Potatoes are tubers derived from the species Solanum tuberosum . They contain potassium, vitamin C and complex carbohydrates, and are excellent for combating diabetes, anti-inflammatory and very energetic. Let's find out better.
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Properties and benefits of potatoes
The queen of tubers, potatoes are rich in vitamin C, effective in limiting the damage caused by free radicals, oxygen molecules that are harmful to organic tissues. Furthermore, the presence of potassium makes it an excellent aid against hypertension.
Potato wrap packs are also useful in cases of light burns, and starch can be used to moisturize dry skin.
Potatoes are energetic and anti-inflammatory foods of the digestive system; they also favor the formation and expulsion of abundant and soft stools and are useful in the presence of hemorrhoids, in the case of gastritis, ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, and colitis, especially if ulcerative.
Potatoes are rich in complex carbohydrates, therefore suitable for those suffering from diabetes. In fact, complex carbohydrates must be broken down into simple sugars before being absorbed, which means that they gradually come into circulation, contributing to greater glycemic stability. Potatoes give a strong sense of satiety and therefore help to control hunger and lose weight.
Calories and nutritional values of potatoes
100 g of potatoes contain 85 kcal / 354 kj.
Furthermore, for every 100 g of this product, we have:
- Water 78.50 g
- Carbohydrates 17.90 g
- Sugars 0, 4 g
- Proteins 2.1 g
- Fats 1 g
- Cholesterol 0 g
- Total fiber 1.6 g
- Sodium 7 mg
- Potassium 570 mg
- Iron 0.6 mg
- Calcium 10 mg
- Phosphorus 54 mg
- Magnesium 28 mg
- Zinc 1.24 mg
- Copper 0.19 mg
- Selenium traces
- Vitamin B1 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B2 0.04 mg
- Vitamin B3 2.5 mg
- Vitamin A 3 µg
- Vitamin C 15 mg
Potatoes, allies of
Digestive system, blood circulation, skin, weight.
Potatoes among the natural remedies against sunburn: discover the others
Curiosity about potatoes
- "Potatoes contain an anticancer substance, the gene chlorine acid, " explains Mary Ellen Camire, Associate Professor and head of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition of the University of Maine in Orono. "To get the maximum benefit from the anticancer properties of potatoes, you must also eat the peel or, alternatively, boil them without peeling them and use the cooking water for other dishes, for example soups or stews."
- In Europe, potatoes were not immediately fortunate and not because of some intrinsic inconvenience, but because, belonging to the Solanaceae family, they were associated with other vegetables belonging to the same group, including the poisonous plant known as belladonna . So before being appreciated, potatoes in Europe were feared.
- To invent the fries was an Indian-American cook, George Crum . It was a summer evening in 1853, when at Moon Lake, the luxury restaurant in Saratoga Springs (New York) where the chef worked, landed the demanding railway magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. The entrepreneur had sent a plate of potatoes back three times because they were not thin enough for his palate. Exasperated Crum then decided to take revenge; he cut the potatoes into very thin slices, imagining that, once fried, they would have been too hard to eat. On the contrary, Vanderbilt was enthusiastic about the recipe and the dish became a specialty of the restaurant. A few years later Crum opened a restaurant of his own: each customer sitting at his table was greeted by a basket of fries. Crum never patented the recipe and in 1920 a Californian company, Scudder's Potato, paved the way for mass consumption, inventing the typical bags for French fries, designed to preserve freshness and crispness.
A recipe up your sleeve
Potatoes are widely used in the kitchen, both in rich and modest recipes. Basically we can distinguish two types of potatoes: the white, floury, suitable for dumplings and mashed potatoes, and the yellow one, with a more compact grain.
We suggest a recipe that you can make with both varieties: potato supplì .
Ingredients for 6 people :
- 500 g of potatoes,
- 500 g of flour,
- 2 eggs,
- 80 g of butter,
- 30 g of brewer's yeast,
- salt,
- half a glass of milk,
- 4 tablespoons of grated Parmesan,
- 50 g of salami, oil for frying (better than peanut oil).
Procedure: wash the potatoes, peel them and pass them while still hot. Put the puree obtained on the table and add flour, eggs, butter and melted yeast with a little warm water. Season with a pinch of salt and mix everything. Leave the mixture to rise for 2 hours.
Prepare a béchamel with butter (a walnut), flour (a spoon) and milk (half a glass) which you will season with salt, parmesan and salami in small pieces. Divide the dough into pieces (about thirty will come) which you will give the shape of a ball, helping yourself with flour. At the center of each palletta form a dimple and fill it with the seasoned béchamel. Once the filling is closed, fry in hot oil. You can serve them both hot and cold.
