Potatoes are one of the most important foods. Due to its high nutritional, gustatory and culinary qualities, it ranks second after bread among plant foods. And, like bread, it never becomes boring.
The assortment of hot and cold dishes made from potatoes, culinary products is rich and varied.
One Lithuanian folk tale tells about a farm laborer who was late for work one day. The landowner started to scold him, and he took it and tell him: “Excuse me, sir. I was late because I ate twenty dishes. " "What twenty dishes?" the pan asked. The farm laborer began to list: "Boiled potatoes, fried potatoes, baked potatoes, soaked potatoes, crushed potatoes …"
This joke, albeit in a somewhat naive form, expresses the role of potatoes in national nutrition. In the past, potatoes were the breadwinner of a poor peasant, but nowadays they are a welcome food product in every home.
Nutritious, high-calorie, tasty, cheap potatoes are consumed by the inhabitants of many countries in relatively large quantities. The composition of 100 g of potatoes contains about 20 g of starch, 2 g of protein, 1, 2 g of mineral salts. Potatoes contain a little vitamin C (up to 20 mg), but since potatoes are eaten often, mainly on winter and spring days, they become one of the good sources of ascorbic acid. And he does not get bored precisely because of the variety of dishes prepared from him.
Potatoes are good in all kinds! Of course, skillful handling is essential to preserve its taste and nutritional value. For example, peeled potatoes are not stored outdoors, only in cold water, otherwise they will darken, and the loss of vitamin C will increase. Moreover, the shelf life should be short. Special mention should be made of the loss of vitamin C. For the complete preservation of this vitamin in the tubers, potatoes must be peeled, processed and heat treated shortly before use.
Vitamin C is well preserved when cooking potatoes in meat broth. The same can be said about steaming tubers.
When potatoes are fried in the main way, that is, in a small amount of fat, vitamin C is destroyed by 25-30%, and when deep-fried (in a large amount of heated fat), it is not destroyed.
Vitamin C is greatly lost after repeated heat treatment, and also as a result of mechanical action on potatoes, especially when they are whipped. For example, in fresh mashed potatoes, 70-90% of vitamin C is lost, and reheating leads to its complete loss.
