Cooking Vales Emerald potatoes by boiling has become disappointing.
The Vales Emerald grown in the garden cooked well when they were small and new. They remained firm and bright when boiled.
Vales Emerald are a cross between Maris Peer and Charlotte. Charlotte scores 4 on the waxy / floury scale, staying firm when cooked, making it an excellent salad potato. Charlotte can also be very successfully sauted and even roasted in its skin for a firm ‘roast’ potato. So it seems that Vales Emerald inherits the cooking qualites of Charlotte when young.
However, as the Vales Emerald grow older & bigger, these cooking qualities seem to disappear, and the potatoes break up when boiled, almost getting lost in the cooking water.
Has anyone else had problems cooking Vales Emerald potatoes?
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Hi, I’ve not tried them, I’m growing Charlotte and Anya which I love and seem to cook well however big they get.
Comment by Damo — July 25, 2010 @ 8:03 pm
Hi Damo
Thanks for your comment. Sarah Raven says that Anya are her favourite salad potato so you are not alone! We will give them a go next year.
Happy gardening
TopVeg
Comment by TopVeg — July 25, 2010 @ 8:52 pm
this happens with Duke of York too, which is waxy when cropped as a first early but if left to mature as a maincrop the dry matter content increases and it becomes more intermediate waxy/floury and therefore more prone to disintegration. I am growing Vales Emerald this year, but in a bag in the greenhouse, and it is showing robust growth compared to Lady Christl and Swift (which has short growth anyway)planted at the same time. If you want small waxy salad potatoes then plant them pretty close together, leave all the growth from chitting on, plant on its side rather than with the rosette pointing up, and crop as an early before the dry matter increases. Charlotte, and the similar Maris Peer are both 2nd Earlies, as is Anya (which is an offspring of Pink Fir Apple hence its “saladability”)and Nicola is an early main crop maybe grow some of these as well to get a continuous supply of salad potatoes.
Comment by Martin — April 27, 2011 @ 7:50 am
Thanks Martin
Interesting point that cookability changes as the spuds mature. A good way to plan constant supply of salad potatoes!
Regards
TopVeg
Comment by TopVeg — April 27, 2011 @ 8:04 pm
Hi
Try steaming them instead of boiling. Works well with floury potatoes as well – I always like British Queen for mash, but if you boil them the outside disintegrates before the middle is cooked. If you steam them instead, they’re fine
Bill
Comment by DoulargBill — June 29, 2011 @ 10:50 am
Hi Bill
Steaming potatoes sounds the answer. Thanks for your valuable experience. TopVeg
Comment by TopVeg — July 12, 2011 @ 12:07 pm