Is a russet potato the same as a baking potato?
No… baking potatoes are the big brown ones that you commonly think of when you imagine ‘potato’. Russet potatoes are russet (or reddish) on the outside, typically smaller, and better for salads, mashing (though there are even better varieties), and soups than baker potatoes. Your local grocer should be glad to explain the uses of the various types of potatoes to you. It’s actually interesting — in early college years I had to work in the produce section at a wal-mart and learned a lot of random produce factoids… the only positive part of an otherwise horrible job.
