What is the difference between red potatoes and white?

Question

and can anyone give me a suggestion to make with steak and red potatoes... I dont know how to cook them or what goes with them... thanks

Answer 1

biggest difference in potatoes is their use, which is defined by their sugar and starch content. Different cooking methods are best for certain colors.

For instance, if I am baking them, or double baking and stuffing them, I of course would like to have a large, uniform Idaho white potato. They bake the best, and properly treated, develop a nice strong shell useful for holding their contents.

If I wanted to rice poitatoes for potato pancakes, I would choose medium sized firm red potatoes. These cook the fastest by boiling and will rice and mash easily. These will mash to a stiff consistency and hold their shape in a bowl, or surrounded by an ocean of gravy.

For savory mashed potatoes, I choose Yukon Gold which add a level of creaminess and flavor unfound in any other potato.

For a simple, easy to fix potato, high on taste and texture, New red potatoes cannot be beat. Just boil and drench in melted butter and forget anything else.

For homemade french fries, I also use red potatoes as they have less starch than whites and will fry up tender with crisp edges.

For dinner, just bouil a bunch of red poatoes until done. After they cool, peel them if you wish, quarter in a bowl and drizzle with some olive oil and fresh herbs, or melted butter and salt and pepper. Enjoy dinner, don't stress out, they're just spuds

Answer 2

red potatoes have a red skin and pink flowers, and they are slightly sweeter than white potatoes.

Answer 3

Red potatoes are less starchy, they have a more 'waxy' consistency.  You can boil them.  You can't boil russett potatoes very well because the starch absorbs water and they will fall apart, but red potatoes do very well boiled.  You can also steam them.  Before boiling or steaming, cut the bigger ones so all the pieces are about the same size and will cook in the same time.  Serve them with the skins on, perhaps drizzled with a bit of olive oil.

Answer 4

The difference is in the starch content.  White potatoes contain more starch in them, become mealy and fall apart easier, therefore are better for mashed potatoes.  Red potatoes are waxier and hold together better, they're better for things like potato salad where you want the pieces to hold their shape.

Here's a recipe for Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic

http://www.cherskitchen.com/recipes/side...

Answer 5

Both are equally good for cooking, they just have a different taste variation and color:

Here is what I found from the Idaho Potatoe Center for Research and Education

"Potatoes with red skin are generally used for boiling and mashing because the tuber flesh does not readily break apart when boiled. Round, white potatoes are most commonly used to make chips because the tubers have a relatively high percentage of dry matter (low percentage of water). However, other white-skinned varieties can be used for other purposes. Russet-skinned potatoes are used for all purposes except making potato chips. Although potatoes were developed for a particular purpose, you can still use one type of potato for most any purpose, but the quality of the end product may be inferior."

Answer 6

red potatoes have more taste the white potatoes so i rather use red potatoes