Taste Thread - Potato Varieties

[VirginVegGrower]

would it be a bit to much to ask about soil type as well, im growing maris pipers in a clay soil this yr on a plot i know had leeks in before

I know this yr has been poor for yeilds, will be an interesting read this as it will influance my choice next yr

Soil type is probably a good idea - all mine are on fairly sandy, free draining soil.

[lukens]

It's for you to rate the taste, size and yield of each variety you have grown this year

Each variety of new potato you grow, or each new variety of potato you grow?

Probably doesn't matter all that much, just the title is ambiguous, and it's bugging my OCD mind.

[Qzy]

This year I have grown Foremost, Swift, Epicure and Sharpes Express for my new potatoes, and in a bed with poor enough clay soil to be honest. Foremost was poor and had slug and scab damage, Swift slightly better but also slug and scab damage. Epicure have been ok but the yield not great while Sharpes Express have been the star (as usual) with no slug or scab damage, decent yields and great flavour.

[morverngirl]

Lady Christyl, Great taste and yield but this not as high as last year when after 8 weeks they were the size of baking potatoes.
My all time favourite is Golden wonder, floury,best with a knob of butter,following cooking in their jackets,but i never managed to buy any this year and the ones I kept couldn't go in due to the weather.

[kfbtiz]

rocket, great taste, yield down on last year also took longer to mature this year, arran pilot, very poor yield,not bad taste firm and waxy but probably wont grow them next year, charlotte, so far good yield, good size and great taste as usual, a favorite in our house, sharpes express have'nt tried them yet, no flowers on them yet. i don't grow main crop any more as i'm very prone to blight and other pests the longer they stay in the ground the only main crop i had any sucess with was desiree.

[NoPeasForTheWicked]

I grew Ulster Classic as first earlies - won't bother with that one again, poor yield and quite tasteless. The second earlies are Kestrel - good yield and fantastic taste, they made the best roast potatoes ever and the mash is good too. Some scab on them but I read that it might be my fault for putting manure in the trench. Next year I'm definitely growing the Kestrels and may try some waxy ones like Charlotte. Fingers crossed for the Pentland Squire maincrops.

[Ananke]

I'm growing quite a few varieties this year but so far have only tasted two. Yield hasn't been great but then they didn't get earthed up enough.

Epicure - really tasty scraped, boiled and served with butter.
Nadine - had them mashed tonight and they were really tasty too.

[Barking Postlethwaite]

Now about half way through the first early Rocket. Initially I was impressed with the delicate, almost Jersey Royal flavour (steamed, not boiled) of the the earliest spuds I harvested, but as they matured (and boy, do they develop some monstrous tubers) they seem to have become less flavoursome. I think next year I will only do half a dozen plants, plant early and protect to force an early crop, harvesting while they are still flowering which is when they seem to be at their best taste-wise. I'll look for another early variety to follow straight on.

I've lifted one plant of Maris Piper to test them so far, and there is a decent yield of healthy (so far) tubers despite having to cut the tops down due to incipient blight. I'll reserve judgement on flavour for the moment. There will also be Pink Fir, which I've grown before and are always superb. They've never yielded much in our garden, so I'm hoping the new allotment will see better numbers.

I saved some Purple Majesty eaters from last year, and I'm keen to see what they're like. The flavour of the bought ones never really matched their spectacular appearance, and as the plants never looked too happy I'm not expecting much.

[sowitgrowit]

Sarpo's make fantastic roasties. Takes a bit of practice to get good mash from them though.

My worst ever - was Sarpo Mira - horrid mealy things they were.

My Sarpo Mira have produced a very nice crop this year - I've been making Moon Chips - mash is indeed a little difficult with them. Roasties (only tried once) were very tough, I don't think they're floury enough spuds for that, but almost totally blight and slug resistant, so I can forgive them!

[zazen999]

Charlotte this year - the spuds have been so huge that I've ended up using them for chips. And wahey - what fantastic chips they do make.

We typically went low carb and had the best year ever for spuds, so when we do have any carbs, we have roasties or chips.

[zazen999]

Each variety of new potato you grow, or each new variety of potato you grow?

Probably doesn't matter all that much, just the title is ambiguous, and it's bugging my OCD mind.

Nobody mentioned new except you. It's for discussing taste, yield and size of each variety of potato that you grow.

[Florence Fennel]

I decided to grow some spuds at the last minute, so got a bargain from T & M of half price Sarpo Mira. Very poor yield from containers, but a decent harvest from those grown in the ground and no slug damage at all in either case. Not impressed with the taste because there wasn't much of one. First boiling they were hard, cooked them longer at the second boiling and they went to mush. Trying them roasted on Sunday so surely there must be some improvement in the taste, the test will be in the texture. Try saying that after a couple of G & Ts!

[Florence Fennel]

My Sarpo Mira have produced a very nice crop this year - I've been making Moon Chips

Is that just to do with the shape SG?

[sowitgrowit]

Pretty much!

Cut then into discs and fry in a pan - usually with 'Season-All' (assorted spicy spices) sprinkled on as they cook.

It's just like making disc-shaped-chips in a pan. They go very brown and crisp.

Yummy!

[Florence Fennel]

Sounds nice SG, nothing beats "real" chips