A russet potato is a type of

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

that is large, with dark brown skin and few eyes. The flesh is white, dry, soft, and mealy, and it is suitable for

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

mashing In brewing and distilling, mashing is the process of combining a mix of ground grains – typically malted barley with supplementary grains such as corn, sorghum, rye, or wheat – known as the "grain bill" with water and then heating the mixtu ...

, and

french fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...

. Russet potatoes are also known as Idaho potatoes in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Varieties

Russet Burbank Russet Burbank is a potato cultivar with dark brown skin and few eyes that is the most widely grown potato in North America. A russet type, its flesh is white, dry, and mealy, and it is good for baking, mashing, and french fries (chips). It i ...

Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners
-

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

*Norkotah Russet *Frontier Russet *Russet Nugget *Centennial Russet *Rio Grande Russett *Silverton Russet * Ranger Russet * Umatilla Russet * Butte Russet *Alpine Russet * Alturas Russet *Arcadia Russet *Blazer Russet *Canela Russet *Castle Russet *Classic Russet *Clearwater Russet *Defender Russet *Echo Russet *Galena Russet *Gem Russet *GemStar Russet *Highland Russet *King Russet *La Belle Russet *Lemhi Russet *Mountain Gem Russet *Nooksack Russet *Norgold Russet *Owyhee Russet *Payette Russet *Pioneer Russet *Pomerelle Russet *Premier Russet *Reveille Russet *Rio Grand Russet *Sage Russet *Targhee Russet *Teton Russet *Vanguard Russet *Western Russet

Origin

To improve the disease resistance of Irish potatoes,

Luther Burbank Luther Burbank (March 7, 1849 – April 11, 1926) was an American botanist, horticulturist and pioneer in agricultural science. He developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career. Burbank's varied creations inc ...

selected the potato that became known as the Russet Burbank. It was not patented because plants such as potatoes propagated from tubers were not granted patents in the United States.

Use

Restaurants such as

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

use russet potatoes for their size, which produce long pieces suitable for

. As of 2009, "McDonald's top tuber is the Russet Burbank". The russet Burbank is more expensive than other potatoes, as it consumes more water and takes longer to mature, while it also requires large amounts of pesticides. Varieties with high levels of starch, like russet potatoes, are well-suited to baking and mashing.

References

External links

* Potato cultivars {{potato-stub