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Old 01-01-2013, 11:20 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Bob Hobden Bob Hobden is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,056
Default Potatoes for roasting.

My wife does roast potatoes superbly, light golden colour, crisp and soft
inside.
However, this year because all ours got Blight early we had no "old"
potatoes they all act as if they are new potatoes which don't roast well at
all. So we bought some roasting potatoes in Sainsbury's and they went very
dark brown and didn't crisp, we then tried various supermarkets and farm
shops and they all went a very dark colour and were not up to standard at
all. By this time Sue is beginning to think she has lost the plot. So in
desperation I asked a fellow allotment grower (he has 6 plots) if he had any
spare main crop potatoes (he sprays against blight) and he gave us a few
Kilos of Rooster from his shed. They roasted superbly just like our own ones
usually do.
So, my question is what do the big commercial growers do to their spuds to
make them go dark on roasting, it must be they contain more sugar or the
starch is turned to sugar. Is it they keep them too cold, do they heat treat
them, is it something they wash them with, why the marked difference to
those grown oneself.
Sue thinks it's a conspiracy to get everyone to buy frozen roast potatoes.

-- Regards
Bob Hobden
Posting to this Newsgroup
from the W.of London. UK