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German Butterballs

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Jenise

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German Butterballs

by Jenise » Tue Jun 10, 2014 7:52 pm

Bought a little net bag of small yellow potatoes the other day at the Food Co-op. Did not pay attention, if the signage indicated, where they were grown but I liked the name and decided I'd rather try something a little different than same-old, same-old. OH MY GOD.

Raw, these have a texture about halfway between an Asian pear-apple and a Yukon Gold, starchy but light instead of dense. Flavorwise, a lot closer to that Asian pear--I've never tasted a raw potato so sweet. Remarkable! I used the whole bag for a potato salad I'm taking to a wine tasting tonight, and will stop at the Co-op when in town to buy another bag before I alert local foodie friends about this treasure. The potato salad is a German style--bacon, green onions, oil and vinegar, and should accent the sweetness well where a mayonnaise type dressing would practically turn it into a dessert!

I love seeing unusual varieties at Farmers Markets, but so rarely do I ever see the same potato twice, or do the farmers specify them by name instead of just putting them out by color, that I rarely have the chance to re-buy and remember a potato I particularly liked. Last year I bought some red potatoes from a guy what were a very pure white inside; a week or so later I went back and bought more. They weren't signed as being different, but most of the potatoes in the second purchase were yellow-meated. Obviously, a different type after all, and though no less good in that case I actually had a very specific use in mind for the whiteness and was disappointed to have something else.

Anyway, do any of you grow potatoes? I just put some Peruvian blues in a pot to grow. I don't actually have room for potatoes here, but I did have a large pot of earth with nothing better to do so I threw a few in for fun.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Mike Filigenzi

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Re: German Butterballs

by Mike Filigenzi » Wed Jun 11, 2014 5:44 pm

They had butterballs at one of the stalls at the market last Sunday, but I picked up some sort of French fingerlings instead. The guy recommended the butterballs for roasting and the fingerlings for boiling. Still trying to decide what to do with them.
"People who love to eat are always the best people"

- Julia Child
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Jenise

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Re: German Butterballs

by Jenise » Thu Jun 12, 2014 2:14 pm

He's right, they'd be fab roasted. But they're also durable enough for a potato salad, somewhat like Yukons.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

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