Red Potatoes

Potatoes are an incredibly versatile vegetable. From Chips to crisps to mash and roasts, they can be part of a snack or a loaded meal! Commonly the potatoes we consume are your typical brown ones, but there exists another kind of potatoes, the Red Potatoes.




Why are Red Potatoes Red?

Red Potatoes have a pigment in them called anthocyanins. Pigments are responsible for giving things its natural colour, and anthocyanins can give a variety of different colours, from red, purple, blue or black. The pigment anthocyanins adopts depends on its pH level, which is a measure of how acidic (or alkaline) something is, and if we really want to explore it, the pH level is how much hydrogen ions there are in a given amount of “stuff”. But that’s all fancy talk.




What’s so good about Red Potatoes?

The magic anthocyanins aren’t just there to make the potatoes look pretty, because let’s be honest; the brown in the potato can get kind of bland sometimes. They actually provide numerous amount of benefits that actually can put them above the typical Russet. The pigment is incredibly rich in antioxidants. These antioxidants prevent a process called “Oxidation” which produces Free Radicals. These Free Radicals cause chain reactions, and may damage the cells of organisms, and this is how cancer can form in the body. When you have a diet rich in antioxidants, your body produces this process from happening, which means you’re at a lower risk of Cancer.

Anthocyanins also contain anti-inflammatories, which as you can guess by the name, prevents inflammation. Inflammation is a process which prevents your body from protecting itself from harmful things in your body. It’s almost a kind of mistake from your body, it tries to help your body; but it actually does the opposite and prevents the things that actually want to protect your body, from protecting it. These Red Potatoes have a lot of anti-inflammatories, which prevents this “mistake” from happening, and generally just stops inflammation which we all know can be a huge pain.

The pigment has a healthy amount of potassium in it too. In fact, it’s got more potassium than a banana has! Potassium helps do a bunch of things, but the main ones are reducing your blood pressure, protecting you against strokes and also preventing you from developing kidney stones.




What can I use Red Potatoes for?

Red Potatoes are less starchy than your typical brown ones, and they are waxier too. They’re good for a variety of different dishes, from salads, to soups. You can either roast them or you can boil them. The interesting thing about red potatoes is that when they are cooked, they retain their colour, so you can see that gorgeous bright-red in the meals you eat! The main kind of red potato you’ll consume is most likely Red Bliss, though there are several different ones, that change the shape, size and taste!

Remember everything listed here, the potassium, the anti-inflammatories and the antioxidants are all in the anthocyanins, and the anthocyanins are in the skin! So that means if you peel away that beautiful red coat, you’d be throwing away all of those handy nutrients. Leaving the skin on is incredibly important in order to fully make use of the nutrients that these little red potatoes contain!