Which potatoes are best for storage. How to choose potatoes when buying on the market or in a store for storage for the winter Potatoes are better purchased or homemade

We owe the appearance of potatoes in our lives to Christopher Columbus, who brought this crop from South America to Spain in the 16th century. In 1710, citizens of the Russian State also tried potatoes for the first time - thanks to Peter I, who brought an outlandish root crop from Holland, however, it became a popular garden crop only to late XIX century. At first, the peasants, who idolized turnips, took the appearance of a new vegetable with hostility, dubbing it the "devil's apple", so Russian varieties of potatoes appeared a little later, when the unusual product finally took root in Rus' and turned into a "second bread". Pleasant taste, nutritional value potatoes, as well as the high content of vitamins B and C, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and amino acids, have turned it into the most popular food in our country. it ranks second in importance after wheat, and people like to repeat: “In Rus', without potatoes, it’s like a party without an accordion” or “Potato is our mother, and bread is our breadwinner.”

Description of potato varieties

There are about four thousand varieties of potatoes in the world, which are classified according to different criteria: ripening time, pulp density and tuber color.

Middle, middle and late varieties potatoes are tastier than early and mid-early varieties, since the less time it takes for potatoes to ripen, the lower the starch content in it, and this affects palatability root crops.

According to the density of the pulp, potatoes are usually divided into four types - A, B, C and D, however, such designations can most often be seen on imported potato packages. A is a non-boiling salad-type potato with minimal starch content, B is a slightly soft potato variety, it is used for making chips, C is a very soft potato with medium flouriness, ideal for deep-frying, and D is a very mealy variety that is suitable for purees and casseroles.

It is difficult to say which variety of potatoes is the most delicious, because everyone has their own preferences and preferences - for example, Europeans appreciate varieties B and C, and Russians love class D potatoes, soft, crumbly and melt in your mouth.

Yellow varieties of potatoes contain a lot of carotene - they are moderately sweet, not very boiled and pleasant in taste, and the most popular among them are Rosalind, Symphony, Adretta and Vineta.

Red varieties of potatoes contain a large amount of antioxidants, do not crumble when cooked, have a delicate delicate taste and are stored for a long time, so if you do not know how to choose potatoes for the winter, buy red-tamb, sheri, roseval, rose -finn-apple" or the Ural "Kamensky" variety - you can't go wrong!

White varieties of potatoes, rich in starch and vitamin C, are perfectly boiled and juicy, among them the most delicious are "white rossa", "tiras", "gypsy", "minevra" and "erow".

How to choose the right potato?

While large potatoes are nicer to peel, medium and small potatoes contain a lot more nutrients, so if your goal is to choose a variety to store for the winter, don't go for size. Also pay attention to the thickness of the peel - the thicker it is, the more mature the potato is considered, which means it is more likely to lie down until spring.

Do not buy green or sprouted potatoes, as they are loaded with alkaloids that can cause poisoning. Small holes on the surface of the tubers indicate that the wire beetle “tasted” the potatoes, brown spots are a sign of scab, a disease caused by fungal microorganisms, and deep grooves are traces of larvae Maybug.

If the nail easily cuts the tuber, from which moisture oozes, then the potato is grown using nitrates. Quality potatoes should be firm and elastic, with a smooth skin without external defects.

The best boiled potatoes are those with red and pink skins, as they are not very starchy and hold their shape well. The most delicious variety of mashed potatoes is round, with a white skin and white flesh, as it is very crumbly, tender and boils instantly. For salad and frying, take less starchy varieties that retain their shape after heat treatment - oblong tubers of yellow and Brown with a yellow core.

Often seen on store shelves newest varieties potatoes - black, red, purple, blue and other multi-colored fruits of modern selection. The brighter the color of the tubers, the more the potato contains useful properties and antioxidants. You can talk a lot about potatoes, but it’s better to move from words to deeds - boil, fry, bake, stew and cook a lot of delicious, mouth-watering and healthy meals. As they said in Rus', eat potatoes and bread - you will live to be a hundred years old!

Potatoes for long term storage

If you buy 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, you will have potatoes in your stocks for various culinary purposes. Potato varieties vary in purpose. But set "specialization" by appearance you can’t - you need to know the characteristics of the variety.

Buying potatoes in the store and on the market

In the supermarket, something can be gleaned from the inscription on the price tag or packaging. It is good when the manufacturer writes for what culinary purposes the variety is suitable: for salad, for cooking, 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 give preference to is a matter of taste.

It is 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% - the variety is suitable for puree . Below 15% - For soup and salad . Dry matter - at least 20-24%, and reducing sugars - no more than 0.5% - such potatoes can be fried, they will not crumble in a 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 the variety are not available. Then it remains only to take a bag for a sample and evaluate its quality yourself.

In the market, many sellers can name the varieties they sell. Also useful information.

The most delicious varieties of potatoes

For mashed potatoes it is recommended to take high-starchy potatoes - "loose". Puree will be tender and lush, however, very high-calorie. 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 it will not crumble.

For soup and salad varieties with low starch content. They do not fall apart during cooking and do not disrupt our weight loss program: Leader, Handsome, Alvara, Red Scarlett, Nevsky, Luck, Nikulinsky.

Soon, gastronomic supermarkets may have a new lettuce grade Gourmet- with dark blue flesh and high content of antioxidants. It can also be eaten fresh.

For frying we choose varieties with a high content of dry matter and the ability to "keep" starch from breaking down into sugars. Thanks to this property, potato slices retain their shape during frying. Varieties: Leader, Hope, Kolobok,Bryansk early,Zhukovsky early, Impala, Felox.

Which potato is better stored - washed or unwashed

To wash or not to wash potatoes is not really a very important question. In the washed and unwashed form, they sell the same varieties, equally grown. Only during washing, the potatoes are sorted out, removing tubers with defects and non-standard sizes. Therefore, there are practically no sick people spoiled here. But washed potatoes are stored worse - if you need a "strategic reserve", take unwashed ones.

What size potatoes to choose

If potatoes of one variety are sorted by size, choose the largest one. The tubers, which outstripped their "brothers" in development, had time to ripen better - they have more protein, vitamins, they are healthier and tastier.

Where the best potatoes grow

The best domestic potatoes grow in the Lipetsk, Voronezh, Kursk, Tambov, Tver regions, in the Moscow region. This is a temperate plant, the heat drastically reduces the quality of its tubers. Potatoes brought from the Bryansk, Leningrad regions and from the north of Ryazan must be chosen more meticulously. In these regions, there are both good and not quite suitable soils for potatoes, giving a product of not the best quality.

Special mention should be made of the soil: buying 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 the sand, the tuber is "liquid", it is poorly stored, it darkens when cooked.

Potatoes from peatlands can suffer the same deficiencies if poorly cared for, but still to a lesser extent. You can recognize peat by its deep black color; when it dries, it almost does not brighten, crumbles, and is present on the skin of potatoes mainly in the form of dust.

It is easiest to grow good potatoes on chernozems and loams. When you see potatoes with black, gray or brownish plastic "dirt" stuck to the tubers, take it boldly.

Why do potatoes darken when cooked?

There are many reasons for this, but we will not be able to identify any of them when buying. If the farmers went too far with nitrogen fertilizers, put the tubers in the storage too high a layer, did not comply temperature regime, beaten and squeezed potatoes when harvesting - it will darken when cooked, especially after lying warm for a couple of days. In fact, all modern varieties are relatively resistant to this scourge, but not one completely solves the problem. Better than others, they maintain a "spotless reputation": Lorch, Handsome, Blueness, Nikulinsky.

Tales and storytellers: is it possible to grow potatoes without chemistry

Potatoes require fertilizer and protection from pests and diseases. A truly organic potato (without the use of "chemistry") is incredibly difficult to grow, its cost is fabulous. Therefore, all suppliers of organic potatoes are a little cunning. Usually they mean only the replacement of mineral fertilizers with organic ones. Tubers with this technology are tastier, but their cultivation is still not complete without pesticides. However, there is no need to be afraid of panic - the main thing is that pesticides are used correctly.

Signs of a good potato:

dense, hard;
does not "crack", does not crack when cut;
the peel is smooth, without roughness;
does not have dark spots on the peel;
with shallow eyes.

If you do not live in a private house and do not grow your own potatoes in the country, you have to buy them in the market and in the store. Today, potato prices are not as low as we would like, and therefore the buyer every time has to choose potatoes with particular care.

No one wants to pay money for a low-quality product when, during cleaning, almost half of the entire root crop has to be thrown away.

But low-quality potatoes are found everywhere, and you can avoid trouble only by paying attention right choice potatoes in the store or on the market ..

How to choose potatoes in the market

1. Since you have access to a box of potatoes in stores and in the market, and you do not buy a lot of them, try to inspect all the tubers. Preference is given to potatoes of small and medium size. Large root crops are very unpredictable in terms of quality, they can turn out to be rotten, empty, badly spoiled by diseases and pests.

2. In order to choose potatoes on the market and not make a mistake, you need to pay attention to tubers with the most correct symmetrical shape. Damaged, "wounded" and suspicious tubers should be put aside.

3. Pay attention to any spots, lesions and dots on the peel. Usually, under all these minor problems lie deep lesions that go deep into the root crop. When cleaning all these areas, you just have to cut and discard.

4. To choose the right potatoes in the market and in the store, you will also have to pay attention to the color of the tubers. Green potatoes should be set aside. If you buy such potatoes, all green areas will have to be cut off, as they contain poison - solanine, which is harmful to humans in large volumes.

5. The next point in choosing potatoes is the most difficult to check. We are talking about the ecological purity of the product, which depends on the places and conditions of its growth. High-quality potatoes will be grown in natural conditions without nitrate fertilizers and other chemicals. Pressing a fingernail on the root crop will help you choose potatoes on the market here. If the peel bursts, this is a good sign of potatoes without nitrate. A bad sign will be immersing the nail in the peel, as if in soap.

6. If your task is to find the perfect tubers, put aside shriveled, sprouted, shriveled, twisted root crops. But if you still peel sprouted potatoes, cut off the thicker layer of the peel, since it is in this layer that all the unfavorable substances are located.

7. Since buying potatoes is only the beginning of his culinary journey, consider the varieties and methods of further cooking. For example, a pink root crop is good for frying, a yellowish one is good for soup or cabbage soup, and white crumbly varieties make excellent puree.

8. If you are used to buying potatoes for the future and in bulk, take care of them proper storage. Potatoes are stored in dark places, preferably with an average temperature.

If the root crop gets into frost, it freezes and deteriorates. If the tuber is warm or under the sun's rays, it quickly germinates, turns green, and deteriorates.

When storing potatoes in large volumes, you should periodically check it, that is, sort it out. In the selection process, it is important to remove rotten and damaged tubers from the total mass, as well as break off sprouted shoots and sprouts. If this is not done, then by spring or even the middle of winter, all your potatoes will sprout, turn green, rot, become soft and tasteless.

This product is truly magical. In addition to being useful, it is also catastrophically versatile. Well, what can be cooked from potatoes? Yes all. An inventive Russian person can eat almost exclusively this irreplaceable product and at the same time it is varied, tasty and healthy.

But in order to eat this strategic product all year long without exposing your body to danger, and your taste buds to trials, you need to take care of buying high-quality potatoes for the winter since autumn. How to choose the right potato? Let's try to figure it out.

Appearance

It is always more pleasant to peel large potatoes, so we try to buy larger ones. However, with regard to nutrients, there are more of them in medium and small potatoes.

Rules for long-term storage of cabbage in the cellar or in the home pantry - c.

How to get rid of chemistry in vegetables and fruits - read on.

Remembering the summer taste of young potatoes, I want this fragrant side dish with herbs and butter to appear on our table in winter. Therefore, when choosing, we sometimes prefer potatoes with thin flaky skins. And in vain. After all, such a skin is the first sign that the root crops are not ripe, which means they will not last long. In a mature root crop, the peel is thicker and smoother, without peeling.

Before buying a large amount of potatoes for winter stocks, ask if they lay down after digging up or brought directly from the field. If the potatoes have just been dug up, most likely they will not lie for a long time. Before laying for long-term storage, potatoes need to be “aged” for 2-3 weeks.

What varieties to choose

The most delicious varieties are Lorch, Smachny, Ella, Table 19, Ideal, Loshitsky. However, the taste depends not only on the variety, but also on the soil on which it was grown. Very tasty potato grown on sandy soil. It is starchy, crumbly and fragrant. But in potatoes grown on peatlands, an increased proportion of nitrogen fertilizers, which not only worsen its taste, but also reduce its benefits.

Diseases

Be sure to check that there are no green specimens among the tubers. After all green color- a sign of the presence of alkaloids. This poison is formed in tubers under the influence sun rays. Tubers with green skin are not suitable for consumption.

Late blight on potatoes

The most insidious potato disease is. Her cunning is manifested in the fact that outwardly the tubers look completely healthy, while inner part tubers are blackened. Phytophthora can be noticed from the outside only with a very strong lesion. Do not hesitate to ask the seller to cut a suspicious tuber for you. If you see blackened specimens among potatoes, do not try to buy.

The rest of the "potato" diseases can be seen with the naked eye.

wireworm

Small round holes, for example, indicate that the wireworm managed to feast on this potato.

Brown spots on the skin - evidence of the disease - scab.

Khrushchev defeat

Large grooves filled with earth are a sign that the tuber is the larvae of the May beetle - Khrushchev.

Checking for nitrates

Check if potatoes are grown on nitrogen and mineral fertilizers Can in a simple way by tearing off a small piece. If the nail easily enters the tuber, like cotton wool, you should not take it.

A sign of a large amount is moisture oozing from a cut tuber.
Ecologically clean potatoes should be elastic, juice should not ooze from it, and when the skin breaks through, a characteristic barely audible crack should be emitted.

It will be easier to check for nitrates if you have a nitrate meter.

When buying, do not forget to ask where the crop was brought from. It goes without saying that you should know this area, and its ecological reputation should not be “tarnished” by the presence of any chemical enterprises, and even more so by man-made disasters. It would be nice to use a dosimeter to check for radioactivity.

We hope that environmentally friendly, healthy and high-quality potatoes will show off in your cellar!

Potatoes are one of the most significant foods in the diet of almost any person. It is loved by adults and children, it is cooked by thousands different ways, it is present in many dishes, without it it is already impossible to imagine any menu. Add potatoes to milk, meat, fish, vegetables - and the Taste of the dish will only benefit. Probably no other product in cooking has such “versatility”. Potatoes are nutritious, tasty and healthy - a rare combination.

As soon as this product was brought by Peter the Great to our region, by right it was not appreciated, to put it mildly. It took a long time before people realized the value of potatoes. Now it is called the "second bread", and for good reason - it really is a miracle product.

It is not surprising that every gardener strives to get the highest quality and plentiful harvest of this magnificent crop. After all, having even a supply of one potato, you will not be lost! Of course, over time, every sensible gardener will have the experience of growing it. However, how will it come? Through mistakes, crop failures, losses and other unpleasant things. Therefore, we will extract someone else's experience and use it in practice, that is, in the garden.

Do not forget that potato yield is 40% dependent on planting material, and as much as 60% - from growing conditions! All in your hands.

In general, potatoes are a rather unpretentious culture, but there are a lot of tips, as well as small secrets that will help to significantly increase the yield and its quality. We list some of them:

Secret number 1. Disinfection and disinfection of planting material

The very first thing to do is to disinfect the tubers. Firstly, it will protect them from infection with diseases (for example, nematodes or late blight), and secondly, the mixtures with which they must be processed will have a growth stimulant effect. In addition, planting material will become more stable, and as a result, the yield will be higher.

The word "treatment" refers to 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 for soaking for 2 hours.
You can use special preparations "Baikal EM-1" or "Fitosporin-M". All information on their use should 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 on 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), five grams of copper sulfate in ten liters of water. And add fifteen grams boric acid(you can buy at the pharmacy). Due to the last additive, the solution will acquire not only disinfecting, but also nutritional properties. You can still add 50-60 grams of superphosphate to this solution.
The following solution should only be used for aerosol processing. 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 carbamide. One liter of solution is enough for 100 kg of planting material. Please note that if the tubers have already sprouted, then aerosol treatment cannot be used, since this solution is more aggressive. If, nevertheless, the tubers have sprouted, then you first need to green them, and then process them.

Secret number 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 trace elements 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 fertilizer ( ammonium nitrate, for example, or ammophos);
40 grams of superphosphate.

In addition, in any of these solutions it is necessary to add a complex of trace elements:

Cobalt nitrate \ ammonium molybdate (optional) - one gram per ten liters (0.01%);
Sulphate copper (simplistically, blue vitriol) \ borax \ zinc sulfate (optional) - five grams per ten liters of solution (0.05%).
Potassium permanganate - fifteen grams (0.15%, respectively).

Secret number 3. notches

This is one of the most famous and effective ways increase yield. The increase in yield 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 go into growth. 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 appearance of germinating eyes. Do not forget to disinfect the knife with which you make cuts! You can disinfect it in brilliant green, potassium permanganate solution, and in others. disinfectants. There are two types of incisions:

Annular notch

This type of incision is relevant in the case of early forcing potatoes. It is made with a disinfected knife one centimeter deep (the depth of the phloem layer) so that it encircles the tuber. In the case of using this method, the outflow of all growth and nutrient substances 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. Everything is simple.

transverse incision

In this case, it is necessary to make an incision perpendicular to the axis of the tuber, while 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 it give? All nutrients diverge evenly in different parts of the tuber (in all eyes), and they all germinate at the same time. At the exit we have many powerful stems.

After any kind 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 perfectly 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 limiter for one centimeter, and attach it to the knife blade.

Secret number 4. Proper watering

Potatoes, despite their endurance 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 with warm water to the depth of the roots at least three times.

Watering is carried out under a bush or with a hose in the aisle. Sprinkler irrigation - far from the best best idea. With this method, there is a risk of developing diseases, and phytophthora can affect the tops. In general, it's best not to. In general, no matter what people say, watering potatoes in a hot summer can significantly increase the yield!

Secret number 5. Furrow direction

Another interesting secret when growing potatoes is that when planting potatoes in furrows, you need to take into account their geographical direction. On this occasion, there are also some disputes among potato growers, but still the priority is the direction of the furrows from north to south. When planting in this direction, the yield should increase significantly.

What is the reason for this? Everything is very simple. The sun in our latitudes rises at sunrise and moves towards the west. Accordingly, the first half of the day the beds will be illuminated from the east, and the second half from the west. This will give the plants even "doses" of light, which is exactly what they need.

By the way, in order for the bushes to receive as much heat and light as possible, when planting, consider the following indicators:

The distance between the tubers is 35 centimeters;
Between the furrows - 70-80 centimeters.

Secret number 6. Special break

So the potatoes are blooming. Two or three weeks after this point, just take and break the stems at a height of about fifteen centimeters. Break carefully so that the integrity of the branch is preserved.

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. As a result - more plentiful 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 passed the test of time and proved its effectiveness, so do not worry about your plants - everything will be fine with them. The only point is that this method cannot be applied to sick, weak bushes.

Secret number 7. Two crops from one bush

It would seem that it does not sound very logical, but it is quite possible to “crank it out” subject to certain agrotechnical nuances.

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 get started faster. Clay, heavy soils in the lowlands, unfortunately, are completely unsuitable.

In order to expect a re-harvest, in early to mid-June, carefully dig out only the largest tubers, while leaving the small ones on the roots. After that, bury everything except the selected large tubers back.

That's all! A week later, the bush takes root and by the fall will again be able to please with an excellent harvest. Only in the case of a double crop, keep in mind that you will have to feed the bushes somewhat more abundantly due to more active soil depletion.

Secret number 8. Balanced diet

Not a secret, but a reminder. Balanced nutrition is extremely important for the life and development of the plant and good harvest. Feeding must be done in three stages.

The signal to start the first feeding should be weakly growing tops, stems, their unhealthy pale color. We noticed these signs - it's time to carry out the first stage of feeding. Feeding Ingredients:

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.
Vegetable composition: a kilogram of finely cut nettles is insisted on 10 liters of water.

Consumption - one liter per bush.

Begins during flowering bushes. To feed in a bucket of water, dissolve a glass of wood ash. That's all. You can add a tablespoon of potassium sulfate, but you can do without.

The most important stage of dressing. 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 tablespoons of superphosphate in a 10-liter bucket.

Feed half a liter per bush.

That's all! Following these simple agricultural secrets, you will get a crop that will amaze you. Put at least a little bit of effort into the process of growing potatoes - and it will pay off in full when you eat wonderful potatoes in their uniforms on a cold winter evening.