Gardening: All those unique potatoes
No two potato cultivars are the same. Every type of potato or cultivar has been bred for a particular purpose: boiling potatoes don’t necessarily fry well, and baking potatoes don’t necessarily boil well.
Potato cultivars recommended for boiling usually have interior flesh with a high water content and waxy texture: these qualities ensure that they don’t turn ‘mushy’ during the boiling process.
‘Norland’ and ‘Viking’ are red skinned, white fleshed, oval potatoes recommended for boiling. Both cultivars are early maturing, however ‘Viking’ tends to produce larger and fewer tubers than ‘Norland’. Both cultivars have moderate resistance to potato scab.
‘Sangre’ is a dark red-skinned, white fleshed, oval potato recommended for boiling. ‘Sangre’ matures slightly later in the season than ‘Norland or ‘Viking’ and is more susceptible to scab than Norland or Viking. ‘AC Peregrine’ is a dark red-skinned, white fleshed oval potato recommended for boiling. ‘AC Peregrine’ matures late in the season but it has an excellent tuber set. Tubers do not tend to oversize.
‘Red Pontiac’ is a potato cultivar that has been around since the 1940s. ‘Pontiac’ has red skin, off-white flesh, is oval-round in shape and matures late season. ‘Pontiac’ tends to produce very large tubers that can be susceptible to hollow heart. ‘Pontiac’ is very susceptible to common scab.
Two purple skinned potato cultivars that are recommended for boiling are ‘Purple Viking’ and ‘Caribe’. ‘Purple Viking’ is slightly later maturing than ‘Viking’ or ‘Norland’ and tubers tend to oversize. On average, yields are slightly lower than Norland.
‘Caribe’ is similar to ‘Purple Viking’ except that the tubers tend to be more flattened in shape than ‘Purple Viking’. Caribe is also more sensitive to common scab than ‘Purple Viking’.
Several white/yellow skinned and yellow fleshed potato cultivars that are recommended for boiling include ‘Bintje’ and ‘Yukon Gold’. ‘Bintje’ is a small-to-medium sized, oval potato with excellent flavour. ‘Yukon Gold’ tubers mature earlier and are larger than ‘Bintje’, however ‘Yukon Gold’ is more susceptible to potato scab than ‘Bintje’. Both cultivars are also recommended for baking and frying.
‘Shepody’ is an excellent all-purpose potato (boiling, frying or baking) that matures early in season. If left in the garden until the end of the season, tubers can become quite large and sometimes have hollow centres. ‘Shepody’ yields are excellent.
One of the best tasting white/yellow skinned potatoes with yellow flesh is ‘Milva’. This potato has excellent yields, matures in mid-late season and is excellent for boiling. ‘Milva’ potato seed can be difficult to find; however, continue to request it at your local garden centre as there are ‘Milva’ seed growers in Saskatchewan.
Potato cultivars that are recommended for baking have a higher level of solids in their flesh, resulting in a firm, dry texture after baking. Potatoes with russet skins are usually recommended for baking.
‘Russet Burbank’ (formerly known as ‘Netted Gem’), ‘Russet Norkotah’, ‘Goldrush’, ‘Ranger Russet’ and ‘Umatilla Russet’ are all off-white fleshed, oblong potatoes recommended for baking and French frying. Of these five cultivars, ‘Russet Norkotah’ has the most uniform sized tubers; however, the taste is probably the least favorable. ‘Russet Burbank’ is the latest maturing and also the cultivar that produces the most knobby tubers and hollow heart tubers if growing conditions are not ideal. All russet potato cultivars are fairly resistant to scab infection.
Potato cultivars recommended for frying or chipping have a high percentage of solids in their flesh and low sugar content. The high solid content ensures the potatoes will stay crisp after frying while the low sugar content prevents the potatoes from becoming too dark when fried.
Two potato cultivars specifically bred for frying and chipping are ‘Atlantic’ and ‘Kennebec’: both of these cultivars also perform well when boiled or baked. ‘Kennebec’ is later maturing and more susceptible to scab than ‘Atlantic’.
Good luck with your potato patch this season. For maximum tuber yields, ‘keep hilling’!
This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events: May 1 to Aug 31 - Got growing questions? Gardenline is here to help! Email gardenline@ usask.ca with your questions or call 306-966-5865.