Bella Adams
Young potatoes are good not only for your health but also for your figure. Young potatoes are those that are harvested, as a rule, two weeks after flowering, before they are fully ripe. It is quite easy and simple to distinguish such potatoes from “old” ones. Young tubers have thin, translucent, and very tender skin.
It easily gives way, even when pressed with your fingers.
The only drawback of this wonderful vegetable is that it is a seasonal product. And this season, unfortunately, does not last long.
Useful properties of new potatoes
New potatoes, like all fresh vegetables, are rich in bioflavonoids. They contain vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, B6, C, E, K, niacin, choline, and folic acid. Young potatoes have three times more vitamin C than those that have survived the winter.
Young potatoes are low in simple sugars, practically free of fat, and absolutely free of cholesterol, but contain organic acids and fiber that are useful for digestion.
New potatoes also contain about 2% protein, the most complete of all vegetable proteins (potato protein contains 14 of the 20 essential amino acids). In addition, new potatoes are beneficial due to a number of minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, iodine and sulfur.
New potatoes contain the strongest antioxidants. They prolong youth and health, prevent the development of tumors, protect blood vessels, and strengthen cell walls.
The potassium in new potatoes helps to remove excess fluid from the body, which makes them useful for people prone to edema. Potato juice can be used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, as well as skin diseases such as burns, scratches, and cuts because the juice has enveloping and wound-healing properties. In case of burns, the potatoes are rubbed, wrapped in two layers of sterile gauze, and applied to the wounded area. The bandage is changed as the juice dries.
New potatoes are a useful product for those who are trying to follow a balanced healthy diet. Moreover, young potatoes contain a minimum amount of calories, and therefore can be successfully used in dietary nutrition.
Calorie content of new potatoes
The caloric content of new potatoes in raw form is 61 kcal per 100 grams of the product.
Boiled new potatoes have only 75-90 kcal per 100 grams.
Using new potatoes in cooking
New potatoes have delicate and thin skin that is not cut off but only peeled off with a sharp knife.
Young potatoes are usually boiled and seasoned with oil, garlic, and herbs or baked in the oven with meat and vegetables.
In no case should potatoes be fried or mashed. This is an amazing side dish for boiled or baked poultry.
How to choose and store young potatoes
When choosing potatoes, look carefully to make sure that the potatoes are firm, and without signs of damage. Young potatoes should not be picked for future use, as they do not keep well. But if this happens, wrap the potatoes in parchment and put them in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. In this form, the potatoes will last for three days.
