What does the potato have to please everyone?

2000/01/01 Lorenzo, Arantza | Uranga, Ane Miren Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Dietetika/Elikagaiak

It contains a water quantity of 65-78% and most of the dry part is made up of carbohydrates (20%). The most abundant is starch. No fat and with few proteins (only 2%). Its main mineral salt is potassium, although its quantity varies depending on the type of potato, the quality of the cultivated land, the type of fertilizer and the storage. As for vitamins, they are mainly from group B and vitamin C, but knowing that the potato is always cooked or fried, the effect of heat makes almost all vitamin C disappear. Finally, its ingredients contain the enzymes amylase and amylopectin, which make digestion of the potato not complicated.

Although it does not present great conservation problems, it is not advisable to keep them inactive, since otherwise you will get some buds that we do not like and that will give an unpleasant flavor. In this case the potato acquires a greenish color that indicates the presence of a toxic alkaloid called solanine. This substance can cause intestinal and neurological problems. Therefore, remove any green zone that you find on the leg.

We have said on several occasions that for our diet to be balanced, 55-60% of the calories we eat should come from carbohydrates. To be able to reach this figure it is essential to introduce the potato in our daily meals, especially as accompaniment of foods rich in vegetables, legumes and proteins.

In principle they do not provide too many calories, although the way to cook them has much to say: cooked, steamed, fried or baked. The fries that we like so much are the least vitamin and the most energetic because they have absorbed a lot of oil (Eye! If they are fried in very hot oil, they absorb less), so it is recommended to eat from time to time (2-3 times per week) and the rest of the days cooked, steamed or baked. Cooking without peeling or steaming reduces the loss of vitamins.

As we mentioned in the title, let us make no contempt for this food which is of taste and suitable for the health of all, with the excuse of fattening.