Prussia by Fredrick the Great, frowned upon in Scotland (Presbyterians were concerned because the Bible failed to mention potatoes as a crop), and quickly adopted by the Irish as their primary food crop. How potatoes came to North America is the subject of several conflicting legends. One creditable source reports that some of the first plantings were those started in New Hampshire, from stock brought from Ireland.
- The present name came about as an accident, having derived from the Spanish "patata," meaning sweet potato.
