The Common-Tater
Russet potatoes anyone? We’ve got you covered whether you’re a consumer looking for a fresh product for your home, a chip truck looking for a potato supplier for the upcoming summer season or a restaurant looking for a year round quality potato. John and Shelby are standing in front of one pile of our popular Russet potatoes in one of our storages. Russet potatoes are extremely versatile. Their shape is ideal for chipping into french fries, the flesh is outstanding as a baked potato, and as you can see from the slideshow, they can be used in many other recipes to create delicious food. All of the dishes featured in this slideshow were created in my kitchen. The recipes can be found on this website in “Spud Smarts – About Cooking Potatoes” and in the recipe category of The Common-Tater. You can watch a video of our potatoes travelling into the storage for the winter by visiting “The Potato Bin Filler.”
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So let’s talk about grading potatoes. If I had to summarize what this means in one sentence I would say…”Grading potatoes separates the good from the bad and the ugly.”
All our potatoes are run over our grading line before they are packaged and sold. There is a sizing belt where mini potatoes are removed. We pick out any potatoes that have green marks caused by inadvertent exposure to sunlight, potatoes with machine damage and extra-large potatoes. Heart shaped, U shaped, and extra bumps on potatoes are a few examples of potato shapes that are also pulled out during the grading process. These oddly shaped potatoes lead to fun photo opportunities. Once these potatoes are removed, we are left with “No 1” grade. Have a closer look at the next bag of potatoes you come across from our farm and you will see it has a line that states it contains “No 1” potatoes. As for what happens to the “No 2” potatoes that have been removed, that’s another story for a different day. To see more about our potatoes you can visit “What We Offer – Potatoes.” After months of tending the crop, we have finally reached the ultimate reward – new potatoes.
Flowers begin to form once the potato plant is fully grown. Tuber initiation occurs around the same time the potato plant starts to flower. It takes several weeks after flowering for the tubers to grow big enough to eat. As with most living entities, the plants get ready for reproduction as their life cycle comes to completion. Potato reproduction is a very interesting topic as the plants reproduce two ways – but that’s another story for a different day. This is the only time of year we can harvest potatoes and sell potatoes without a set skin. The lack of set skin makes a big difference in how the potatoes can be stored. During this growing stage they are tender. We only harvest the amount we are planning on packing and selling the next day. Our early variety of potatoes is called AC Chaleur. It is a popular choice for our restaurants and chip trucks since the potatoes do not have to be peeled. They just need to be lightly washed and cooked. They are a treat to eat whether they are boiled, baked or turned into French fries or home fries. My favourite way to cook them is to simply boil them so the full flavour of the potato can be enjoyed. To get more information about our potatoes and how we package and sell them, visit “What We Offer – Potatoes.” |
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