Value potatoes - a false economy?

Hootie19

I bought a large bag of Tesco Value potatoes last week. However, unless Tesco have developed a new strain of "leopard print" potatoes, then by the time I've cut away all the black bits, my fist-sized potatoes have yielded enough flesh for a chip! No joke - the wasteage is criminal.

Is potato buying always a hit and miss affair, or am I going to get more useable flesh per pound by buying higher quality potatoes in future.

floyd

I never buy any potato labelled as 'white potato' as they are always crap for mashing and really watery. I think over the years I have become a bit of a spud snob so only buy Desiree, Maris Piper or King Eddies for baking, roasting and mashing respectively.

Its hard to tell if you will end up with a bad lot of spuds with bruising and blight. Even expensive ones get it, today I had a dreadful bag of Desiree from Tesco and a perfect bag of King Eddies from Sainsbury so its a bit of a gamble.

Spuds bruise just like apples so its best to get ones from a farm if possible as generally they have been bumped around much less than the conveyor belt sorted supermarket spuds

TAG

I had the same problem with a pack of expensive red potatoes the other week.
I normally buy the value ones from Asda but they don't roast to well so had decided to treat us.

I think perhaps you were just unlucky.

sb44

Well I normally buy Maris Piper or King Edwards etc but as I am trying to cut down on the food spending I bought Tesco Value ones today.

They seem to be ok except for the odd 'scar'!

We had mash made using Maris Piper the other day and my DH said they didn't have much taste so I decided on the cheapo spuds.

Just asked him what he thought and he says they were ok but they were covered in gravy.

marybishop

I've been finding exactly the same problem with potatoes. Don't know whether it was a bad year for spuds but they have been so hit and miss lately. I've not ordered the Value ones as I've been having enough trouble getting decent King Eds and MP's in the normal range!!!

Zenjen_2

I don't buy specifically value potatoes, but I do buy just your run of the mill white potatoes and have never had a problem. Probably I get a duff potato for every 20 good ones, and even then its usually possible to salvage half of it. I use potatoes for a wide variety of things, baking, mashing, in curries, casseroles, pies, homemade chips and potato wedges, and I have found that with correct seasoning and cooking methods, plus a few tricks like lightly flouring roasties before a roast or adding a little butter, cream and a dash of cornflour to mashed potato and they are lovely. Perfectly adequate and much more value for money than the posher spuds. Maybe I have to work harder to get the same results as posher pots but the money I save is well worth it

floyd

sb44 wrote: »

We had mash made using Maris Piper the other day and my DH said they didn't have much taste so I decided on the cheapo spuds.

We have had this problem with a few bags of King Eddies recently, they tasted of nothing. Hopefully FIL will come up trumps with the allotments spuds this year, last year they were absolutely gorgeous and needed very little added to them

Soubrette

I bought a great bag of value spuds at Tesco a few weeks ago. They were 2kg and less than the price of the 1kg ones I usually buy so I though - even if I waste half then I'm even:)

I got 3 baked potatoes out of it.
4 portions of mashed potatoes (which I froze)
3 portions of oven chips
4 portions of roast potatoes (which I blanched and froze).

I was very impressed and there was hardly any waste so it must be a bit hit and miss

Sou

pigpen

The value ones vary in what breed they are so it is a bit hit and miss.. this years crop was a particularly rubbish one but i always buy value ones.. lets face it a potato it a potato!.. I now buy them in 25kg bags from the local shop.. they all have been a bit naff this year.. I peel them and cook the WITH the leopardy bits.. but cut out the black bits..

rchddap1

I buy a sack from a local farm shop. You get much more for your cash and I find the quality is usually better too. We had to try a couple of local shops before we found the best, but I certainly wouldn't buy potatoes from a supermarket any longer.

thriftlady_2

I think this is more to do with the time of the year.

Value spuds are always going to be main crop spuds -new ones are just too expensive and the crop has been bad this year. Main crop though are on their last legs by now as they were harvested last winter. Summer is never going to be the best ime for cheap potatoes.

My advice is to by British new potatoes in small quantities as a seasonal treat and make more use of rice and pasta until this year's maincrop are lifted in the autumn. Then go to a farm shop and buy a 20 kg sack for around £5;)