Potato Flavour

[rooty]

Hi All

Am new to allotments and pretty new to growing things.  This year I bought a bag of Pentland Javelin seed pots from Wilcos.  Have just harvested them, and am very disappointed.  The disappointment is two fold.  Firstly they dont taste of much at all, and secondly when they are boiled/steamed they all fall away to mush, I think the term is flourey?  Basically they are OK for mashed pots if you like them a bit wet and when I fry them they seem to stay very white, but sort of OK.

My question is mostly to do with taste.  What is it that gives them their taste, is it the soil they are in, sandy or clayey; or is it the type of potato, King Edward or Pentland; or is it the fertilizer that is used, horse dung or chicken dung; or is it something else?   A few years ago I bought some King Edwards, from Egypt, and they tasted lovely, like I remembered as a child.  Since then I have tried various types from the supermarkets but in the main they have the same blandness.  I had hoped in growing my own to be able get a decent tasting pot, but it seems its a bit more difficult than I thought.  Just what is it that gives a potato its flavour, thats my basic question.

Thanks for any replies  -  John

[rooty]

[Deb P]

I suspect the answer to your question is not a simple one! Multiple factors influence taste, so I'm guessing basic soil type, soil preparation, watering and variety play their part.

I choose to grow early and second early potatoes only, preferring the yellow waxy types such as Charlotte and Nicola, Kestrel for baking size and they taste 'earthy' and flavoursome to me so I stick to what I like. I manure the ground heavily the winter before sowing, and just fork it over before sowing. I only water potatoes if it has been bone dry for weeks, so rarely, this I think helps avoid flavourless potatoes.

[Tee Gee]

Here is a list produced by T&M

I don't know how accurate it is!

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/potato-selector-guide

[peanuts]

Hello John
I've two suggestions to make concerning potato taste and cooking them. I'm sure a lot has to do with soil, and   that season's weather as well.  However, how you cook them makes a difference obviously!  I l/ike the waxy flesh, and have discovered a way to get that (others will tell you to steam them, etc, but i've never done that). I don't scrape or remove the skin in any way.  I put them in water with mint, cut so they are all a similar size and bring them up to the boil.  Then I simmer them very gently (with salt, if you want that) for just a few minutes, 4 or 5 maximum.  Then I turn off the heat and leave them.  After perhaps another 5 mins I  test and if cooked, I drain them, if not leave them for  a few minutes more. Add a thingy of butter, and some fresh chopped mint.  That way they seem to hold their shape beautifully.
Second suggestion is to grow Pink Fir Apple, which are  a salad/main crop.  They keep through the winter, but you can eat them as a salad potato as well, and they have a superb flavour, and hold their waxy shape beautifully.
Good luck with your allotment.  You will probably always have some disappointments and some successes - that's life!

[chriscross1966]

Hi All

Am new to allotments and pretty new to growing things.  This year I bought a bag of Pentland Javelin seed pots from Wilcos.  Have just harvested them, and am very disappointed.  The disappointment is two fold.  Firstly they dont taste of much at all, and secondly when they are boiled/steamed they all fall away to mush, I think the term is flourey?  Basically they are OK for mashed pots if you like them a bit wet and when I fry them they seem to stay very white, but sort of OK.

My question is mostly to do with taste.  What is it that gives them their taste, is it the soil they are in, sandy or clayey; or is it the type of potato, King Edward or Pentland; or is it the fertilizer that is used, horse dung or chicken dung; or is it something else?   A few years ago I bought some King Edwards, from Egypt, and they tasted lovely, like I remembered as a child.  Since then I have tried various types from the supermarkets but in the main they have the same blandness.  I had hoped in growing my own to be able get a decent tasting pot, but it seems its a bit more difficult than I thought.  Just what is it that gives a potato its flavour, thats my basic question.

Thanks for any replies  -  John

When did you plant the PJ's?... They're a first early that needs to be lifted fairly young, they're also certainly not a variety I'd have recommended to a novice grower BTW for the very reason you've just found, their characteristics change a fair bit after their peak and if left they do go floury, and really are only any good for baking or roasting at that point....  For a potato that meets your requirement I'd look at Anya, a bit knobbly as one of its parents is the ancient but highly flavoursome Pink Fir Apple, but it works OK as a second early/early main, you'd be lifting them now from a "normal" planting  and as a potato for boiled spuds or potato salad they're hard to beat. I don't grow them cos I'm no fan of boiled spuds, and have grown Pentland Javelin in the past because it bakes well, I don't grow it now because I find "Kestrel" does better for me. I'd suggest that for next year you try to find a potato day near you and do an experimental planting of 3-5 tubers per variety for as many varieties as you can fit in.  FOr your purposes and taking taste as being a prime motive, I'd avoid the temptation to try for ridiculously early ones with Rocket adn Swift, they don't taste of much, they're just fast, look at Lady Chrystl, Belle de Fontenay and Charlotte for first earlies, Anya for seconds, and if you're willing to put in a bit of spade work then Pink Fir Apple is simply the best tasting potato ever.... but fair warning, it's an ancient variety, and was noted as being "old fashioned looking" when it was registered over 150 years ago.... the plant is a sprawling thug, it has a nasty habit of putting tubers out a long way from the plant so you have to dig everywhere and follow every root out to the tip to be sure you got them all, don't plant it next to a path cos it will cause you all sorts of problems. The Tubers are knobbly, frequently branched and pretty much impossible to peel with lots of deeply set eyes down their occasionally impressive length... but they are the best tasting potato by far, especially after being in store a few months, they still taste like a new potato... if we don't get blight then you don't bother lifting them until October, they're almost the last potato to crop and thy will hold if stored somewhere cool and dark until March...sometimes later..

Be aware of the fact that the terms "First Early", "Late Main" etc do NOT refer to the planting time, they all go in together, but they do refer to the harvesting time...  ultra earlies like Swift and Rocket start lifting at 8-9 weeks if they've had some protection, normal first earlies around the 10-12 week mark, seconds at 14-16 weeks, early mains 20-22 weeks and late mains when the frost starts nipping the foliage... All spuds benefit from plenty of organic matter to bulk up the soil to make it more moisture retentive, they also like farily rich soil so organic fertilisers that will bring in phosphates adn nitrates are useful for them...

[Digeroo]

Personally I am a fan of desiree.  Must depend on your taste as well, I have never like lady chrystl  while everyone else raves about it.   

I covered one patch of desiree in leaf  mould and they tasted quite different, even though they came from the same packet.  Much more earthy taste.

[chriscross1966]

Personally I am a fan of desiree.  Must depend on your taste as well, I have never like lady chrystl  while everyone else raves about it.   

I covered one patch of desiree in leaf  mould and they tasted quite different, even though they came from the same packet.  Much more earthy taste.

Good point there Digeroo....  what you cover with can make a big difference.... I mulched with horse manure one year and it certainly affected the taste a bit, not saying bad or good, but it didn't help the KE's much, whereas the Yetholm Gypsy's went from being a decent spud to the worlds best roaster.... if they had any blight tolerance at all I'd grow them again, ditto FOrtyfold, the deep mulch turned them into the best mashing potato I've ever had, creamy texture and a heavenly taste... Desiree is a decent all-rounder usually but it does get a it floury adn I think he wants waxy with good taste... maybe Linzer Delikatesse?

[rooty]

Hello Again

Thanks very much for the advice.,  Next year I will do a lot more research from what you have told me and will plant a goodly number of varieties.

I bought the Pentlands because a friend said they still had some pots for sale in Wilcos.   As I remember I chose them because of the couple of bags they had looked reasonable.  No great thought in the choosing, basically it was all that Wilcos had!   I was late planting them because I only got the allotment this year and it was a bit of a rush to get them planted.  Unfortunately I cannot remember when I planted them, think it was towards the end of April.  That is something else I have learned, make a note of the date when I plant something.  Again I wasnt sure when to harvest them so have been digging them up in batches.  Cannot say I have noticed much difference between the various batches dug up over the last month or so.  Have still got two plants left in the ground, will do a comparison with them.

Anyway, thanks very much for the advice, roll on next year  :-)

Very Best Wishes  -  John