Russet potato

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A russet potato is a type of potato that is large, with dark brown skin and few eyes. The flesh is white, dry, soft, and mealy, and it is suitable for baking, mashing, and french fries. Russet potatoes are also known as Idaho potatoes in the United States. [1]

Contents

Russet potato cultivar with sprouts Russet potato cultivar with sprouts.jpg
Russet potato cultivar with sprouts

Varieties

Origin

To improve the disease resistance of Irish potatoes, Luther Burbank selected the potato that became known as the Russet Burbank. It was not patented because plants such as potatoes propagated from tubers were not granted patents in the United States. [3]

Use

Restaurants such as McDonald's use russet potatoes for their size, which produce long pieces suitable for french fries. As of 2009, "McDonald's top tuber is the Russet Burbank". [4] The russet Burbank is more expensive than other potatoes, as it consumes more water and takes longer to mature, while it also requires large amounts of pesticides. [4] [5]

Varieties with high levels of starch, like russet potatoes, are well-suited to baking and mashing. [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russet Burbank</span> Potato cultivar

Russet Burbank is a potato cultivar with dark brown skin and few eyes that is the most widely grown potato in North America. A russet type, its flesh is white, dry, and mealy, and it is good for baking, mashing, and french fries (chips). It is a common and popular potato.

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Alturas is a russet potato variety released in 2002 by the USDA-ARS and the Agricultural Experiment Stations of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington and it is under plant variety protection. It is a processing potato that has cold-sweetening resistance, so it can be processed directly out of storage into French fries and other frozen potato products.

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Umatilla Russet is a moderately late maturing variety of potato especially suitable for frozen french fries processing. It was jointly released by the Agricultural Experiment Station of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1998. 'Umatilla Russet' has been equal to or better than Russet Burbank in fry color in Oregon and regional trials. The potato was named by the state of Oregon after the Umatilla tribe, from which the city of Umatilla also takes its name.

The Ranger Russet is a late-maturing potato that is used for baking and processing into fries. It was originally bred by Joseph J. Pavek of the USDA in Aberdeen, Idaho, and released jointly by the USDA and the agricultural stations of Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Colorado in 1991. Ranger Russet is not under plant variety protection. It yields medium to high numbers of tubers with a short dormancy period.

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Innovator is potato variety that is oblong in shape with a smooth skin. It is a popular potato variety in Europe and is gaining popularity in North America as a frying and baking potato. The skin of the potato variety is russeted, similar to that of a Russet Burbank potato. Innovator also has shallow eyes with a cream coloured flesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potato cooking</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 "Compare varieties". The Cook's Thesaurus. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners Archived 2017-02-12 at the Wayback Machine - Cornell University
  3. Daniel Kevles (2002). A history of patenting life in the United States with comparative attention to Europe and Canada: a report to the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  4. 1 2 Bruce Watson (23 September 2009). "McDonald's prepares to switch its fries to a greener potato". Daily Finance. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015.
  5. Emily Main (February 26, 2014). "McDonald's French Fries Are "Toxic Taters," Says New Campaign". Rodale News. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.