POTATOES GRAINS LEGUMES

Select potatoes that are firm and

relatively smooth. Potatoes that
are exposed to light or have
been sunburned may develop a
greenish color. This means the
potato contains SOLANINE
(SOLE-ah-neen), a bitter tasting
and somewhat toxic substance
that can cause intestinal
discomfort. Potato sprouts may
also contain solanine. Cut away
and discard sprouts and any
green portions before using the
potatoes. Discard potatoes that
have been frostbitten. They are Potato varieties differ in starch
watery and have a black ring and moisture content, shape, and
under the skin when cut in cross skin color. The starch content of
sections. any potato increases with age.
 Russet potatoes, also known as
Burbank or Idaho potatoes, are
white and oval-shaped. Those, as
well as sweet potatoes and yams
are high in starch and low in
moisture. They are best cooked
by baking.
All baked potatoes are served in
their skins. Wrapping potatoes in
foil prior to baking keeps the skin
soft, but makes the inside less
fluffy. (these are actually
‘steamed’ potatoes) Rubbing the
potato with fat, such as
shortening or oil, keeps the skin
soft and adds flavor, while
allowing the inside to get soft and
fluffy. Baking with no foil or fat
leaves the skin crisp.
Your choice of
toppings: butter,
sour cream,
cheese, chives,
bacon bits
No matter how they are baked,
potatoes should be scrubbed clean
and pierced with a fork before baking.
The piercing allows heat and steam to
escape and prevents the potato from
exploding. Place the potatoes directly
on the oven rack or sheet pan. ‘Bump’
baked potatoes on a hard surface
before serving to increase mealiness.
 Red or white round potatoes,
also called ‘chefs’ or
‘all-purpose’ potatoes, are drier
and less starchy… and less
expensive. Since the shape is
often irregular, preparation
methods are mashing, in
salads, scalloped or in
casseroles, in soups, braised,
and sautéed.

New potatoes are small, immature

red potatoes that are harvested when
they are less than 2 inches in
diameter. They are high in moisture
and sugar, and low in starch.
There are two categories for cooking potatoes:
Single-stage techniques take the potato from a
raw state to a finished state with one cooking
method. Baked and boiled potatoes are
examples.
Multiple-stage techniques involve more than
Potatoes Lyonnaise:
one cooking method before they are finished.
(LEE-on-AZE) means that
Potatoes pictured on this vegetables are pre-
slide use multiple-stage cooked, sliced, then fried
techniques. with onions.
Fried potatoes: Boil
potatoes, cool, slice
or dice, and fry..
Twice-baked potatoes: Halve and scoop out
the flesh of a baked potato, mash and mix
with other ingredients, refill the potato
shell, top with cheese, and bake again until
cheese is melted.
 Mashed potato
patties (leftover
mashed potatoes
mixed with egg
and seasonings
and fried)

Duchesse potatoes:
(duch-es)mashed
Parmentier: ‘served with eggs and
with potatoes’, such as squeezed through a
‘steak parmentier’ pastry tube

Potato croquette
(a little flat cake or Latkes (LAHT-keys): popular in
ball of tasty American-Jewish cooking, are
mixture coated in potato pancakes. They are made
egg & breadcrumbs, from grated potatoes, and
and fried) traditionally served with
applesauce and sour cream.
 Potato chips:
deep-fried, thin
crosswise cuts

French fries: deep-

fried batonnet-cut
sticks; known as
‘chips’ in England
Shoestring fries:
Like French
fries, but
julienne cut
Cottage fries: crosswise
cut and fried with or
without skins

Curly fries:
Steak fries: thickly
French fries
cut fries or wedges,
cut with a
with or without skins
special tool
En casserole potato dishes combine peeled and sliced
raw or cooked potatoes with heavy cream, white
sauces, or cheese sauces… and are then baked in a
buttered pan. Often the dish is topped with bread
Dauphine potatoes: mixed
crumbs, butter, or grated cheese for better color. with an unsweetened
These potatoes are good for banquets, due to their cream puff paste, squeezed
ability to be held for longer periods of time without through a pastry tube, and
losing quality. fried

Potatoes O’Brien: sliced or

Scalloped potatoes: raw or cooked potatoes, diced, cooked potatoes
sliced and baked in a creamy white sauce. with cheese or cheese
sauce, onions and peppers.
Sweet potatoes have orange colored
flesh and are very sweet and high in
vitamin A. Yams are similar, but are
drier, less-orange (sometimes
yellow or nearly white), are less
sweet, and have only a trace of
vitamin A. Look for potatoes that
are small to medium in size, with
smooth, unbruised skin. Avoid any
with a white stringy "beard," a sure
sign the potato is overmature and
probably tough. Do not refrigerate,
as that will speed deterioration.
Sweet potatoes sprout easily, so
have a short shelf life.
 Yams can be cooked in nearly
any preparation that you would
use for russet or chef’s
potatoes. Sweet potatoes can
be baked, mashed, candied, or
made into fries and chips.

Candied sweet potatoes are a

Thanksgiving favorite.
 Grains and legumes must
be cooked before eating:
1. To change their texture
so they can be digested
easily
2. To develop their flavor
3. To remove dirt, dust, and
other natural substances
that may be harmful to
Dried legumes include adzuki beans, humans
black beans, black-eyed peas, (such as the toxic substances in
chickpeas (garbanzo beans), fava fava and lima beans if eaten raw)
beans, Great Northern Beans, kidney
beans, lentils, lima beans, mung beans, Whole grains include barley,
split peas, whole dried peas, pink peas, buckwheat, rice, and
pinto beans, and soybeans. cornmeal (ground field corn).
Most legumes and some
whole grains such as
barley need to be
soaked in cold water or
a flavorful liquid for 4
hours or overnight
before cooking. This is
done to soften the tough
seed coatings and
shorten the cooking
time. Rinse them
carefully before soaking,
and discard any that
float to the surface of
the soaking liquids.
There are 3 methods for
cooking grains:
A. steaming Grains can be cooked in a
B. pilaf (PEEL-ahf) steamer over boiling liquid,
C. risotto (ree-ZO-toe) leaving them tender and flavorful.
In a pilaf, the grain
is sautéed briefly in
fat, then simmered
in a seasoned
stock. Grains will
be tender, but
remain separated.

Risotto is a dish of, short-grained rice,

and other ingredients cooked in stock.
Starch is released, giving it a creamy texture.
The seeds of the rice plant are first milled using
a rice huller to remove the chaff (the outer hull
or husks of the grain). At this point in the
process, the product is called brown rice.
The milling may be continued, removing the
‘bran’ (i.e. the 1st layer under the hull) and the
‘germ’, thereby creating white rice or polished
rice.
Sometimes rice is cooked first, before milling
and while the hull is still intact. The nutrients
from the hull penetrate the rice kernel, and
cause it to be a yellow color. The hull and bran
are then removed, and the result is called
converted rice.
Glutinous rice or sticky rice is a type of short-
grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when
cooked, so it can be eaten with chopsticks.

Wild rice is not a true rice, but the seed of a

plant native to North America.
 Rice is a very versatile grain. It is served in appetizers,
soups, salads, entrées, and desserts.
A rule of thumb when cooking rice, is that rice quadruples
in size. Therefore, the ratio of liquid to rice is 4:1. If you’re
cooking 1 cup ‘raw’ rice, you would use 4 cups of liquid.
Long-grain rice has a more slender, longer kernel. It
is best used in soups, salads, and main dishes
where the kernels need to stay separated.

Short and medium-

grain rice cook up
more moist and are
used in sauces,
rings, and puddings.
Rice is sometimes
browned dry or in oil Arborio (ahr-BORE-ee-oh)
before cooking. This helps is a short-grain rice used
keep kernels separated. in risotto.
 The rule of thumb for pasta is that it ‘doubles in size’
as it cooks, and to use ‘1 gallon of liquid to cook 1#
of pasta’. Cook pasta ‘al dente’ (ahl-DAN-tay)… firm
to the bite.

(far-FALL-lay)

FETTUCCINI: like linguine, only wider

CAPELLETTI: a small version of tortellini
ANGEL HAIR PASTA: very thin spaghetti
PENNE: like rigatoni, but with slanted ends
NOODLE: any flat, narrow pasta made with eggs
To test the doneness of a pasta, chew it between your
back molars. It should be firm, but not stick in your teeth. Orzo
 Homemade pasta takes just 4 ingredients:
eggs, salt, oil, and flour. Sometimes herbs,
spices, and vegetables (spinach and squash
are popular) are added for flavor and color.
After mixing the dough, it must be allowed
to ‘rest’, so it will not be so difficult to roll
out into thin sheets. Fresh pasta can be
refrigerated, or dried, or frozen.
a la Provencale (prov-on-sal):
means ‘with garlic and oil’… a
simple pasta sauce sometimes
combined with tomatoes and olives

Any sauce served with pasta

should complement it. Long,
flat pastas are best suited to
light cream sauces. Tube and
twisted pastas are paired with
heavy tomato and meat sauces.
 Dumplings can be made
from doughs or batters, and
may have bread or potatoes
Test the doneness of as a main ingredient.
dumplings by cutting into
one; they should never Matzo Balls:
have a doughy, uncooked Jewish dumplings
center. Spaetzle (SHPÉTS-el):
small German
dumplings made by
forcing soft dough
through a sieve
Gnocchi (nee-YO-key):
small Italian potato
dumplings

A bread dumpling is
steamed on top of a stew Potstickers: a
(chicken & dumplings) or Chinese dumpling
poached in a flavorful filled with vegetables
broth. or meat
POTATOES GRAINS LEGUMES