What type of potatoes do you prefer?

winterybella

winterybella

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Quite recently we got to talking about potato salad and it got me thinking about potatoes in general. In my country I don't think we have a lot to choose from. I am thinking I have probably seen maybe 5 different types. The red potatoes seem to hold up best but are the most expensive. What's your potato of choice, and do you have many kinds to choose from where you live? Further, how do you store them?
 
My favourite big potatoes are Maris piper,king edward and golden wonder
But I do use a lot specialised ,mini potatoes and purple potatoes
A potato that is very good but seems to be for family use is red rooster
 
It is difficult to pick any particular one. I used to grow around 8-10 different varieties and they all tasted different. This year I only have 2 varieties, both salad type one but I do love Cara, Red Duke of York, Golden Wonder, Pink Fir Apple, Shetland Black and quite a few others of the heritage variety.

Storage is is a cool dark dry place which is well ventilated but at this time of year as life is trying to grow, sorting potatoes is hard because all they want to do is grow! The fields around me are an example of that, they are all full of Cheshire potatoes!
 
I always use the russet potatoes. They are elongated, have nearly smooth surfaces & far less eyes to have to dig out!! :wink:
 
I have not seen a great variety of potatoes in my country. In fact, I was not aware that there were so many different varieties. When I go shopping for potatoes, I just pick out some potatoes without paying any attention to what type of potatoes they are, so I cannot say that I have a favourite type. The ones I buy work very well for me. I do not even know what they are called.

I usually store my potatoes in a vegetable basket. I find, however, that if I buy a lot at a time and do not use them regularly, they start to grow stems. Mostly though, I would just buy the amount that I need to use at a particular time. I never store them in the refrigerator.
 
I like the Yukon Gold best. It holds its shape well. I also like blue potatoes because they are so pretty, they just make whatever dish you are making look really special. You can't find blue potatoes everywhere though. They are actually illegal in Idaho.
 
Duck59 said:
According to the all-knowing resource that is Wikipedia, there are around 4,000 different varieties of potato. My local fruit & veg shop had 13 different types the last time I was in there. The 80 or so that we get in the UK are shown here, with a handy guide to their uses:

http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/potato-varieties
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Duck59. This is gem and even after a quick look at the types of potatoes, I am not even sure which ones we have here. Usually around here we don't often give potatoes a name except maybe to "the red ones or small read ones" depending on the presentation you want. I don't even know that we grow "English potatoes" in our country which is what we call all potatoes besides sweet potatoes. I'll be spending some time learning potatoes. My mom grew and still grows many crops including sweet potatoes but never "english" potatoes.
 
My favorites are the tiny fingerling potatoes. You can throw them on a cooking sheet whole with skins and all and roast them to a delicious perfection. I coat mine with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary. I could live on these potatoes.
 
I also like the little fingerling potatoes. They're good for baking cut in half & given some olive oil, garlic and rosemary, paprika, Salt & pepper and put in the oven to bake until crispy & tender!! :wink:
 
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Those red potatoes are fairly easy to grow. I experimented with some in a laundry basket last year. I had one that sprouted so I decided to give it a try and I ended up with about a dozen little baby potatoes (it was kind of late in the season for growing them). I'm late setting potatoes out again, but I have two with sprouts waiting to go in the soil. My fresh taters were delicious when I cooked them!
 
ChanellG said:
Those red potatoes are fairly easy to grow. I experimented with some in a laundry basket last year. I had one that sprouted so I decided to give it a try and I ended up with about a dozen little baby potatoes (it was kind of late in the season for growing them). I'm late setting potatoes out again, but I have two with sprouts waiting to go in the soil. My fresh taters were delicious when I cooked them!
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So I am visiting my mom today and I am surprise to hear she did try to plant some potatos years ago. She says they never came to anything so it was an exercise short lived. Apparently so many are imported it easier to pick up some up and not invest a crop that is apparently is difficult to grow.
 
ChanellG said:
Those red potatoes are fairly easy to grow. I experimented with some in a laundry basket last year. I had one that sprouted so I decided to give it a try and I ended up with about a dozen little baby potatoes (it was kind of late in the season for growing them). I'm late setting potatoes out again, but I have two with sprouts waiting to go in the soil. My fresh taters were delicious when I cooked them!
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Fresh garden grown potatoes are the best, and at least you will not have to worry about pesticides and everything else that are added to them to make them look presentable at the grocery store. My goal is to one day grow all of my own produce.
 
Rosyrain said:
Fresh garden grown potatoes are the best, and at least you will not have to worry about pesticides and everything else that are added to them to make them look presentable at the grocery store. My goal is to one day grow all of my own produce.
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That would be nice, though you'll have to have a lot of time available to put in a lot of work. Getting it all set up and growing is only half of it; maintaining the health of the plants and keeping the bugs and snails off without chemicals is a constant battle. Late winter and early spring when I can start growing, it's usually raining a lot and the snails are almost epidemic. They drive me nuts!
 
winterybella said:
So I am visiting my mom today and I am surprise to hear she did try to plant some potatos years ago. She says they never came to anything so it was an exercise short lived. Apparently so many are imported it easier to pick up some up and not invest a crop that is apparently is difficult to grow.
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They are not at all difficult to grow! The proof of that is in letting one get too old and having it start to sprout. Potatoes don't like heat, however, so they cannot be grown in the summer. You may not have the ideal weather for growing them, but you could try it in a bucket next fall when the heat up summer starts to dissipate.
 
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