Potatoes are a staple in many diets and have a wide popularity in India and Pakistan, Ireland, Europe and North America. However, it was not always so. The Presbyterian Scotts found them to be daemonic because they grew underground! And there was, of course, no mention of them in the Scriptures.

Potatoes are native to South America and were scorned in Europe as poor people’s food for many years until a French pharmacist named Parmentier convinced King Louis XVI to allow him to grow the plants on the royal lands around Versailles and subsequently designed a court feast which featured the new root in every course. If you find a menu or a recipe with the word ‘Parmentier’ in it, it means that it is made with potatoes.

The most versatile vegetable in your vegetarian kitchen, potatoes can be baked, boiled, chipped, fried, grated, home fried, riced, roasted, sautéed, steamed, stir fried and mashed.

You will want to purchase Organic Potatoes whenever you can. And yes, of course, there are numerous varieties of them. In fact there are more than 400 varieties grown around the world. To mention just a few:

Idaho Potatoes are perfect for baking and stuffing.

Yukon Gold Potatoes are a creamy yellow with a firm close flesh. Great for Potato Salad, Roasting and Parsley Potatoes.

Russet Potatoes mash well and have a more mealy texture. They are excellent for boiling, mashing and frying. They are great in stews.

Linzer Delikatess Potatoes are smallish kidney shaped roots with a pale smooth skin. Often they are marketed as New Potatoes. Their flavor is bland and their flesh is yellow and firm. They are great in salads and boiled, skinned and tossed with fresh parsley butter.

The Purple Congo is a novelty potato which retains its bright purple color when boiled and served with butter or cut into a festive salad.