With Autumn less than a month away, root vegetable harvest has just begun!
With nearly a dozen varieties available to our food family, its hard to know which tater is best for the dish you want to prepare. We’ve got a handy guide to help you make those shopping decisions!
Red Rosa
Red Rosa
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/22250/
Waxy potatoes with a beautiful red skin. They’re delicious in mashed potatoes, holding their texture more than their floury cousins to give you a chunkier texture. Because they hold their shape well when cooked — and thanks to their pretty red skin — they’re great for roasted potato recipes as well as potato salads where their color can shine through!
Red Banana
Red Banana
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/22791/
Banana fingerling potatoes grow abundantly under ground while their above ground foliage creates a stout, green plant. The tuber's skin is khaki-colored, waxy, exceptionally smooth, and so thin that it is rarely peeled. The Banana fingerling has a full-bodied, buttery, and nutty flavor even when served plain. The Banana fingerling has soft flesh that cooks to be fluffy in texture and golden in color. These medium-sized potatoes have a crescent-like shape and are generally 3 inches long and 1 inch in diameter.
Red Norland
Red Norland
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/22253/
Beautiful red skin. An attractive, medium oblong potato with shallow eyes, smooth red skin and white flesh. Norland is an early to mid season variety which is quite versatile for both boiling and baking. Plants are medium large, spreading with purple flowers. Good disease resistance. Norland is a good storage potato.
Alaska Bloom
Alaska Bloom
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/22239/
This early yellow skin, cream flesh variety produces round tubers that are best used for retail fresh, boiling and baking. It is a high yielding variety that has high tuber set and produces tubers with uniform shape. Its pinkish eyes contrasted against a yellow skin make for an attractive combination that is also moderately resistant to common scab.
Russian Blue
Russian Blue
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/22260/
This specialty late blue skin, blue flesh heritage variety produces round to oblong tubers. Their texture is much like a russet so they are good to bake or mash, cook as French fries or even make into chips; but they also can be steamed or boiled. Roasting or grilling the halves is recommended as it will actually darken the colour. The mild taste needs help with herbs and seasonings. Plants are very heavy setting so give them more room in the row. It withstands dry conditions better than most and has excellent storability.
Russet
Russet
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/22257/This late to very late brown russet skin, white flesh variety produces long tubers that are primarily sold for the fresh market, baking and boiling and French fry processing. It is a medium to high yielding variety that has an attractive appearance and washes well at maturity and has excellent storability.
Garnet Yam
Sweet Potatoes - Garnet Yams
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/22625/
Garnet, Jewel, Beauregard: these are the orange fleshed, reddish-brownish-orangish skinned sweet potatoes masquerading as yams. They're even more common than the standard sweet potato, sweeter, and contain a bit more water (you can hear it escape when you bake them!)
Bintje
Benje
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/22242/
Also called Bintje, this late season yellow skin, light yellow flesh variety produces long oval tubers. It is excellent for fresh market sale and use in boiling, baking, French frying and chipping. It is a high yielding, widely adapted variety that suffers very little from magnesium deficiency. Tubers have excellent storability, low starch content, and are not subject to blackening of the flesh or second growth.
Yellow
Yellow
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/23149/
This mid-season deep yellow skin, deep yellow flesh variety produces round tubers that are considered gourmet potatoes that are good for retail fresh, boiling, baking and frying.
Purple
Purple
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/22793/
This early to mid-season purple skin, purple flesh specialty variety produces long oval tubers with remarkably normal flavour despite its colour. It is primarily sold in the retail fresh sector and has a slightly firm cooking type.
Colomba
Colomba
https://www.theorganicbox.ca/catalogue/22244/
This early yellow skin, yellow flesh variety produces round to oval tubers that are excellent for boiling or baking. Colomba can be distinguished from other varieties due to its exceptional taste and interesting texture, which provides a wide range of uses and can be harvested early due to early skin set.
Images and Descriptions Courtesy: http://www.edmontonpotatogrowers.com/
