I have to keep reminding myself how much nutrition a simple russet potato provides.
These are standouts, for a large potato, baked with skin:
- 8 grams of protein. Not an egg but respectable.
- 38.6 mg of vitamin C. That’s 64% of the Daily Value, more than half of the day’s requirement. In a potato!
- 3.2 mg iron. Important for vegans.
- 1645 mg potassium. That’s 63% of the RDA for a woman. You can balance a lot of sodium with that.
- 7 grams of fiber. More than many adults get in a day. (RDA is 25g for women, 38g for men.)
- 90 mg magnesium. Good for sleep, and hot flashes, and mood, and as a muscle relaxant. Can never say enough good about magnesium.
I bought a few bags and have been experimenting with the best way to cook them. American’s Test Kitchen, among others, say to bake at 450 degrees for 45 min to 1 hour. I’ve also read to go low, 325 degrees for 90 minutes, up to 2 hours. Low-and-slow gives a tastier potato but the skin gets too hard. Wrapping it in foil keeps the skin soft, yes, but the insides are too wet. I’m still at it. Suggestions welcome.
Fanatic Cook 
That’s great about russet potatoes! I had no idea, and I like potatoes too! If I come across any cooking suggestions, I’ll let you know.
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In the past I’ve made “smashed potatoes,” in which I boil potatoes with the skin on, then dump the water and cut them into chunks, then use a potato masher to smoosh them up. As long as they were boiled in the skins, would that ruin the nutrition?
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Welp. I think I’ll be buying a bag of red potatoes and smashing them this week. Salt and pepper. Can’t wait.
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I always like to roast at 350 for one hour after rubbing w olive oil, salt and pepper (sometimes the cut side of a clove of garlic). Nearly always results in fluffy interior and crispy skin. But lately have noticed (but not tried) brining the potatoes in salted water for up to two hours before roasting. May try that one of these days.
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I’m glad you weighed in, Marj. Right. I’m going to abandon the high temperatures and stick with 330-350 or so. 450 cooks the outside too fast and doesn’t develop flavor.
The America’s Test Kitchen had me roll the potatoes in salt water before baking. Not a brine, just a quick one-minute roll. I wasn’t fond of it … salty skins. A 2-hour brine would probably be better but, that’s a lot of planning for a potato!
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