Maine's Own Off-Topic Thread -- Pt.2 (Caribou, Eliot: closing, bills, eat)

[msina]

Sure do,... The Belrus. Nice thick skin for baking.
Maine Potate - Potatoes Grown In Maine

[McMar]

Cool website, Msina. I bookmarked it for future reference. Thanks for sharing!

[msina]

You're quite welcome! Potatoes are so versatile.

[BacktoNE]

Yukon Golds are the worst of the worst for me. I'd probably chew my own finger off before I'd eat another one of those.

Don't like Kennebecs either. I've never heard of Belrus.

I'm strictly an Idaho russet girl. I like a nice dry, fluffy baked potato.

[msina]

Idaho Russets are great for baking,... but they suck for mashed taters.

[elston]

Originally Posted by msina

Idaho Russets are great for baking,... but they suck for mashed taters.

Big Time, and that is about all you can get out where I am, unless you by the premium chefs white potatoes loose, and they don't have any flavor either. I think it must be the soil. I also notice that most orchard fruit is pretty tasteless out here.* But I only have to put up with it for a very little while.

*that includes the peaches that the nice lady gave us! phewy watery and pretty tasteless.

[BacktoNE]

I can't remember the last time I even thought about making real mashed potatoes. I use them for baking, hash browns and steak fries.


I'll have to make myself a mental note to try and find Belrus when we finally get back home.

[maine4.us]

Hey, most fruit and many vegetables don't have much taste anymore. I think it is because so much produce today comes from other countries. We don't know how long it has been in transit, or how long it was stored in a warehouse. We have problems in Florida getting tomatoes that have any taste or smell. The only time we get great fruit and vegetables is when they are in local season. I wonder at times if it is better not to have certain fresh food unless it is in season. Our supermarkets are like the United Nations.

[McMar]

Ugh - don't get me started on tomatoes. It's almost impossible to get a good one anymore. We used to at least be guaranteed good local tomatoes at the farm stands in mid-late summer, but we've had such weird weather these past couple of years that even those were not so good.

Not to change the subject, but I've seen some of you in the Rural and Small Towns Forum. I knew a bunch of you Mainahs would pop in.

[Maine Writer]

Originally Posted by maine4.us

Hey, most fruit and many vegetables don't have much taste anymore. I think it is because so much produce today comes from other countries. We don't know how long it has been in transit, or how long it was stored in a warehouse. We have problems in Florida getting tomatoes that have any taste or smell. The only time we get great fruit and vegetables is when they are in local season. I wonder at times if it is better not to have certain fresh food unless it is in season. Our supermarkets are like the United Nations.

You're right, and elston's right about the soil. Food is seldom grown with nutrition and taste in mind. This is my pet peeve. Food isn't supposed to just fill your stomach. It should nourish your body and it should taste good. Food is grown with looks and the ability to travel well in mind. If it doesn't look good most consumers don't want it, but that's changing thankfully as people learn about real food. Plant foods such as tomatoes are picked when they're unripe, gassed to look ripe, and shipped an average of 1500 miles to your dinner table. Because the tomato was picked before it was mature it didn't have enough time to develop its full nutritional values. And, as soon as you pick that tomato its nutritional value starts to deteriorate. Artificial petroleum based fertilizers used in most commodity foods contribute to the bland flavor. Plants are supposed to pull nutrients from the soil to grow. Instead, they're pulling it from artificial means because the soil is depleted. Good soil + good variety - over watering = good flavor. It has taken me years to get customers to try a tomato variety that isn't perfectly round and red. For the first three years I sold seedlings I gave away individually potted plants in varieties that look weird but taste good. I hope that condensed version makes sense. I left info out.

Two years ago I went to a workshop in Caribou given by Eliot Coleman (my hero). I met a half dozen potato farmers from The County who are transitioning to organic and improving their harvests. They're using natural fertilizers and soil enhancements rather than petroleum based fertilizers. Listening to them was interesting. This should mean their potatoes have a richer flavor that doesn't require a lot of butter, salt and pepper to make them taste good. Not that I'm giving up butter, salt and pepper mind you, but when you start with something full of flavor you can't lose.