Vegetables for sale at a European grocery store. (eyetronic - stock.adobe.com)
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Here is your guide to all those different types of potatoes at the German grocery store, and how best to cook them.
The German love affair with the potato goes far beyond the ever-so-popular “Pommes Frites” (French fries), Germany’s top street food smothered with ketchup and mayonnaise.
Potatoes are a German staple that pairs well with nearly every dish in Germany. Whether boiled, mashed, fried or diced in soups, the average German eats roughly 60-65 kilograms of potatoes each year.
The potato first appeared on German tables around 1715, and by 1814 German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, “Whole in the morning, mashed for lunch, sliced for supper—that’s the way it should be. It’s healthy.”
It’s safe to say that the potato has earned its title of “king of vegetables.”
While Kartoffel is the German word for potato, they may also be called Speisekartoffeln (table potatoes), or a local word like Grumbeer in the Pfälz or Ebbiern in Franconia.
More than 50 varieties of German potatoes are available in markets This doesn’t include foreign spuds or other root veggies like sweat potatoes and yams.
By law, German groceries are required to state where each type of produce originated, whether that is a German state or another country like Spain or France. They are also required to state the exact variety of each vegetables, which can be signposted or on a package label. When buying German potatoes, buy local. The Palatinate region is one of Germany’s largest potato growers and the local Pfälzer potatoes are some of the best in the world.
Germany’s many varieties of potatoes are divided into three categories, and German stores tend to color-code the labels on potatoes based on these three categories.
Festkochend | green label
Festkochend (waxy) potatoes have a low starch content, which means they hold up well. Their peel does not burst during baking. They have a tough consistency and are fine-grained and damp. During boiling, baking or roasting, they keep their tough structure. They also brown quickly during roasting and frying. This makes them suitable for potato salad, baked potatoes, fried potatoes and casseroles.
Vorwiegend Festkochend | red label
Vorwiegend Festkochend (medium waxy) potatoes have a medium level of starch, and the peel easily bursts during cooking. They are moderately damp, fine-grained and a little bit drier after cooking than the waxy sorts. This is the most often used potato in Germany because it can be used in most recipes. It is also an ideal companion for gravies and sauces since it binds well and absorbs easily.
Mehlig Kochend | blue label
Mehlig Kochend (mealy cooking) potatoes bake up light and fluffy, mash and purée easily, and can be used to thicken a broth. The peel of these potatoes opens during intense cooking. After cooking, the meat of the potato is dry, coarse-grained and soft. If they are cooked too long, they fall apart in the water. Mealy potatoes can be easily cut up and are particularly suitable for making mashed potatoes, potato dumplings (Schupfnudeln), Gnocchi and croquettes.
German mehlig kochend potatoes ae for mashing and come in a sack with blue labelling. (Andie_Alpion - stock.adobe.com)
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You will also see Frühkartoffeln (new potatoes), which exist in all three categories of cooking potatoes. Their tender skin makes them a delicacy in Germany where they are boiled in their skin and served with butter and herbs.
If you are shopping at the farmers market, you may also see a sign that says Neue Ernte, meaning new harvest. This lets you know which are the freshest.
Overcooking and keeping potatoes unnecessarily long in warm water can lead to considerable nutrient loss. If the potatoes are cut, the loss is even greater.
Always wash potatoes before cutting as this destroys cells, which releases nutrients and liquid quickly causing oxidization; it is the reason they turn brown.
Cut away green spots and generously cut out any sprouts. To be on the safe side, you should throw away potatoes with several green areas, as well as potatoes with green sprouts.
To avoid discoloration, process peeled potatoes immediately.
Avoid soaking peeled potatoes because water-soluble nutrients are quickly lost into the water.
