September is the harvest time for many fruits and vegetables, including potatoes.
It is one of the most international products and forms the basis of the cuisines of many countries. About different cooking methods, champagne puree and a dessert made from "earthy apples".
The most popular option
“In the early days in a new country, a person still does not have time to get used to the local food, so I try to eat something relatively familiar,” says Vladimir Morozov, a traveler from Moscow. "You can eat in well-known chain restaurants, but I prefer to just order a local potato dish - most of them have predictably good taste."
Vladimir, who has visited more than 50 countries, most often came across various variations of French fries. “I especially remember the“ Mul-frit ”in France - mussels with fried potatoes,” the traveler recalls.
Indeed, french fries have become a traditional dish in many countries, receiving a new reading or gastronomic combination. For example, the famous Canadian "Putin" is sprinkled with young cheese and watered with a slightly sweetened side dish gravy. And in Greece, the popular version of gyros - flatbread with meat, falafel and vegetables with the addition of fries.
It is also a part of the famous English dish Fish and Chips, Latin American Salchipas (potatoes and fried sausage), Tanzanian omelet with potatoes and spices.
“Unfortunately, fries are not healthy food,” says Elena Molokova, an integrative medicine and weight loss specialist. - When cooking in boiling oil, potatoes are deprived of vitamins B, C and others. Also, the oil is harmful in itself: with prolonged heating, it forms harmful substances, which the official science recognizes as carcinogenic - increasing the likelihood of the formation of malignant tumors.
Experts advise free fans not to abandon it abruptly and completely. To exclude the possibility of a breakdown in the future, it is enough to limit the consumption of this dish.
The secret is in supplements
An equally popular way of cooking potatoes is mashed potatoes. In some cuisines, for example Irish, it is served as a separate dish. In Italy, as well as in France and Croatia, gnocchi - special dumplings - are made from mashed potatoes, in England - shepherd's pie with meat. In Canada, tuber skins are added to mashed potatoes, in Hawaii - coconut and dry champagne. Mashed potatoes have a special place in Belarusian cuisine.
“The main thing in our kitchen, of course, is potato pancakes,” explain Yulia and Aleksey Sidorenko, food bloggers from Minsk. - And then there are potato grandma, dumplings, sorcerers, potato casseroles, potato rolls with filling, potatoes stewed with meat and mushrooms, and this is only a small part of the whole variety!
Yulia says that in Belarusian cuisine there are even potato desserts - pies with poppy seeds, jam, sweet potato balls with prunes, dumplings with plums. And she shares the national secrets of making mashed potatoes: during cooking, put peeled garlic into the water, and when whipping, add not only hot milk and butter, but also a little sour cream.
“Many people in Russia don't know how to make mashed potatoes,” says David Nordik, a chef from Moscow. - Potatoes should be cooked in their skins over low heat, then peeled and pounded, this will preserve the beneficial substances and taste of the vegetable. And in our country they just throw it into the water, they often forget it on the stove and don't even remove the foam! The resulting mass can be used to glue wallpaper - to such an extent starch disintegrates. "
How to make tasty and healthy?
“Take as young as possible potatoes for cooking, in which there is still not much starch,” Elena Molokova recommends. - This way you will avoid the rise in blood sugar and will not add too much to the figure. Try not to fry potatoes: the crust contains substances that can cause allergies, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. "
Experts advise choosing tubers grown without the use of nitrates - they can significantly reduce the benefits of the dish.
“The preferred method for potatoes is baking in the oven,” Elena continues. - In this case, it is best to cook until the state of aldente, when firmness is felt. This is how a valuable variety of starch is preserved in potatoes. "
David Nordik told about fashionable methods of potato processing: “Nowadays, in many restaurants, potatoes are used to make expumu - a light foamy mass that resembles whipped foam, and they also prepare carbonated potatoes. To do this, it is first fried, then crushed, and then carbonated with a siphon. "
The expert adds that there is still interest in fast food, unthinkable without fries and potato wedges. One of the innovations - the tubers began to be added to burgers for burgers.
Source: https://ria.ru