What everyone knows: In the form of fries or chips, potatoes contain a lot of bad fat and calories. Apart from that, however, there are also many healthy ways of preparing the Germans’ favorite tuber. How to keep the loss of nutrients during cooking to a minimum – and why you can confidently throw overboard the prejudice that «potatoes make you fat».
Potatoes are not only an absolute staple food in Germany and are on the plate of many people every day. In fact, there are good reasons to consume the tuber frequently, because it contains many valuable ingredients. What they are and how to prepare potatoes so that they are particularly healthy.
What ingredients are in potatoes?
On the one hand, potatoes contain, not in particularly high amounts, but very high-quality vegetable protein and also a not insignificant amount of potassium. They also contain various B vitamins and, above all, a lot of vitamin C, namely around 13 milligrams per 100 grams. For comparison: that is exactly as much as there is in an apple.
Flavonoids are also found in the tuber and anthocyanins. These are so-called secondary plant substances. Some of these phytochemicals are said to have the potential to protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Others, on the other hand, are said to be antibacterial and effective against viruses and fungi, lower cholesterol levels, have anti-inflammatory properties or have a positive influence on blood sugar levels and the immune system.
Potatoes are about 80 percent water and are naturally gluten-free. So if you suffer from gluten intolerance (celiac disease), you can use it to replace side dishes such as pasta. In addition, the tubers are among the alkaline foods. This means that they do not form any acid in the body and therefore do not put a strain on the kidneys.
All in all, the composition of the ingredients in the potato is very favorable, according to the conclusions of the Federal Center for Nutrition.
The nutrients and nutritional values of the potato at a glance
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make potatoes thick?
In terms of ingredients, the potato could easily fall into the category of «superfoods». Unfortunately, she is very prejudiced on one point – and wrongly so. They have a reputation for making you fat. This is due to their high carbohydrate content.
It is true that 100 grams of boiled and peeled potatoes contain about 14 percent carbohydrates in the form of starch. However, contrary to their widespread description as fattening foods, potatoes are comparatively low in calories. 100 grams of boiled potatoes only have about 73 calories. The decisive point: the tuber contains almost no fat and consists of 80 percent water. Other popular side dishes such as pasta or rice cannot keep up here. 100 grams of cooked pasta contain around 144 calories and 100 grams of rice around 120 calories. So it’s a complete misconception that potatoes should be negatively out of line in terms of calorie content – quite the opposite!
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Preparing potatoes healthy – that’s how it works!
Unfortunately, some of the vitamins and minerals in the potato are inevitably lost during cooking. In particular, the water-soluble nutrients such as potassium can be washed out and the heat-sensitive nutrients such as vitamin C destroyed. Boiling, steaming or pressure cooking peeled potatoes means that they lose an average of around 15 percent of the vitamin C they contain. The problem, however, is that potatoes should not be eaten raw. The starch it contains is only digestible for our human body when it is cooked. For example, eating raw potatoes could lead to stomach upset.
However, the loss of nutrients can be kept to a minimum. If you follow a few tips when preparing the potatoes,
- It is best to boil or steam the potatoes unpeeled and whole with just a little water.
- Do not soak potatoes in water before cooking as this can leach out the nutrients.
- Prepare the potatoes as quickly as possible after peeling them.
The types of preparation and their health value at a glance
- jacket potatoes: have more vitamins than classic boiled potatoes, since the latter are usually peeled before cooking.
- Baked potatoes: lose water through baking in the oven, which increases the concentration of the other ingredients.
- Cooking in the pressure cooker: saves a certain amount of time, but more vitamins and minerals are lost here than with cooking.
- Mashed potatoes: However, it usually contains additional butter and milk, which in turn increases the fat and calorie content.
- French Fries or Potato Chips: A lot of fat and high temperatures when frying make them the two unhealthiest potato variants.
- Fried potatoes made from raw potatoes: have a particularly large number of nutrients, since frying in a pan is very gentle. But you should be careful not to use too much and, above all, high-quality frying fat.
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Are green spots and sprouts on the potato unhealthy?
Potatoes that are a little less fresh can be noticed by green spots and budding. But you can still eat them if you generously remove the green parts and sprouts. If the majority of the potato is affected, it is better not to eat it. The reason: Potatoes contain more of the toxic substance solanine, which they form on the skin as a natural protection against predators and microorganisms. If you eat it in large quantities, it can lead to symptoms of poisoning in humans.
Slight poisoning is noticeable through gastrointestinal complaints and headaches. However, at higher intake levels, fever and disturbances of consciousness may occur. Poisoning can occur from a concentration of one milligram of solanine per kilogram of body weight. Normally, however, the consumption of potatoes is harmless, because the average solanine content of properly grown potatoes is less than 100 mg/kg fresh potatoes. However, to actually get solanine poisoning, an adult would need to eat more than 10 servings of jacket potatoes with their skins on per day.
Basically, potatoes should be eaten without the skin. This reduces the solanine content by up to 90 percent.
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What should you look out for when buying potatoes?
When buying potatoes, make sure they are healthy, clean, firm, and have an earthy smell. They shouldn’t smell musty, be slippery or damp, and they shouldn’t show any wrinkles or dents, as this would encourage mold to form more easily.
Firm-boiling, predominantly firm-boiling or mealy-boiling?
Depending on what you want to cook with the potatoes, you should decide on a certain type of cooking. There are three types: waxy, predominantly waxy and mealy.
- Mealy Potatoes: Their shells tend to burst open when they are cooked and they quickly fall apart. Therefore, they are very suitable for puree or soups/stews.
- Waxy Potatoes: They are cut-resistant and therefore well suited for salads or fried potatoes.
- Mainly waxy potatoes: They only burst open slightly when cooking and are good for boiled or boiled potatoes.
Store potatoes properly
temperature
The optimum storage temperature for potatoes is between 4 and 6 degrees Celsius. If you store them colder, the starch is converted into sugar. The tuber will germinate at temperatures above 8 degrees.
storage location
Potatoes should be protected from light, as they form the toxic solanine under the influence of light and germinate faster. You should also avoid storing potatoes in plastic foil bags because the moisture leads to mold growth. If you don’t have a cool pantry or cellar in your apartment, you should generally buy potatoes in smaller quantities and eat them promptly.
With material from dpa