Editing Potato (section)

=== Varieties ===

{{further|List of potato cultivars}}
[[File:Potatoes for sale in a market in France.jpg|thumb|A variety of different potatoes for sale in a market in France]]

[[File:Papas de colores de Chiloe.jpg|thumb|Potatoes of different colors]] 

There are some 5,000 potato varieties worldwide, 3,000 of them in the [[Andes]] alone — mainly in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, and Colombia. Over 100 cultivars might be found in a single valley, and a dozen or more might be maintained by a single agricultural household.<ref>{{cite web |last=Theisen |first=K |date=1 January 2007 |title=History and overview |url=http://research.cip.cgiar.org/confluence/display/wpa/Peru |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080114015939/http://research.cip.cgiar.org/confluence/display/wpa/Peru |archive-date=14 January 2008 |access-date=10 September 2008 |work=World Potato Atlas: Peru |publisher=[[International Potato Center]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:821337-1#synonyms |title=''Solanum tuberosum'' L. |date=2017 |website=[[Plants of the World Online]] |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=7 September 2020}}</ref> 
The [[European Cultivated Potato Database]] is an online collaborative database of potato variety descriptions updated and maintained by the [[Scottish Agricultural Science Agency]] within the framework of the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks—which is run by the [[International Plant Genetic Resources Institute]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Europotato.org |url=http://www.europotato.org/menu.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091128021457/http://www.europotato.org/menu.php |archive-date=28 November 2009 |access-date=16 July 2010 |publisher=Europotato.org}}</ref>
Around 80 varieties are commercially available in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |author=Potato Council |title=Potato Varieties |url=http://www.britishpotatoes.co.uk/potato-varieties/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908212045/http://www.britishpotatoes.co.uk/potato-varieties |archive-date=8 September 2009 |access-date=13 September 2009 |publisher=Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board}}</ref> 

For culinary purposes, varieties are often differentiated by their waxiness: floury or mealy ''baking'' potatoes have more [[starch]] (20–22%) than waxy ''boiling'' potatoes (16–18%). The distinction may also arise from variation in the comparative ratio of two different potato starch compounds: [[amylose]] and [[amylopectin]]. Amylose, a long-chain molecule, diffuses from the starch granule when cooked in water, and lends itself to dishes where the potato is mashed. Varieties that contain a slightly higher amylopectin content, which is a highly branched molecule, help the potato retain its shape after being boiled in water.<ref>{{cite web |title=Potato Primer |url=http://www.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/JF07_PotatoPrimer.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217030233/http://www.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/JF07_PotatoPrimer.pdf |archive-date=17 December 2008 |access-date=8 December 2008 |publisher=[[Cook's Illustrated]]}}</ref> Potatoes that are good for making [[potato chip]]s or potato crisps are sometimes called "chipping potatoes", which means they meet the basic requirements of similar varietal characteristics, being firm, fairly clean, and fairly well-shaped.<ref>{{cite web |author=[[Agricultural Marketing Service]] |title=Potatoes for Chipping Grades and Standards |url=https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/potatoes-chipping-grades-and-standards |access-date=27 August 2018 }}</ref>

Immature potatoes may be sold fresh from the field as "{{Vanchor |creamer potatoes |text=creamer}}" or "{{Vanchor |new potatoes |text=new}}" potatoes and are particularly valued for their taste. They are typically small in size and tender, with a loose skin, and flesh containing a lower level of [[starch]] than other potatoes. In the United States they are generally either a [[Yukon Gold potato]] or a red potato, called gold creamers or red creamers respectively.<ref name="recipe tips">{{cite web |title=Creamer Potato |url=http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t--35863/creamer-potato.asp |access-date=18 July 2008 |publisher=recipetips.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=12 August 2013 |title=What is a new potato? New guidelines issued |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-23667664 |access-date=13 June 2021}}</ref> In the UK, the [[Jersey Royal]] is a famous type of new potato.<ref>{{cite news |date=25 January 2010 |title=A look back at a Royal history |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/jersey/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8478000/8478833.stm |access-date=13 June 2021}}</ref> 

Dozens of potato [[cultivar]]s have been [[plant breeding|selectively bred]] specifically for their skin or flesh [[biological pigment |color]], including gold, red, and blue varieties.<ref>{{cite web |date=2017 |title=So many varieties, so many choices |url=http://wisconsinpotatoes.com/growing/varieties/ |publisher=Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association}}</ref> These contain varying amounts of [[phytochemical]]s, including [[carotenoids]] for gold/yellow or [[polyphenol]]s for red or blue cultivars.<ref name="Hirsch">{{cite journal |last1=Hirsch |first1=C.N. |last2=Hirsch |first2=C.D. |last3=Felcher |first3=K |last4=Coombs |first4=J |last5=Zarka |first5=D |last6=Van Deynze |first6=A |last7=De Jong |first7=W |last8=Veilleux |first8=R.E. |last9=Jansky |first9=S |last10=Bethke |first10=P |last11=Douches |first11=D.S. |last12=Buell |first12=C.R. |year=2013 |title=Retrospective View of North American Potato (''Solanum tuberosum'' L.) Breeding in the 20th and 21st Centuries |journal=[[G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics]] |volume=3 |issue=6 |pages=1003–13 |doi=10.1534/g3.113.005595 |pmc=3689798 |pmid=23589519}}</ref> Carotenoid compounds include [[provitamin A]] [[alpha-carotene]] and [[beta-carotene]], which are converted to the [[essential nutrient]], [[vitamin A]], during digestion. [[Anthocyanin]]s mainly responsible for red or blue pigmentation in potato cultivars do not have nutritional significance, but are used for visual variety and consumer appeal.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jemison |first1=John M. Jr. |last2=Sexton |first2=Peter |last3=Camire |first3=Mary Ellen |year=2008 |title=Factors Influencing Consumer Preference of Fresh Potato Varieties in Maine |journal=American Journal of Potato Research |volume=85 |issue=2 |page=140 |doi=10.1007/s12230-008-9017-3 |s2cid=34297429}}</ref> In 2010, potatoes were [[genetic engineering |bioengineered]] specifically for these pigmentation traits.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mattoo |first1=A.K. |title=Bio-Farms for Nutraceuticals |last2=Shukla |first2=V |last3=Fatima |first3=T |last4=Handa |first4=A.K. |last5=Yachha |first5=S.K. |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4419-7346-7 |series=Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology |volume=698 |pages=122–43 |chapter=Genetic Engineering to Enhance Crop-Based Phytonutrients (Nutraceuticals) to Alleviate Diet-Related Diseases |doi=10.1007/978-1-4419-7347-4_10 |pmid=21520708}}</ref>