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Under The Microscope

COOKING POTATOES, by Peter Meredith; Box 31-004, ChCh; 1994; 26 pp; $7.90.

Cooking Potatoes is a book that tells you just about everything you could ever want to know about potatoes. It's interesting and informative but the author could have got his message across in far fewer words.

As a cook, what I most want to know about potatoes is what type is best for a particular cooking method. This basic question is never answered concisely, but all the information you need to figure it out is somewhere in this 26-page booklet.

Meredith brings us all back to the garden by telling us that the type of potato we want for a particular job will really depend on our gardening techniques, and to a lesser degree the genetic make-up of the tubers.

A few comments on cooking methods and their effects on potatoes bring us slowly closer to understanding which potato will perform best, whether in a pot of boiling water or fried up as chips.

I had always understood that potato skin was the best part of the potato. However, according to Meredith the two main nutritional components of potatoes, vitamin C and fibre, are distributed throughout the tuber, as are the starch and protein. Apparently the skin is of no greater significance than any other part when it comes to being "full of goodness".

Potatoes are a good source of both fibre and protein, and are the largest single source of vitamin C in our diet, according to Meredith. This is all good news for both cooks and consumers, since potatoes are both cheap and versatile. I found it comforting to learn so much more about the humble potato. With the judicious use of highlighter this booklet can be made a useful source of information on your cookbook shelf.

Shirley Bradstock is a cookery writer and food consultant.