15 New Species of … Potatoes? And a Recipe for Adam’s Garlic Mashed

Posted on 21 February 2008 under Farmer's Markets, Food In The News, Recipes | 4 Comments

The CBC is reporting that Agriculture Canada has unveiled 15 new experimental potato varieties:

“This year we have 15 varieties to offer that represent a range of end uses from french fry to fresh market, to specialty markets such as very small potatoes, and we have one selection that has purple flesh,” said research scientist Agnes Murphy … The new varieties were created six years ago, but only now have they gone through enough testing by the department to include farmers and processors in the research … Farmers will be able to evaluate the new varieties for two years, after which the highest bidder will be allowed to do further testing, and seek an exclusive licence agreement … “It takes anywhere from 10 to 12 years to get from the very first initial cross to market,” said Murphy.

Driving along farm roads here in the midwest you’ll see countless signs in cornfields about what breed, brand and species of corn is being grown. In many cases, if the field is managed by a co-op or management company, you’ll learn that too. Corn is a big deal, from ethanol to beef feed to, of course, some better southern corn puddings.

It seems other produce just doesn’t get the respect corn does.

Well, thank God that Canada Agriculture has a place like the Potato Research Centre in Fredericton. These are the folks responsible for the new species of potatoes announced yesterday:

Since 1950, the PRC in Fredericton has produced 32 new varieties of potatoes, including the first “made-in-Canada potato” and the world’s second most popular French fry processing potato, the Shepody. A total of 62 varieties have been developed, released and registered for production across Canada by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada potato breeders, including the popular Yukon Gold developed jointly with the University of Guelph and the Ontario Department of Agriculture.

That’s right. These are the folks who gave us the infamous Yukon Gold potato. What, you thought it was a U.S. breed? It’s Yukon Gold, ok? In other words, any new species to come from the Potato Research Center in Fredericton will probably be quite welcome if and when it hits the markets.

Potatoes are a big deal here in southeastern Michigan. Down the road is a huge potato farm, Smith Bros., growers of a specific family-owned breed they’ve named Barbara Ann Potatoes. These are beautiful white potatoes, as big or bigger than Idaho bakers, definitely some of the best potatoes I’ve ever bought. But even the better Barbara Ann Potatoes are small compared to what the man in this pic was growing 50 years ago around these parts. This is Wayne Cousino, father of Chef Tad Cousino of the Frog Leg Inn. Chef Tad figures this photo was taken in about 1947 on the family potato farm here in Monroe County. Normally when you see a potato as big as the ones Poppa Cousino was holding here you’d wonder about the flavor. After all, when root vegetables get too large they seem to lose a certain intensity of flavors. Chef Tad’s told me the potatoes his dad was growing were incredibly good. They didn’t seem to lose flavor at all, even as large as they were.

There are a lot of different ways we like to enjoy potatoes, particularly in the mornings when I make skillet potatoes with chopped onion and green bell peppers. Here’s one of our favorite potato dishes for evening meals …

I have to be honest. This recipe was an accident. We just kept adding things yesterday evening until it tasted right. Once it dawned on us what had happened, we realized this was actually a pretty-darned easy recipe for some mighty-tasty Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

As an aspiring cook 15-year-old Adam wanted to be as involved as possible in his birthday last November. I handed him a 5 lb bag of Russet potatoes and had him scrub them down. These were boiled whole, peel intact. While the potatoes were boiling, I place a whole bulb of garlic on the cutting board and, pressing hard with the heel of my hand, separated it into its cloves. Adam then smashed each clove under the side of a chef’s knife and removed the papery silk. He then minced all the cloves. Pressing on the minced garlic with the side of the blade again, it took a while for him to turn it all into a paste but after a while, it worked.

Once the potatoes were fork-tender, they were drained and returned to the pot. Adam mashed them with a hand masher. I then added one stick of unsalted butter and the garlic paste. Adam used the electric mixer to whip everything together. I added a pint of heavy whipping cream and he mixed that in as well. We then added salt and pepper to taste.

The picture above looks like Butter Pecan Ice Cream, which is the look and texture you’re going for here. Everyone loved them! Each of the ingredients is a package from the grocer so no measuring is required.

Alberta’s Farmer’s Markets: Contrary to Reports, Really, They’re Ok!

Posted on 30 August 2007 under Farmer's Markets, Food Safety | No Comments

Longtime readers will know that, if I find something that’s mis-reported in some way, I’ll mention it. Sometimes when this happens, I’ll even get thanked for doing so in the comments.

So here we are on the CBC News web site up north with an article titled, “Alberta farmers’ market produce under scrutiny”. The opening paragraph goes like this:

In an unusual move, Alberta health inspectors are buying fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets in the Calgary and Edmonton areas to test its safety.

My first thought? “Good Lord, what kind of outbreak happened up there? Did somebody get some bad spinach??”

Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Not a darn thing happened:

“This is designed to both give us a baseline so that we can let consumers know how safe Alberta-produced food is as well as the producers can have information as to which practices provide them the best opportunity to ensure their product is safe” … There have not been any outbreaks of food-borne illnesses connected with produce grown in the province in recent years, [Sandra] Honour [who is with the food safety division of the Agriculture Department] says.

Ok, ummm … so what’s with the “under scrutiny” headline, and the “In an unusual move … to test its safety” opening paragraph?

That kind of head-shaker is unecessary.

But really, here’s the thing: Should the produce at farmer’s markets be tested?

If you follow various food laws, which include major inspections, almost-exact storage temperatures, etc., etc., ad nauseum, you’ll find we’re not too far from this. Michigan even has its own Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) for Michigan Apple Cider. Here, we find such gems as this one:

26. Unpasteurized apple cider must not be made from apples of orchards fertilized with human or animal wastes unless those wastes have been appropriately treated to eliminate pathogens. [FDA Guide To Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards For Fresh Fruits And Vegetables]

I’m sorry, but if someone’s selling me apple cider made from apples of orchards fertilized with “human … waste“, I want to see that on the friggin’ label so I can put the bottle right back where I found it.

I’m honestly afraid of the implications of what’s going on in Alberta. Just two days ago, the same CBC web site posted an article titled, “Meat prices set to soar as production costs mount: analyst“:

Richard Crane, a London-based analyst with the consulting firm Deloitte, said beef, pork and poultry producers are struggling with rising feed costs. Wheat prices reached an unprecedented peak of $7.44 U.S. a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade market last week after climbing steadily for months … Alistair McIntosh, a U.K. farmer, says a rise in prices at the supermarket is inevitable. He says farmers are nearing their breaking point … “We have been producing livestock at below the cost of production for some time now and we cannot continue to do that. It’s important that we do see some rises in the final product,” he said.

If governments such as the one in Alberta add further costs to farmers through safety testing at farmer’s markets, which this baseline testing may be the beginning of, what will this do to the cost of doing business as a farmer? How many will then be able to justify direct sales to consumers if the prices at farmer’s markets go up as well? Will consumers still buy at these markets if this happens?

Food safety is a major issue, there’s no denying it. Just this past Wednesday another spinach recall occurred, but this time with ”no immediate reports of illness linked to the tainted spinach”.

However, in the case of farmer’s markets, particular those in the CBC article about the markets in Alberta:

There have not been any outbreaks of food-borne illnesses connected with produce grown in the province in recent years.

Ummm … what??

There have not been any outbreaks of food-borne illnesses connected with produce grown in the province in recent years.

Yeah, that’s what I thought you said …

I would hasten to guess this thing in Alberta is an attempt to intervene before something happens, as a reaction to recently-reported food safety issues, particularly contaminated wheat gluten from China that made its way through Canada on its way to packaged pet foods in the U.S.

Let’s rewrite the headline for the CBC News article:

Alberta Government Annoys Farmers at Market

Nah, too annoying …

Alberta Government Declares, “Lettuce Turnip and Pea!”

Nah, not enough real info …

Safety of Produce at Alberta Farmer’s Markets To Be Proven by Alberta Government

Yup, that works. There shouldn’t be scare-mongering in the way the article is currently presented. Here’s the first paragraph the way it should be, on behalf of those farmers:

In an unusual move, Alberta health inspectors are buying fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets in the Calgary and Edmonton areas to prove its safety.

This change of a single word supports the farmers, rather than implying there might be something wrong with their goods.

After that, the government should give their recommendations, if they have any, making sure they’re not obnoxious by saying things like, “All markets should be fully enclosed and temperature-controlled” … and then, they should go away, leaving the farmer’s markets alone.

Farmers have enough to deal with, especially with the price of corn skyrocketing, driving up costs for producers, and as a result, consumers.

They don’t need this government meddling on top of it all.