Potato question

[pepper2.0]

I am looking for the name of those giant potatoes in the grocery stores wrapped in foil for baking. They have a thick brown skin and often seen in fancy steak houses cut in half with butter, sour cream and chives. Sometimes the thick skins are used to make crunchy baked chips. I'd like to grow some this year if I can figure out what they are called and find them.

 

[pepper2.0]

A friend of mine grows Kanabec but they don't have the thick skin, also the big ones are often hollow inside.

 

[Anniekay]

Any kind of Russett potato gives you that fluffy interior with a hard skin. I think it's more on how well it's grown than the exact variety you use. They have to stay in cool soil and kept moist and well fertilized to grow nice and big. My Gramma used to grow some really good ones in Massachusetts when I was a kid.

 

[Meadowlark]

You might be interested to know that the Guinness World Record for the heaviest potato goes to a whopper from the UK, which weighed in at an astounding 4.98 kilograms (10 pounds, 14 ounces). The variety was Russet Burbank.

 

[Meadowlark]

Another bit of trivia...I did a study of 13 different varieties of potato ranking them on Production, Quality, and Taste as grown in both HK containers and in my garden. Size wasn't a criterion, however.

Based on the results, I then ranked all 13 varieties and Russett came in at 9 out of 13 just barely ahead of Kennebec at 10.

All were grown in East Texas and that of course can affect results and one of the Ranking elements was subjective i.e. taste, but the others were all objective measures.

 

[pepper2.0]

Any kind of Russett potato gives you that fluffy interior with a hard skin. I think it's more on how well it's grown than the exact variety you use. They have to stay in cool soil and kept moist and well fertilized to grow nice and big. My Gramma used to grow some really good ones in Massachusetts when I was a kid.

Thank you, I will give them a try. I am pretty sure my dad used to grow Russet but not 100% sure. My usual go-to garden planting is Yukon Gold, even though I don't often grow potatoes.. only recently. But I pay a lot in the grocery stores for those big ones so it would be nice to grow them myself.

 

[pepper2.0]

You might be interested to know that the Guinness World Record for the heaviest potato goes to a whopper from the UK, which weighed in at an astounding 4.98 kilograms (10 pounds, 14 ounces). The variety was Russet Burbank.

need the full size beef tenderloin with head and tail to go with that potato lol.

 

[Meadowlark]

My usual go-to garden planting is Yukon Gold,

I planted some YG today and will plant more in another week. Came in #5 in my study outproducing Russett by 33%.
Actually, the second-best white potato behind only Elba in the study.

Aren't you glad you asked?

 

[pepper2.0]

I planted some YG today and will plant more in another week. Came in #5 in my study outproducing Russett by 33%.
Actually, the second-best white potato behind only Elba in the study.

Aren't you glad you asked?

white potato? YG is yellow

 

[Meadowlark]

white potato? YG is yellow

Ok, non- red. Or if you wish to look at it that way, the number 1 yellow potato in my study.

 

[Meadowlark]

I'm guessing @pepper2.0 is thinking, "why would anyone be so extreme as to study potato varieties?"

I grow all the potatoes our family eats...except restaurant of course.

Over the years, I estimate that amount conservatively at about 7 tons of potato. It does not seem to me to be at all extreme to try to grow the "best" variety I can.

In fact, it seems quite strange to me that anyone would grow the great potato without any concern for "best" variety.

QED

 

[Anniekay]

Thank you, I will give them a try. I am pretty sure my dad used to grow Russet but not 100% sure. My usual go-to garden planting is Yukon Gold, even though I don't often grow potatoes.. only recently. But I pay a lot in the grocery stores for those big ones so it would be nice to grow them myself.

I love the taste of Yukon Gold and put a few of the best chitted ones I had in the garden last week. I'm anxious for that early harvest of new yellow potatoes

 

[pepper2.0]

I'm guessing @pepper2.0 is thinking, "why would anyone be so extreme as to study potato varieties?"

I grow all the potatoes our family eats...except restaurant of course.

Over the years, I estimate that amount conservatively at about 7 tons of potato. It does not seem to me to be at all extreme to try to grow the "best" variety I can.

In fact, it seems quite strange to me that anyone would grow the great potato without any concern for "best" variety.

QED

I don't really think of it as extreme, I've tried white, yellow, red and purple potatoes side by side once.. they came in a bag that way for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I forget off hand. But the purple was nasty, the red was almost as nasty, the white was good and the yellow was by far the best taste and texture. I've had different kinds of white, yellow and a couple red varieties since then and always stand by the yellow.. YG being my favorite out of any, but depending on if I am doing mashed, smashed, baked, boiled, deep fried, pan fried etc. To me texture is more important with potatoes because most of the time I use butter, herbs, spices, garlic, cheese, sour cream.. depending how I am cooking them so most of that stuff over powers the taste of the potato anyway.

I know you like red ones so no offence when I say I find them nasty, we all have different taste buds and preferences.

 

[pepper2.0]

I love the taste of Yukon Gold and put a few of the best chitted ones I had in the garden last week. I'm anxious for that early harvest of new yellow potatoes

I wish I could grow them right now, but I'll have to get them from the grocery store for now until late summer/early fall when they are ready to dig out. You are lucky!

 

[Heirloom farmer1969]

When I was a teenager, I helped this old farmer near Lexington, Kentucky that grew a potato called Green Mountain. That was one of the best eaten potatoes I ever had. I don't even know if they are still around these days.