I'VE spent the past year writing a book about turning the best of the harvest into delicious main courses and, with all the recipe development that goes on, I've been reminded in the strongest terms about how important it is to make your list of seed potatoes with how you plan to use them in mind.
When I lifted the first 'Yukon Gold' potatoes from the garden last summer, I had been thinking for weeks about how good the chips they make would taste and still I'd underestimated their excellence: as familiar as I am with that variety, they outdid my hopes for the recipe I had written with them in mind. I do think about getting a steady supply through the season when I'm ordering seed potatoes, but I have to confess I'm also thinking about chips, mash, potato dauphinoise, roast potatoes, buttered new potatoes and more.
Generally, I avoid growing varieties I can find in the shops. It's not that they are necessarily substandard-although most are much better homegrown than they are on the shelves-but I find one of the pleasures of growing vegetables is experiencing flavour, texture and colour beyond what's on sale.
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