Blog

Dec 13, 2023

12 Types of Potatoes and How to Cook With Them

By Julie Harans Affordable, versatile, and accessible, the humble potato is one of the most relied-upon food crops in the world—the third-most important, according to the International Potato Center.

By Julie Harans

Affordable, versatile, and accessible, the humble potato is one of the most relied-upon food crops in the world—the third-most important, according to the International Potato Center. They’re relatively easy to grow in a multitude of climates and conditions. Understanding the nuances (and names) of the thousands of different types of potatoes out there, though? Not quite as easy.

From the misconceptions around yams and sweet potatoes (which, yes, are two different things, neither technically a potato) to the sheer vastness of potato varieties, there’s considerable complexity around this seemingly simple label slapped on to such a broad range of root vegetables. But knowing the differences between all the kinds of potatoes you may encounter means you can make the most of their individual qualities for superior potato dishes, like the silkiest, butteriest mashed potatoes, the crispiest potato chips, and crave-worthy sweet potato casseroles, gratins, and beyond.

Nick Hukezalie, chef de cuisine of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, offers an overarching approach to deciding how to use any given potato: “Culinarily, we break potatoes down into two main categories: Floury [a.k.a. starchy] potatoes and waxy potatoes,” he says.

“Whenever you’re thinking about a dish made from floury potatoes, think of anything that has either a crispy-crunchy texture or a light and fluffy texture. A french fry is a perfect example: It has that fluffy interior and that crispy outside.” For applications like gnocchi, potatoes with high starch content add a desirable lightness due to their low water content. Using a waxy potato to make gnocchi would result in a gummy mess.

Waxy potatoes offer benefits of their own, and Hukezalie says these denser varieties offer creamy texture and a more stable structure. “Starchy potatoes tend to break down when you boil them,” he says. Waxy potatoes are more likely to keep their shape, making them a better fit for stews or potato salads, as well as baked dishes, like scalloped potatoes.

Dig deeper into the world of tubers with a breakdown of some popular varieties of potatoes, many of which you’ll likely find in your local grocery store. But note, Jason Grauer, director of farm innovation for Stone Barns Center, suggests seeking out regionally bred or adapted potatoes from nearby farmers markets, as experimenting with these distinct local discoveries can lead to even more delicious results.

Buy what you know you’ll cook within a week to 10 days, says Frank Muir, president of the Idaho Potato Commission. Storing potatoes in an open paper bag is the best way to keep out light and allow air to circulate. Keep potatoes in your pantry, cupboard, or basement—wherever it’s cool, dry, and dark. But keep them out of the refrigerator, which would adversely affect their flavor and texture.

Some recipes suggest placing sliced potatoes in cold water until you’re ready to cook them. While this works, it’s not great for every recipe. For something like latkes, you’re counting on the starch to hold the shreds of potato together; soaking the spuds will rinse that precious starch away. In these cases, the best answer is to work fast (and don’t worry too much about a small amount of browning, the frying will turn it golden anyway).

A potato that has started to sprout “is nature's way of saying, ‘You should’ve eaten me already.,’” says Muir. “It’s saying it wants to grow more potatoes.” That said, the potato is still edible. Just cut off any sprouts—and don’t wait any longer to cook it.

A green tinge on the skin of a potato means that chlorophyll has formed. This can happen when a potato is exposed to light—especially fluorescent light, Muir said. Supermarkets often cover their potato bins overnight to block out the light and prevent greening. While the potato likely isn’t harmful to consume, it may taste bitter, so you’ll want to peel or cut away the green areas first.

Tracing back to Massachusetts in the 1870s, russet potatoes (a.k.a. Idaho potatoes, named after the American state that predominantly grows this variety), are among the most versatile potatoes out there, thanks to their mild flavor and widespread availability. With deep brown-skin exteriors and white-to-light-yellow interiors, russets are high in starch and low in moisture. They crisp exceptionally well, making them a perfect pick for fried favorites like potato chips, latkes, french fries, and hash browns. This low moisture also means they’re highly absorbent—yielding super light and fluffy mashed potatoes when combined with butter and cream, and thickening hearty chowders. Chef and cookbook author Joshua McFadden notes their flavor is milder than some other types of potatoes popular for making mashed potatoes (looking at you, Yukon Golds); he usually considers what would best complement the rest of his menu before deciding between spuds.

Russets are a solid choice for roasting, but they are prone to turning dry and mealy, which is why we rely on extra-rich toppings like sour cream, butter, and cheese for baked potatoes. Fortunately, their thick, rough skin helps them stand up well to these hearty fillings. (If you do peel them when making a potato recipe, don’t toss those peels!)

A classic star of potato salads, these red potatoes live up to their name, featuring smooth, dark red skins and pale yellow flesh. Harvested young, these fall under the category of “new potatoes,” giving them a thin skin that doesn’t require peeling. Since they’re super waxy and low-starch, they won’t turn to mush under high heat. They’re especially great for boiling and result in tender interiors, hence their popularity for color-spiked potato salads, and they add a pleasant contrast to crisp salads, like a niçoise. Remember to go with a higher-starch option for mashes and gnocchis, in which the texture of Red Bliss can get gummy.

Developed by Cornell University in 2003, this newer potato variety ranges from round to oblong in shape and—despite its name—sports a deep purple throughout. This vibrant hue is thanks to a flavonoid group called anthocyanins, the same pigments that give color to produce like red onions, blueberries, and other similarly hued ingredients. Not all blue potatoes are created equally. Unlike some anthocyanin-rich spuds, Adirondack Blues retain their vibrant color during cooking. Others may be quicker to fade and can take on a grayish tint. (However, don’t assume that all purple potatoes are related. The same goes for white potatoes and yellow potatoes. “Color is not something that’s really indicative of the type of potato,” says Grauer. It’s more likely to hint to nutrient content and flavor.)

The medium-starch nature of these blue potatoes is similar to that of Yukon Gold potatoes, and their distinct density means they’ll hold up well when roasted in the oven or boiled. Their appearance makes for visually stunning twists on classics that are guaranteed to wow guests, so keep these in mind as a side dish for your next potluck picnic or dinner party.

Another ubiquitous and all-purpose potato, Yukon Golds were developed in Canada in the 1960s. They feature fittingly golden flesh and skin, with a texture that toes the line between waxy and starchy, so they’re versatile enough to use in pretty much any recipe. These medium-size spuds can break down into a mash but can also hold their shape in the oven, the sautée pan, and the fryer—and in soups and stews as well. We use Yukon Golds in Our Favorite Mashed Potatoes recipe not only because of that waxy-starchy texture, but also because of their rich, buttery flavor that creates a creamy, luscious result. Their thinner skins can be left on or peeled to play up their creaminess even more.

These oval potatoes are beloved for their rich, sweet flavor and their striking deep, dark purple skin. Their flesh maintains its structure during cooking, while offering the antioxidant properties that purple potatoes are known for. Their moist-yet-firm flesh is fairly low in starch. Therefore, it’s best to skip Purple Majesty potatoes for preparations like gnocchi and mashed potatoes and stick to deep-frying, pan-frying and roasting them.

A stunning spud with richly hued, mostly smooth purple skins covering the creamy white flesh, caribes are oblong-shaped and often large. While they’re relatively versatile, they are classified as starchy potatoes. It’s tempting to maintain their aesthetic, but they’re better-suited to fluffy mashes rather than dishes that require the tubers to hold their shape, like baked gratins or boiled potato salads.

With a small, long shape and knobby skin, fingerling potatoes may resemble a miniature version of other potato varieties, but they’re actually fully grown tubers. Introduced to the US market in 1950, the subset of French fingerlings did indeed originate in France. They’re distinguished from other fingerlings by their rounder shape, deep pink skin, and reddish-pink marbling that appears in their pale yellow flesh. “They take really well to simple preparations where the potato kind of stays whole,” Hukezalie says. Showcase their waxy nature and earthy, nutty flavors by roasting with chicken, or opt for McFadden’s go-to, fingerling potato salad, where their size offers extra convenience.

Hailing from the Peruvian Andes, this variety is small and long like the rest of its fingerling family, with a dark purple shade all the way through. They’re considered starchy potatoes like russets, so they have a light and fluffy texture when cooked. While the interiors of Purple Peruvians tend to lighten a bit during cooking, they still add standout color to dishes, not to mention those pleasantly earthy notes that are often associated with purple-hued potatoes. Hukezalie describes the variety as “a really, really great floury potato” and the top pick at the restaurant for making gnocchi. “It makes a really beautiful, fluffy gnocchi that has a really great amount of flavor.”

The most popular sweet potato variety found in US grocery stores, Beauregards are typically large in size with purply-red skin and a deep orange flesh. They can certainly be baked, roasted, and simmered into stews, but they don’t hold up quite as well to high heat as other varieties. The flesh becomes softer, juicier and sometimes stringy and mushy during cooking, so they’re ideal for mashing or puréeing into pies and other desserts, or steaming and even blending into hummus. Other sweet potatoes may offer more nuance when it comes to flavor, but the Beauregard’s sweetness and accessibility can’t be beat.

Sweet potatoes and yams are often misunderstood (and even mislabeled!) as one and the same. In fact, they’re two entirely different categories of root vegetable. The most common yam varieties contain white flesh that’s starchier and much less sweet than orange-fleshed sweet potatoes—starchier even than most actual potatoes.

Jewel yams are technically sweet potatoes that got their misnomer due to a marketing ploy in the 1930s. Their skin boasts a brighter orange than Beauregards, with a similarly colored flesh and a slightly less sweet flavor profile with subtle earthy notes. Jewel yams may get a little watery during cooking because of their high moisture content, but in most cases they are just as versatile as Beauregards—think baking into casseroles and roasting to add softness to a bright salad.

While their origin doesn’t actually trace back to Japan (rather, Central and South America), this root vegetable has been a favorite in its namesake country since the early 1700s. Japanese sweet potatoes (specifically the Murasaki variety) are easy to distinguish from their more common US relatives like Beauregards because of their deep magenta skin and their light-colored flesh that ranges from yellow to off-white. Japanese sweet potatoes are less watery, more starchy, and more creamy than orange-fleshed ones, making them excellent for roasting whole and even grilling, yielding nicely browned skins and pudding-like centers. Their flavor is sweet like Beauregards, but in a more complex way that offers earthy notes often likened to chestnuts. While McFadden had a whole-baked one in Japan that “blew my mind,” he also recommends using them for a classic sweet potato mash.

At Blue Hill, chef Hukezalie serves a salt-baked sweet potato using Murasaki. “That’s one of our favorite preparations, because the salt helps pull up a little bit more of the moisture out of the potato.”

Also known as red yams, garnets are another sweet potato variety with a misleading alias. However, they’re much closer in appearance to their true relatives, donning reddish-orange skin and vibrant orange interiors that stay particularly vivid after cooking. With a higher water content than Beauregards and Jewels and an earthy-sweet flavor, this type of potato can be roasted until delightfully soft, puréed into a showstopping cheesecake, or mashed to create a fluffy gnocchi.

This story contains additional reporting by Janet Rausa Fuller and Esther Sung.

By Joe Sevier

By Zoe Denenberg

By Joe Sevier

By Zoe Denenberg

By Anikah Shaokat

By Maggie Hoffman

By Sam Burros