Rachel Aitch wrote:
Quick question: one of my clients (I'm a professional gardener, but
don't hold that against me) asked me why his entire potato crop, of
various types, turned to mush as soon as they were put into boiling
water.
I have no idea!!
Desperate to preserve my reputation, I turn to you (picture me with
hands out, pleading) for suggestion...

I've asked around because I never heard of this before. We all came to
the same conclusion - your client had cut his potatoes in very small
chunks and they cooked faster. I do this when I want a very nutritious
soup in 20 minutes. Also it depends on variety. Do you know which one
he grows? Having said that, I've found that baked potatoes are superbe
for roasting in small chunks like chips, with skin on. My experts here
are unamimous, they are 16 and 11 years old )

Martin wrote:
Bintjes make good chips, but fall apart when boiled

Aaaahh, frites de Belgique! ;o)

"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...
Grown in too dry conditions.
And/or Wrong variety. You don't say which variety but floury ones
will do as you say especially if they have been subject to drought
conditions. Try some waxy ones and/or drought tolerant ones next
year.

Kestral (SE), Spey (MC) and Romano (MC) seem Ok for us
..
Hello Bob,
I'm replying to your later post about watering and slugs. I saw that
on Google but my news server hasn't picked it up.

Yes, I know we're in a very fortunate position with our private water
supply and it's been a godsend this year. Funny this thing with slugs
though, it seems to be almost impossible to make reliable predictions
about what will or won't be damaged by slugs anywhere except for one's
own garden. Desiree has always been one of the least bad ones for slug
damage here. Almost all white maincrop spuds are bad, anything floury
is bad.
The only white maincrop we've had much success with is Valor, some of
the whites with red eyes are not too bad, Picasso and Kestrel haven't
been too bad.

--
Rod

My real address is rodthegardeneratmyisp

"Rod" wrote after
"Bob wrote
Grown in too dry conditions.
And/or Wrong variety. You don't say which variety but floury ones will do
as you say especially if they have been subject to drought conditions.
Try some waxy ones and/or drought tolerant ones next year.

Kestral (SE), Spey (MC) and Romano (MC) seem Ok for us
.

Yes, I know we're in a very fortunate position with our private water
supply and it's been a godsend this year. Funny this thing with slugs
though, it seems to be almost impossible to make reliable predictions
about what will or won't be damaged by slugs anywhere except for one's own
garden. Desiree has always been one of the least bad ones for slug damage
here. Almost all white maincrop spuds are bad, anything floury is bad.
The only white maincrop we've had much success with is Valor, some of the
whites with red eyes are not too bad, Picasso and Kestrel haven't been too
bad.


We must try Picasso, someone else said it was good.
May I suggest you try Spey (red eyes) which is a MC unlike Kestral which is
a SE. I understand Spey was bred from Kestral and on our allotment it's
proved as good at avoiding the slugs if not better than it's parent (only a
few slugged per row), nice spud too and coped with the heat/drought well.
May be difficult to find though, I had to plant some of our own this year as
we couldn't find any seed, didn't seem to affect the crop thankfully.

--
Regards
Bob H
17mls W. of London.UK

Thank you so much everyone, you have saved my reputation!

BigJon and June: well, I didn't know that's why we were taught not to leave spuds in the ground until it got frosty. Now I do, so thank you for that. I don't think that's the problem with this client, as they would have been lifting them through late summer.

Mary Fisher: yes, I agree that "turns to mush as soon as they hit the water" is probably exageration, I interpreted that to mean "quite quickly" !

Jane - yes, I think that's it: their veg plot (which I don't tend for them, they do that themselves) looked like a dust bowl, and I got the strong impression that they have not had much time to do any garden work this summer just gone, which is why they took me on. I suspect they haven't watered at all......

Sam: yes, it is a genuine question, and I have to admit that I don't start spuds off in cold water - and I've been cooking all my life! (Thinks, in indignant tone: "I'm a GOOD cook! How can I not have heard about this??")

Bob Hobden: thank you very much for the variety suggestions, just what I need to offer to the client.

Thanks to all of you, my reputation is safe!

Best Regards one and all,

Rachel

"Rachel Aitch" wrote in message
...


Mary Fisher: yes, I agree that "turns to mush as soon as they hit the
water" is probably exageration, I interpreted that to mean "quite
quickly" !

Well that's good, saves fuel.

Sam: yes, it is a genuine question, and I have to admit that I don't
start spuds off in cold water - and I've been cooking all my life!
(Thinks, in indignant tone: "I'm a GOOD cook! How can I not have heard
about this??")

You're not Yorkshire or Scottish, it's another way of saving fuel!

Try it!

I boil potatoes for not more than ten minutes but I do use black pans which
I swear cook faster than ss ones. Yes, I've done comparative tests!

Mary

Martin wrote:
Bintjes make good chips, but fall apart when boiled
Aaaahh, frites de Belgique! ;o)

met/zonder sauce Hollandaise? )

shock horror Moutarde ... MOUTARDE!!!

In message , Mary Fisher
writes

"Rachel Aitch" wrote in message
...


Mary Fisher: yes, I agree that "turns to mush as soon as they hit the
water" is probably exageration, I interpreted that to mean "quite
quickly" !

Well that's good, saves fuel.

Sam: yes, it is a genuine question, and I have to admit that I don't
start spuds off in cold water - and I've been cooking all my life!
(Thinks, in indignant tone: "I'm a GOOD cook! How can I not have heard
about this??")

You're not Yorkshire or Scottish, it's another way of saving fuel!

Try it!

I boil potatoes for not more than ten minutes but I do use black pans which
I swear cook faster than ss ones. Yes, I've done comparative tests!

How does it do that?
--
June Hughes

"June Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message , Mary Fisher
writes

"Rachel Aitch" wrote in message
...


Mary Fisher: yes, I agree that "turns to mush as soon as they hit the
water" is probably exageration, I interpreted that to mean "quite
quickly" !

Well that's good, saves fuel.

Sam: yes, it is a genuine question, and I have to admit that I don't
start spuds off in cold water - and I've been cooking all my life!
(Thinks, in indignant tone: "I'm a GOOD cook! How can I not have heard
about this??")

You're not Yorkshire or Scottish, it's another way of saving fuel!

Try it!

I boil potatoes for not more than ten minutes but I do use black pans
which
I swear cook faster than ss ones. Yes, I've done comparative tests!

How does it do that?
--
June Hughes
It all boils down to the specific heat of the metal and the bulk of metal on
the base.. Copper is best, followed by aluminium and then cast iron/steel.
Copper and Aluminium are expensive so tend to be have fairly thin bases
whereas iron pans can be made thick.

"June Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message , Mary Fisher
writes

"Rachel Aitch" wrote in message
...


Mary Fisher: yes, I agree that "turns to mush as soon as they hit the
water" is probably exageration, I interpreted that to mean "quite
quickly" !

Well that's good, saves fuel.

Sam: yes, it is a genuine question, and I have to admit that I don't
start spuds off in cold water - and I've been cooking all my life!
(Thinks, in indignant tone: "I'm a GOOD cook! How can I not have heard
about this??")

You're not Yorkshire or Scottish, it's another way of saving fuel!

Try it!

I boil potatoes for not more than ten minutes but I do use black pans
which
I swear cook faster than ss ones. Yes, I've done comparative tests!

How does it do that?

I don't know. I suspect it absorbs more heat, being black, rather than
reflecting some as the ss ones do.

Mary
--
June Hughes

In message , "Rupert (W.Yorkshire)"
writes

It all boils down to the specific heat of the metal and the bulk of metal on
the base.. Copper is best, followed by aluminium and then cast iron/steel.
Copper and Aluminium are expensive so tend to be have fairly thin bases
whereas iron pans can be made thick.

I have copper lined with stainless steel (v heavy) which are not used
much because of their weight. For everyday, I have stainless steel with
a copper core. I haven't noticed much difference in time when boiling
potatoes but shall be more observant in future and report back. I don't
use my cast iron pans for boiling vegetables. Perhaps I shall give it a
go.
--
June Hughes