Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I boil
them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris Piper.
I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is going to be a
huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a bit of
coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that this
would fix them.

Cheers
Baz

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

On 2013-10-18 15:58:37 +0000, Baz said:

My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I boil
them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris Piper.
I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is going to be a
huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a bit of
coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that this
would fix them.

Cheers
Baz

Cook them a different way? Cut into thickish slices and put in a
casserole with e.g. chicken pieces & onions, garlic etc?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

On 18/10/2013 16:58, Baz wrote:
My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I boil
them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris Piper.
I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is going to be a
huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a bit of
coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that this
would fix them.

Cheers
Baz

Try grating them and turning into potato cakes or Rösti. Maybe try them
as hash browns.

Also, what happens if you microwave them (spear with a fork in several
places first!)?

--

Jeff

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

On 18/10/2013 18:10, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 18/10/2013 16:58, Baz wrote:
My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I boil
them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris Piper.
I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is going to be a
huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a
bit of
coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that this
would fix them.

Cheers
Baz

Try grating them and turning into potato cakes or Rösti. Maybe try them
as hash browns.

Also, what happens if you microwave them (spear with a fork in several
places first!)?


I've always found the microwave ineffective for that kind of spud. The
roti sounds good though. Quite fancy that myself!

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

"stuart noble" wrote in message ...


I've always found the microwave ineffective for that kind of spud. The
rosti sounds good though. Quite fancy that myself!

When shredding for Rosti, remember to use a kitchen towel to mop up any
surplus liquid. Mind you, if they're rock hard, there may not be any surplus
:-)

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

On Fri, 18 Oct 2013 15:58:37 +0000, Baz wrote:

My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I boil
them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris
Piper. I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is going
to be a huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a bit
of coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that this
would fix them.

Cheers Baz

Roast or chipped?

This should cook them at a much higher temperature than 100C which is
roughly the limit for boiling.

Thinly sliced and oven baked for crisps?

Cheers

Dave R

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

On 19/10/2013 10:39, stuart noble wrote:
On 18/10/2013 18:10, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 18/10/2013 16:58, Baz wrote:
My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I boil
them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris Piper.
I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is going to be a
huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a
bit of
coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that this
would fix them.

Cheers
Baz

Try grating them and turning into potato cakes or Rösti. Maybe try them
as hash browns.

Also, what happens if you microwave them (spear with a fork in several
places first!)?


I've always found the microwave ineffective for that kind of spud. The
roti sounds good though. Quite fancy that myself!

Do you mean Maris Piper, or any hard potato? I have no problem
microwaving large potatoes (MP, Marfona, King Edward, Osprey, etc) as a
preliminary to baking in their jackets. A 300g potato will cook in
about 17 minutes in a 750W microwave oven. It then gets around the same
time in a conventional fan oven at about 220 - 230°C to crisp the skin.

--

Jeff

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

sacha wrote in
:

On 2013-10-18 15:58:37 +0000, Baz said:

My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I
boil them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris
Piper. I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is
going to be a huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a
bit of coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that
this would fix them.

Cheers
Baz

Cook them a different way? Cut into thickish slices and put in a
casserole with e.g. chicken pieces & onions, garlic etc?

Yes, Sacha. That works.
I tried 2 ways, oven and slow cooker, the slow cooker worked but only after
10 hours, thats fine with me. The oven method was on for over 2 hours and
still hard as nails.
Snag is that when I dig all of them I will have 2 or 3 X 25kg sacks of
them. Thats alot of slow cooking time.
The good thing is that they are not going to mushy in the casserole. as
happens with "normal" potatoes. I always like my casserole the next day,
when it has had time to "mature". Thicken up a bit.

Thanks for that info, Sacha

Baz

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

On 19/10/2013 11:46, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 19/10/2013 10:39, stuart noble wrote:
On 18/10/2013 18:10, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 18/10/2013 16:58, Baz wrote:
My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I
boil
them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris
Piper.
I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is going to
be a
huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a
bit of
coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that this
would fix them.

Cheers
Baz

Try grating them and turning into potato cakes or Rösti. Maybe try them
as hash browns.

Also, what happens if you microwave them (spear with a fork in several
places first!)?


I've always found the microwave ineffective for that kind of spud. The
roti sounds good though. Quite fancy that myself!

Do you mean Maris Piper, or any hard potato? I have no problem
microwaving large potatoes (MP, Marfona, King Edward, Osprey, etc) as a
preliminary to baking in their jackets. A 300g potato will cook in
about 17 minutes in a 750W microwave oven. It then gets around the same
time in a conventional fan oven at about 220 - 230°C to crisp the skin.


I was thinking of those where you get small pockets of hard material.
Very unappetising when they turn up in a jacket potato that is otherwise
perfectly cooked. I used to blame the microwave but I think it's the
same if they're boiled.

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

On 2013-10-19 13:50:39 +0100, Baz said:

sacha wrote in
:

On 2013-10-18 15:58:37 +0000, Baz said:

My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I
boil them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris
Piper. I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is
going to be a huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a
bit of coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that
this would fix them.

Cheers
Baz

Cook them a different way? Cut into thickish slices and put in a
casserole with e.g. chicken pieces & onions, garlic etc?

Yes, Sacha. That works.
I tried 2 ways, oven and slow cooker, the slow cooker worked but only after
10 hours, thats fine with me. The oven method was on for over 2 hours and
still hard as nails.
Snag is that when I dig all of them I will have 2 or 3 X 25kg sacks of
them. Thats alot of slow cooking time.
The good thing is that they are not going to mushy in the casserole. as
happens with "normal" potatoes. I always like my casserole the next day,
when it has had time to "mature". Thicken up a bit.

Thanks for that info, Sacha

Baz

Glad that worked! I wonder if you can enjoy yourself making lots of
different casseroles and then freeze them against the coming winter?
It might work for things like Dauphinoise potatoes too, where the
potatoes are sliced very finely but you'd need to leave off the cheese
topping until you thaw and re-heat. I'd think any dish where you can
slice or grate and cook then freeze would be one way of using them up.
And then you could try storing some to see if that does work.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

"Baz" wrote

My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I boil
them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris Piper.
I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is going to be a
huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a bit of
coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that this
would fix them.


I've been doing some searching on this because I'd not heard of it before
and found...

"What you are describing can happen more frequently with some medium solids
(starchy) varieties. It typically is limited to the core of the potato when
it occurs, sometimes referred to as the stem. During the growing season,
unusually cold weather in a field may cause the potato matter to remain
dense thru the length of the center of the potato. When baking, I have
actually had it become stringy and resist even cooking it out in the
microwave."

So it looks like you are stuck with the problem with this years crop Baz
although not all may be affected.

I also came across this interesting comment which may explain the problem we
had roasting bought potatoes this spring/early summer, they got too dark
instead of staying golden brown, ...

"Unfortunately, when potatoes are refrigerated, their starches convert to
sugars, which wreck the fluffy, starchy texture. The good news is that this
is a reversible reaction. If you keep the potatoes warm for a day, their
sugars convert back to starch. I recommended that the ship's cooks move a
day's worth of potatoes to the hot room each day. Using potatoes that had
been hot for 24 hours, their baked potatoes were fluffy again" and "their
fries were not too dark before they were cooked"

So putting stored bought potatoes in the airing cupboard for 24 hours should
cure that problem if we run out of our own spuds. Thank you Baz for making
me find that gem.

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

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

Jeff Layman wrote in
:

On 18/10/2013 16:58, Baz wrote:
My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I
boil them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris
Piper. I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is
going to be a huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a
bit of coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that
this would fix them.

Cheers
Baz

Try grating them and turning into potato cakes or Rösti. Maybe try
them as hash browns.

Rösti works, and I have never tried it before. Very nice when fried and
then grilled with cheese on top then tomatoes. Yum.
I'm glad I started this thread, I was going to compost them.

Also, what happens if you microwave them (spear with a fork in several
places first!)?

The microwave does not even touch them after 5mm deep. Then the skin goes
hard after a bit more time, and the rest is solid.
I know to spear with a fork in several places first, I had a mini-explosion
years ago. Took me ages to clean up the inside the microwave afterwards :(

Thanks, Jeff, for your ideas, much appreciated.

Baz

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

On 21/10/2013 14:34, Baz wrote:
Jeff Layman wrote in
:

On 18/10/2013 16:58, Baz wrote:
My main maincrop, Maris Piper will remain hard no matter how long I
boil them.
I have some other varieties that are OK. but I have loads of Maris
Piper. I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. It is
going to be a huge waste.

Some people on the allotment are going to store theirs hoping that a
bit of coolness or whatever might sort it.

Should I write them off? Or store them in the unlikely event that
this would fix them.

Cheers
Baz

Try grating them and turning into potato cakes or Rösti. Maybe try
them as hash browns.

Rösti works, and I have never tried it before. Very nice when fried and
then grilled with cheese on top then tomatoes. Yum.
I'm glad I started this thread, I was going to compost them.

Also, what happens if you microwave them (spear with a fork in several
places first!)?

The microwave does not even touch them after 5mm deep. Then the skin goes
hard after a bit more time, and the rest is solid.
I know to spear with a fork in several places first, I had a mini-explosion
years ago. Took me ages to clean up the inside the microwave afterwards :(

You haven't lived until you've had an egg explode in the microwave!

Thanks, Jeff, for your ideas, much appreciated.

You're very welcome, Baz. But if you eat a lot of Rösti you might end
up needing some longer belts!

I thought of another possibility, but it may not be worth the effort
(although, like me, you no doubt hate waste). Seems to me that the MPs
won't cook deeply - particularly from your microwave experience. Could
I suggest using a food processor or something similar to liquidise them.
Then maybe squeeze out some of the fluid (if necessary - depends if
they are dry as well as hard). Then spread out on a microwavable dish
to 5 - 10 mm, cover with clingfilm and microwave for a few minutes until
cooked. That /might/ turn them into instant mash. Could be suitable
anyway for Cottage or Shepherd's pie. It might also be possible to use
the liquidised potatoes to thicken a stew or casserole. You could still
use swedes, parsnips, and carrots for chunky veg, but the potatoes would
be in the thick liquid rather than as chunks.

--

Jeff

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

snip

You haven't lived until you've had an egg explode in the microwave!

snip

I haven't had that but I have had a bottle of homemade elderflower
champagne, in an old screw-top bottle explode in my kitchen, luckily
at around 6 am before anyone was up.
Glass embedded in ceiling, walls venetian blind etc, all over
everything along with the contents of the bottle.
That was about 30 years ago and I have only made it once since!
At least the egg would be contained in the microwave, I assume.



Pam in Bristol

Potatoes will not cook properly.
 

Pam Moore wrote in
:

snip

You haven't lived until you've had an egg explode in the microwave!

snip

I haven't had that but I have had a bottle of homemade elderflower
champagne, in an old screw-top bottle explode in my kitchen, luckily
at around 6 am before anyone was up.
Glass embedded in ceiling, walls venetian blind etc, all over
everything along with the contents of the bottle.
That was about 30 years ago and I have only made it once since!
At least the egg would be contained in the microwave, I assume.



Pam in Bristol


A similar thing happened to my dad, bless him, years ago when I was a lad.
He made some beer from ingredients, not a kit, and put too much sugar into
each bottle(to make it fizz) and the result was explosive. Not as violent
as yours was, thank goodness, but he moved them all into the shed and they
all smashed.
His next attempt was much better, and perfected it over the years. Sadly he
is no longer with us but I sometimes brew mine how he did.

Baz