Which potato should I use for which dish?

The waxy-to-floury spectrum, which UK varieties sit where, and why the wrong one collapses or refuses to fluff.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 5 min
Read: 3 min

Short answer

Waxy potatoes hold their shape and suit boiling, salads and gratins. Floury ones fall apart and suit mash, baking and roasting. Maris Piper sits in the middle and is why it is the default in British kitchens.

Almost every potato disappointment is a variety problem rather than a technique problem. Mash that will not go smooth, roast potatoes that stay waxy and potato salad that turns to mush are all the wrong potato in the right method.

Waxy to floury potatoes, and what each is for

Step by step

Understand the spectrum.It is starch content. High starch means dry, absorbent flesh that collapses; low starch means dense, moist flesh that holds together. Everything else follows from that.
Know the waxy ones.Charlotte, Anya, Nicola, Jersey Royal, and most small salad potatoes. They stay intact when boiled, which is what a potato salad, a gratin or a stew needs.
Know the floury ones.Rooster, Golden Wonder, Estima, and anything sold as a baking potato. Dry and fluffy, so they mash smoothly, bake well and take up fat in a roasting tin.
Know the all-rounders.Maris Piper, King Edward, Desiree. These roast and chip very well and mash acceptably, which is why they are what most recipes assume.
Match the variety to what you want to happen.If the potato must keep its shape, go waxy. If it needs to break up, absorb or fluff, go floury. There is no potato that does both well.
Use the supermarket labels.UK supermarkets label potatoes by use — salad, roasting, mashing, baking — even when the variety is not named. The labels are broadly reliable.
Adjust the method if you have the wrong one.Waxy potatoes can be roasted if you parboil and rough them up hard. Floury ones can be boiled if you start them in cold water and stop the moment they are tender.
Do not keep them in the fridge.Cold converts potato starch to sugar, which makes them sweet and, when fried, makes them brown too fast and too dark. A cool, dark, ventilated cupboard is right.

Tips

Maris Piper is the safe default for roasting and chips. Charlotte is the safe default for salads.
If mash is gluey no matter what you do, you are probably using a waxy potato.
New potatoes are not a variety — they are any potato lifted young, and they behave waxy.

Common mistakes

Making potato salad with floury potatoes — They disintegrate as soon as they are tender, so you get a bowl of mash with dressing on it. Waxy potatoes hold their edges through boiling, cooling and mixing.
Mashing waxy potatoes — Their dense, moist cells resist breaking down, so you have to work them harder, which ruptures them and releases sticky starch. That is the gluey mash people blame on the masher.

If it doesn't work

Potato salad turned to mush

Cause: Floury variety — Fix: Use Charlotte, Anya or another salad potato and stop cooking the moment a knife goes in.

Mash gluey

Cause: Waxy variety, or overworked — Fix: Use a floury potato and a ricer rather than a blender or a hard-worked masher.

Roast potatoes waxy inside

Cause: Waxy variety — Fix: Use Maris Piper or King Edward, parboil and rough the surfaces up before roasting.

Potatoes taste sweet and brown too fast

Cause: Stored in the fridge — Fix: Keep them in a cool dark cupboard instead. The effect partly reverses after a week at room temperature.

Questions people ask

What is the best all-round potato?

Maris Piper. It roasts, chips, mashes and bakes acceptably to well, which is why it is the most widely sold variety in the UK. It is not the best at any single job but it is never badly wrong.

How can I tell if a potato is waxy or floury?

Beyond the label, floury potatoes generally have rougher, drier skin and feel light for their size, and they sink less readily in salted water. In practice the supermarket labelling is quicker and reliable enough.