Which potato for which dish? How to choose the right spud for your recipe | Kitchen aide

Should you mash a maris? Do you know your king edwards from your duke of yorks? Our panel washes the mud off the mysteries of spud varieties

I never know which potatoes to use for what dishes (roast, boiled, mashed), and please include North American varieties such as russets and yukon gold.
Catherine, Portland, Oregon
Reigning supreme as the UK’s number-one vegetable (according to a YouGov survey and, well, common sense), potatoes can do no wrong – so long as you choose the right one for the job. “It is really important,” says David Taylor, chef director of Grace & Savour in Solihull. “If you’re doing a lamb hotpot, for example, the [wrong] potato could absorb all the liquid and collapse.” Recipes often stipulate “waxy” or “floury” potatoes, so it’s really worth clocking a few names.

To avoid calamity, Gelf Alderson, executive chef at River Cottage and author of Great Roasts, would “never use any [recipe] that doesn’t name the [type of] potato, because it could be anything.” As a general rule, he recommends a king edward or maris piper: “They’re pretty good year round, they don’t degrade particularly when stored, and they mash really well, roast really well, and make nice chips.” Essentially, “if you’re going to work with potatoes, these are the ones I’d go for”.

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