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Floury potatos

AndyDeanAndyDean Posts: 157
in Fruit & veg
All the potatoes we grow seem to be quite floury when boiled, not firm like shop-bought ones. This happens across varieties, and with first and second earlies and maincrops. For example, we've grown charlotte before and they've not turned out like the ones you can buy, quite powdery.

Anyone able to shed light on this?

Posts

  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    Lack of rain -moisture in general or you are leaving them too long before harvesting. Many salad or new varieties  will do this if left to grow to maturity. A clasic of this are the famous Jersey Royals, the actual variety of these is International Kidney, when harvested young they are a waxy salad type but if left will grow into quite large tubers and be floury
    AB Still learning

  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    As well as lots of water and not picking too late as AB says, potatoes really like manured, rich soil so it could be your soil is a bit thin. 

    There is also the temptation to over-boil freshly dug potatoes, which spoils the texture. And do dig them fresh - use the same day. Try cooking them for a shorter period, when they still feel a bit hard, drain, add a wodge of butter to the pan, swirl it around to coat the potatoes, then put the lid back on and leave for a few minutes off the heat to ‘rest’.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • AndyDeanAndyDean Posts: 157
    Thank you @Allotment Boy and @Nollie, that's really helpful and all your suggestions sound very plausible.

    The easiest to check will be shorter cooking times, will try that this week. And will try out the rest next year, try to take more care of them.

    Fortunately even floury potatoes taste good, would just like them to taste even better!  ;)

  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Good luck, Andy. If you want to manure the space you will be growing spuds next year, get it on now and it will have rotted down sufficiently by spring so as not to burn your tubers - or used bagged. Charlottes are my favourite, but I lift when small and store the excess in dry compost in the back of the garage where it’s relatively cool and dark. Left in the ground they do go tougher and a bit floury.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    I grew Charlotte picked from July to beginning September lovely new and in the ground kept well, but didn't keep well when picked so glad I didn't plant too many.
  • AndyDeanAndyDean Posts: 157
    Thanks @Nollie, will do!
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    If I boil a spud it's because I want firm new potatoes for a salad of some sort but can't remember when I last did that so the other reason is to crush or mash which is just as well as in this climate our Charlottes very quickly get too big and floury.

    Much more success doing Italian style roast potatoes which is just raw potatoes, cut into chunks and roast till crispy at the edges with a  spoonful of olive oil, some grated garlic and chopped rosemary.   Sometimes I swap cumin and coriander for the rosemary.   

    Never peel, just scrape or scrub.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • AndyDeanAndyDean Posts: 157
    Thanks @philippa smith2 and @Obelixx

    Excellent suggestions!
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