Potatoes are not only a healthy product, but also extremely versatile. It can be used to make almost anything - from simple everyday dishes like steamed potatoes, fried potatoes or mashed potatoes, to culinary delights such as potato focaccia, stuffed potatoes and many other dishes. But in order for the potatoes to be not only tasty, but also healthy, you need to choose them correctly.
Instructions
Step 1
Potatoes come to vegetable markets from various places - from the collective farm fields of the region, vegetable gardens and even from other countries. Ideally, it should be tested with a device that detects the presence of nitrates - a nitrate meter. And also he must be tested for the presence of heavy metals (copper, iron, zinc) and pesticides. In addition, potatoes from other countries must be tested at the regional sanitary and epidemiological station, and the documentation of the veterinary sanitary examination laboratory must be available for the "local" root crop.
Step 2
Portable nitrate testers can be used to determine the amount of nitrate in potatoes. For example, the Soeks nitrate meter has 34 products in its database, with its help you can determine the nitrate content in just 5 seconds. The price of nitrate testers will seem expensive to many - on average, from 5 tr.
Step 3
The most insidious disease of potatoes is late blight, which in the old days was called the potato plague. Potatoes infected with late blight may look completely healthy outwardly, but the inner part of the tubers is blackened. It is possible to determine this disease of potatoes from the outside only with a very severe defeat. Therefore, do not hesitate to ask the seller to cut the suspicious tuber. If you see blackened tubers among the potatoes, it is better to refrain from buying.
Step 4
Other potato diseases can be identified by its appearance. Small round holes are a sign that a wireworm pest has eaten potatoes. Brown spots on the peel indicate a scab disease of the potato. Large grooves filled with soil indicate that the potatoes were eaten by the larvae of the May beetle - beetle. Healthy potatoes have a slightly rough skin without sprouted "eyes".
Step 5
Refrain from buying sprouted or green potatoes. Sprouted tubers contain an increased amount of the toxic substance solanine; it is not recommended to eat it. Chlorophyll forms in potato tubers that have been exposed to light for several days, and they turn green. Potatoes also increase their solanine content when exposed to scattered or direct sunlight. Therefore, these potatoes are not suitable for food.
Step 6
In order not to bring green potatoes from the market, it is better to buy them in a canvas bag. Store potatoes in a dark, dry, cool place, preferably in a cellar or basement that does not freeze in winter.
Step 7
If you really want to eat tasty and healthy potatoes, try to buy them not in stores and large supermarkets, but in the market or from sellers who have grown them on their site. Ideal if you personally meet someone who grows or sells potatoes.
