Floury or waxy what does this mean????

[gunnerbee]

Sorry to be a dafty, but does this mean the cooked texture of the spud??? and how do you destinguish?

[gunnerbee]

[spacehopper]

I think it's the cooked texture. I remember my mum berating a tato called 'Sharpes Express' for being too floury and falling apart when it was boiled! Salad potatoes tend to be waxy and keep their shape well when boiled. I think the texture is determined by water content in the tato, with waxier tatos having higher water content. Some people say that the floury varieties have a better flavour, I've not eaten enough different varieties to comment on that!

[tim]

As always, I think that Leith is as helpful as any on usage.  Her (most common) waxy ones are:

Arran Pilot/Charlotte/Desirée/Estima/Maris Bard/Pentland Javelin/Pink Fir/Romano/Ulster Sceptre.

Us? Apart from salad potatoes, we use what's there & have no complaints. For home use, I think that one can be a little over-fussy?

[agapanthus]

If you put very floury potatoes in cold water then gradually bring them to the boil and cook them on a very low heat this does help them not fall apart too much. I did this with the Kerr's Pink that I grew last year.

[stuffed]

It is another one of those personal preferance things, I prefer floury ones for roasting because they are fluffier

[tim]

Yes - strange that Pru should include Desirée & Maris Piper?

[jennym]

Got taught a bit about the cell structure of different potatoes at college, most of which isn't relevant really, but there is a reasonably straightforward BBC link here which goes some way to explaining it:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/fullonfood_potato.shtml

[Curryandchips]

What a fascinating article, I had never considered making mash with waxy potatoes (other than in desperation). There is hope yet then for one of my favourite varieties - pink fir apple. It is already my favourite salad potato, and makes tasty roasts and impressive chips.

[agapanthus]

Waxy potatoes make lovely 'crush'...just crush with a fork and add a generous quantity of butter and pepper ;D

[tim]

Fascinating, Jenny.

Of course, many of us have only ever had our own mash, so we don't know any better?

[spacehopper]

Great link jenny, very interesting.

[real food]

You should NEVER BOIL potatoes!!!!! You throw away the flavour and the vitamins with the water.  Microwave them in a covered container and you keep the flavour. You can even taste the difference between the different varieties of potato. And the texture is much better. Trust me and try it for yourself!!!

[grotbag]

HI, if microwaving do you add water and how long in micro

[tim]

Good thinking, foody - but try doing that in our m/wave for a typical 10-14??

But will try one day when we're on our own!!

[real food]

The container must be covered. I do not add any water but the books suggest 2 or 3 tablespoons of water. Wash the potatoes and cut into similar egg sized pieces. Enough potatoes for three people take about 8 minutes to cook in a 850 watt microwave.
Enjoy!

[tim]

Noted!

[gunnerbee]

i personally dont do microwaves for veg, im a steamaholic !!!!

[grawrc]

Me too.

[real food]

Well, at least you do not boil potatoes!! But just think of all the time you could save if you microwaved the potatoes.

[tim]

Steaming? YES! Nice concentrated veg stock, too.

But not for cabbage!