Potatoes seem simple, until you realize there is an entire grading system in place by the industry. Potato size can mean the difference between a watery mess and a creamy mash. Commercial packers and the USDA grade and sort tubers by weight and diameter. This creates a common language for farmers and chefs, allowing them to predict how the tubers will behave when they cook. Knowing the system alters not only the way you cook with potatoes, but also the way you buy them.
At the low end of the spectrum is the creamer potatoes that weigh under an ounce each and have a diameter of less than an inch. Because of their small size, they can absorbs roasted whole without the outer edge getting overdone while the interior remain raw.
How Potato Size Changes How You Cook Them
Up from the small and into the Size B category, the potatoes’ tubers measure between one- and two-and-a-quarter inches across. These is good for tossing in salad or boiling. They keep their shape nicely during cooking and offer a good balance of flesh-to-skin. Small spuds also cook quicker then bigger ones so there’s more difference in how fast they pick up seasonings.
Size A potatoes are an everyday choice. This is the standard round type that measures at least one and seven eighths inches in diameter and weighs between four and ten ounces. This is the most common size used by home cooks, think baking whole or dicing Size A potatoes into hash browns. For commercial uses, Size A meet the minimum size required for most common standards, ensuring a baseline of quality and consistency. If you’re wondering if your potato needs to be peeled, knowing it’s a Size A versus a Size B will help.
Some potatoes is intended to be prepared certain ways. These three-inch or larger-diameter potatoes weighs upwards of sixteen ounces. They are best suited as bakers, or for making big batches of fries. These large potatoes weigh more, so there are fewer tubers in each carton than with smaller ones. This is why food service operators use these counts for inventory control. When baking your own potato at home, the bigger spud will also help ensure that the interior fluff up nicely without the skin becoming leathery.
That’s why we are able to get an idea of how much they grow from the poundage on each box, or rather, the number per 50lb carton. There are approximately 35 tubers in a JUMBO 50 lb carton, and more like 420 tubers in a carton of creamers. This will show the process for sorting out potatoes by grade standard for both farmers and packers alike. They want it to look good but also be predictable, so every potato in that bag cook at the same rate. That’s what restaurants need.
There’s also a relationship between size and age/maturity of your potatoes. They begin small and reach tennis-ball size around week ten. Larger potatoes tend to be harder with thicker skin and more dense starch. As the plant ages, starchy content turns to sugar, which changes both texture and flavor. A jumbo baker isn’t simply a large potato; it’s a mature one.
Grade your potatoes on the widest part of their diameter. Not length. That long skinny russet may not pass diameter tests in some cases. And don’t forget: Tubers that are green or have soft spots aren’t good whether they are big or small. Volume is nothing without quality control. Examine skin condition and overall shape of each potato when you pick them up.
The quality will tell you whether to cook it; the size will tell you how to cook it. Don’t just shop by color, understanding the grade will help you shop with confidence. You should of looked at the labels more closely because actualy knowing the size helps. It makes shopping much more comfortabley.