Thanks to Peter I, potatoes have become an integral part of modern Russian cuisine. It is present as a side dish on almost every table, at any holiday, mashed potatoes are the most popular. Cooks have come up with a huge number of ways to cook potatoes: they boil, bake, stew or fry, and also make convenience foods and chips. Agree, the latest potato products are less attractive and healthy. In this regard, the question arises, how to properly cook potatoes and preserve useful properties, giving the dish a twist, while not harming your health? There are three most useful ways to cook potatoes, which one is better and more convenient – you choose.
How to cook potato dishes to preserve useful properties
The oldest cooking method that best preserves its beneficial properties is jacket potatoes. It doesn’t take much time, and you don’t need to spend much energy either.
Along with it, in preserving useful properties and with a lower calorie content, there is steaming and baking. The latter preserves the most pleasant appearance of the product when cooked, and most importantly, the natural aroma, which is also one of the most useful. If you choose to steam your potatoes, pretreat them by cutting the skin as thinly as possible. This will save more vitamins, remember that! Moreover, now there are special cleaning knives that facilitate the work of even a novice hostess.

Let’s now talk about how to properly boil potatoes, here, too, not everything is as simple as it seemed. After all, this is the most important part of the cooking process.
Among housewives, the most common mistake is to put potatoes in a full pot of cold water and wait for it to boil. Remember, the amount of water in the pan should be minimal, and the potatoes should only be thrown into boiling salted water. Therefore, during and after cleaning, it is not recommended to fill the tubers with cold water for storage.
The second mistake, which threatens to lose useful qualities, is small slicing of potatoes. Overcooking should also be avoided, so simmering is best. Chef’s Tip: Add a small amount of cucumber pickle to avoid overcooking, and for a quicker cooking – butter. And finally, after the process is completed, immediately drain the water. Properly cooked potatoes help absorb excess fat.

For lovers of boiled and steamed food, such advice is fine, but what about fans of fried foods? For fans of fried potatoes, we also decided to reveal a couple of cooking secrets that maximize the beneficial properties and reduce calorie content.
It is worth frying potatoes only in high-quality olive oil or lard, if you use sunflower oil, then make sure that it is exclusively refined. We do not recommend using margarine, butter, cooking fat or other hydrogenated fats. Remember, secondary frying in the same oil is strictly prohibited! To reduce oxidation, we recommend throwing a few pieces of carrots into the pan.
You probably noticed that the crispier the crust, the tastier it is. But do not flatter yourself, it is, of course, tasty, but very harmful. It collects all the harmful substances that the food enzymes of our body are not able to break down.
If, after reading, you still have a desire to eat something fried, then protect yourself and ease the work of the stomach by eating various vegetables: green salad, carrots. Do not neglect red pepper, nuts, sea buckthorn, currants and spinach. After a good feast, drink more kefir.
For those who still decide to take care of their health, but are not ready to give up products like fried potatoes or french fries, we offer a worthy replacement – potatoes baked in straws. The recipe is very simple. It is necessary to cut the potatoes into strips and put them in a large container (so that it is easy to mix later), pour over with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, mix. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet, baking for 30 minutes. Don’t forget to turn occasionally to avoid burning.

Now you know several ways to properly prepare healthy potato dishes that will not harm your health. The most important thing is the exclusion of fat during cooking.
Many nutritionists advise sometimes fasting days, using baked potatoes in their skins as the main dish, but the maximum amount should not be more than 1.5 kg per day. meal divide into 5 doses without adding salt and oil. Such days are useful for hypertensive patients and heart patients, as well as for people with impaired blood circulation and kidneys.

How to choose the right potatoes
Any basis of a dish are tasty and fresh products. It would seem that there is nothing easier than choosing potatoes. But who wants to eat dishes from green or long-stale tubers, and how many problems with cleaning ?!
Experts do not recommend buying potatoes in supermarkets or stores. It is best to buy it on the market. Experienced housewives try to buy from already trusted sellers. It’s a matter of time, if you walk and choose, then you will definitely find something that suits you in terms of quality and price. The best option would be to buy from people who grow potatoes in their area.
Pay attention to the period that the potatoes were stored. Undoubtedly, it can lie for a long time, but, having survived the winter, the tubers accumulate solanine in themselves. Cooked potato dishes containing this substance can cause hypovitaminosis. Therefore, carefully choose the basis for dishes.