If you’ve ever bitten into a perfectly tender, slightly sweet, and ultra-creamy potato, there’s a good chance it was a new potato. These young tubers, harvested before they reach full maturity, are a spring specialty that bring a fresh, buttery taste to a wide variety of dishes. Their ultra-thin, flaky skins and smooth, firm texture set them apart from regular potatoes, making them a favorite among chefs and home cooks alike. Whether you’re roasting, boiling, or smashing them, new potatoes are a versatile ingredient that deserves a spot in your kitchen. Here’s everything you need to know about selecting, storing, and cooking these seasonal gems.
How to Tell a New Potato From a Small Potato
There’s one easy way to tell if a potato is a new potato: Check the skin. If it looks feathery and can be easily scraped off with a fingernail, it’s a new potato, not just a smaller-size tuber. New potatoes are harvested before they’re fully matured and the skin has had a chance to set, or thicken. That super-thin, sometimes-flaky skin is one of the things that make new potatoes so special, along with their creamy-firm texture and delicate sweetness.
How to Choose the Best New Potatoes
Look for new potatoes that are firm and show no signs of sprouting, greening, cuts, or blemishes. Thin, feathery skins are a plus, but avoid potatoes with too much skin missing, as they will be more highly perishable. When possible, choose ones that are similar in size so that they will all cook evenly in the same amount of time.
Other Small Spuds
While new potatoes are only available seasonally, other small potatoes can be found year-round. Baby, petite, bite-size, teeny-tiny, and creamer are all different names for smooth-skinned potato varieties that are harvested while still small. The 1- to 2-inch spuds (aka size C potatoes) are available year-round and can be used interchangeably with new potatoes.
How to Cook ’em Like a Pro
Remember our top three prep and cooking tips for new potato newbies:
- Scrub gently to remove dirt (but not skin!).
- Boil or steam whole to lock in flavor and keep out excess moisture. Bringing them up to boiling with cool tap water (rather than adding potatoes to boiling water) also helps prevent sogginess.
- Use a sharp knife to slice or halve without crushing.
Recipe: Smashed New Potatoes With Garlic and Chives
55 minutes | Makes 4 cups
A silicone baking mat helps these bite-size morsels crisp on the bottom as well as the top. You’ll get crispier results with a silicone mat than you will with parchment paper.
- 2 lb. new or baby potatoes, scrubbed and drained
- 2 Tbsp. minced garlic
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup chopped fresh chives
- Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with tap water until there’s 1 inch of water over top of the potatoes. Bring to boiling. Boil 20 to 25 minutes or until tender. Drain, then return potatoes to saucepan. Toss with garlic. Let potatoes cool in pan 5 minutes.
- Spread potatoes on the prepared baking sheet. Using a potato masher or large fork, gently smash potatoes to ½-inch thickness, making sure each potato remains intact. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are browned and crispy. Serve sprinkled with chives.
