Young potatoes: pros and cons

Be careful with young potatoes. The harm from excess nitrates will outweigh all the benefits of this product.

New potatoes came to our stores from the southern regions. Many eat them and praise them. Others believe that they are harmful - in particular, for type 2 diabetes. Still others believe that they need to be cooked in a special way, otherwise the money is wasted... But how are things really?

About diabetes

Any potato, regardless of its age, is harmful or useful for a diabetic depending on how it is cooked. And here's the thing. Potato tubers are rich in starch, which is a carbohydrate that is very useful for diabetics. They are digested in the intestines slowly, enter the blood for a long time and increase sugar levels in the blood relatively little. Now pay attention!

Starch changes its properties significantly depending on cooking. Therefore, the sugar-raising effect of different potato dishes differs significantly. Mashed potatoes, especially those cooked in butter rather than water, are one of the most dangerous products for diabetics. They raise blood sugar levels just like honey and Coca-Cola. And boiled potatoes, especially young ones, are among the healthiest products. Their effect on blood glucose is comparable to sugar-free fruit juices or bran bread. The advantages of "young tubers" for diabetics are as follows. Although they contain less starch than old ones, early potatoes are rich in other carbohydrates that are even more slowly digestible than starch.

Dangers

Be careful with new potatoes, cabbage, beets, garlic of the new harvest, which are brought to us from southern countries in April-May! What seems to be a repository of benefits can be harmful. They are "driven out" in a hurry, as a rule, due to shock doses of fertilizers. Therefore, early spring vegetables usually have more nitrates than those left over from the previous harvest. In addition, due to the lack of sun and heat, root crops and heads of cabbage do not get many vitamins. So I do not recommend fighting spring vitamin deficiency with the help of such vegetables.

So, having weighed "all" the pros and cons of May potatoes, experts do not recommend diabetics, as well as other patients with chronic diseases, as well as pregnant and lactating women, to consume them. The harm from excess nitrates will outweigh all the advantages of such a product. By the way, much more useful and safe sources of "spring vitamins" are our first May greens: dill, parsley, onions, nettles, dandelion, spinach and other plants. As for imported young potatoes at the end of spring, experts recommend waiting for the one that will bring the harvest of our middle zone at the end of July-August.

Simple recipes that can be followed to reduce the level of nitrates in young potatoes even more. Potatoes contain the most nitrates in the peel. But since the most useful substances of these root vegetables are concentrated close to it, it is necessary to scrape it off as carefully as possible. And it is even better to wash the tubers thoroughly. However, young potatoes can be boiled in their skins if you have taken several "anti-nitrate measures".

1. Store new potatoes in the refrigerator, since at low temperatures it is impossible for nitrates to transform into more toxic substances - nitrites.
2. To reduce the nitrate content in young potatoes by another 20-25%, it is enough to soak these vegetables in water for 30-40 minutes before cooking.
3. When boiling potatoes, most nitrates pass into the water during the first 30-40 minutes, and the tubers lose up to 80% of nitrates during this treatment. However, the longer you boil the potatoes, the more valuable substances will pass into the boiling water along with the nitrates: vitamins and mineral salts. In short, take pity on the young potatoes, do not boil them longer than 30-40 minutes.
4. Eat and drink potato salads and juices freshly prepared. Their long-term storage at room temperature promotes the proliferation of microflora, which converts nitrates into nitrites. Multiple temperature changes (from the refrigerator to the table and back) will only intensify this process.
5. For potato salads, it is better to use vegetable oil, not mayonnaise and sour cream. In these additives, if such dishes are not put in the refrigerator in time, microflora actively develops.

Young potatoes of the first harvest, appearing on Ukrainian shelves at the end of spring, are usually small, condescendingly called "peas" by buyers. But how useful they are! Although they contain less starch than old ones, they are more saturated with bioflavonoid substances that strengthen the walls of blood vessels, and most importantly - vitamin C, as well as from groups B and PP. And the younger the tuber, the more microelements it contains, especially magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron.

Potato proteins are the most complete of all vegetables. They contain all the essential amino acids. That is, potato proteins are very similar to animal proteins. Before cooking, young and old potatoes contain about the same amount of proteins in both quantity and quality. But after cooking, old tubers lose most of their protein, as it is removed along with the cut-off "subcutaneous layer". Nutritionists categorically do not recommend cooking old potatoes in their skins. If you ignore this advice, the proteins will not be lost, but one old tuber will give the eater as many nitrates as a whole plate of "young people".

How to trim

Although they say "young and green", meaning that this is how it should be in life, this does not apply to young potatoes. Never miss tubers with green spots and "eyes".

Trim them carefully. This is how the carcinogenic substance solanine shows its presence. You need to choose young potatoes correctly. The tubers should be firm, smooth, and uniformly colored. Green sides mean that the product was stored in the light and accumulated solanine. In short, the sooner you use May potatoes for cooking, the better, and this applies to any early vegetables.

How to cook

The best way to cook young potatoes is to boil them over moderate heat, with the lid closed, in a small amount of water, no more than half the volume of the tubers. You need to throw the potatoes into boiling water - this will preserve vitamin C. Young potatoes are not good for frying. They do not like to brown and turn out tough. But mashed potatoes and pancakes from them are no worse than from old ones.