Never JUST a potato
Spice up your potato life!
Humans have been cultivating potatoes for thousands of years. Archaeologically, the oldest potato tuber remains that were found in Peru date back to 2500BC. That’s an old potato.
And while historically, South America has enjoyed a stunning variety of potatoes (3000+), in modern day North America we’ve traditionally eaten potatoes that come from fewer than 12 varieties.
Slowly and surely, there are farmers trying to change that. In Holland alone, there are 150 different varieties represented and here in Edmonton, we’re doing our part to help change the way you see, eat, and think about potatoes. Because a potato is never JUST a potato.
Yes, we’re known for our corn and our sweet, sweet carrots but a large percentage of our crop is potatoes: all colours, shapes and sizes of beautiful rich potatoes! The number and kind of varieties we grow each year vary, but for the 2015 crop season, we’ve planted and grown 13 different varieties. That’s right, THIRTEEN different kinds of potatoes.
In this segment we’re only featuring 7 of our potatoes because some of our varieties have already finished and some of our varieties have yet to see the light of day and we’ll enjoy them later in the season. Just so you know that we’re serious about our 13 varieties, below you’ll find a list of the potato varieties you won’t see celebrated here today:
- Warba (early white potato – finished for the season)
- Norland (early red potato – finished for the season)
- Columba (early yellow potato – nearly finished for the season)
- German Butterball (late yellow potato – still in the field)
- Violet Queen (late purple potato – still in the field)
- Yellow Banana (late fingerling – still in the field)
Russian Blue
A heritage variety, Russian Blue potatoes may look exotic but deep down, they’re just like the potatoes of your childhood. We love them baked or roasted because when cooked this way they not only keep all that gorgeous colour but darken into a royal purple. They’re a pretty well-rounded potato though and can make interesting mashed potatoes or french fries too.
Cecil (French Fingerling)
A standard in our potato roster for years, these fingerlings are generally touted to have the best flavour of any potato variety! Yep. We said it. We eat them boiled or roasted most often and they truly are a potato that sets the bar high.
AmaRosa
These fingerlings are particularly beautiful with their red skin and red flesh. They’re our sweetest and creamiest potato but can fill a variety of roles. While they make exceptional mashed potatoes, they’re also great for baking, roasting and grilling. If you’re looking for something different, slice them thin and make richly coloured potato chips out of them. Unlike other varieties that can lose their colour when cooked, AmaRosa stays vibrant when roasted, fried and baked.
Mozart
We’ve grown Mozart for a few years now and continue to do so because they’re one of our favourites. With their beautiful rose coloured skin and bright yellow/white flesh, mozart is ideal for mashed (or smashed) potatoes and potato wedges.
Butterfly
These are a gourmet potato that are beautifully boiled or baked. With a rich flavour and that gorgeous deep yellow colouring, your baked potato fixings are going to look, and more importantly, taste stellar on these guys.
Bintje
Long loved by Dutch and Belgians, these are some of the best all purpose potatoes around. They’re great for boiling or baking or, when the evening calls for it, frying up into french fries. Add a little mayo and ketchup to your fries and you can pretend you’re in Amsterdam.
Celandine
Celandine is a new variety for us this year. Beautiful white flesh, crisp and firm when cooking, we love these juicy potatoes best when they’re steamed or roasted.
Fantastic to read about your potatoes. Are these available to buy as seed potatoes? Are they suitable for growing in the allotment and how about resistance to diseases?