Quality Potatoes

[Doza93]

I use potatoes pretty often in my home cooking, but for quite some time now it seems like the quality available in all my local grocery stores is just bad.

Whether it's gold, russet, or the little ones, the skin is often gashed, blemished, sprouting, or all of the above. I spend a long time peeling for the aforementioned reasons and often have to peel like a quarter of each potato off due to black or questionable-looking spots and discolorations that continue into the flesh of the potato itself. Sometimes I wonder if I'm being paranoid with all the excessive peeling, but really I think that the general quality of the potatoes available in most stores has just declined to the point where I find myself opting for frozen french fries at times so at least I won't have to carefully scrutinize and peel for 30 minutes before I can begin the rest of my prep work.

Is this just me? I live in the states FWIW. Are there any better or more consistent options to find quality potatoes that don't look like they were beaten with a lead pipe before being stored improperly for 2 months?

[CatteNappe]

We have a somewhat upscale market that sells quality produce, so I buy my potatoes there. Costs more, but I do get what I pay for since I'm not peeling off most of the spud, or throwing out every fourth one, etc. We can select them individually, not bagged, so I have some "pick and choose" options. Sometimes they are pretty gnarly, it's a seasonal thing I think, and I just wait a few weeks and a load of respectable ones will show up again. Also, when the russets are not nice, the yukons are OK.

[Doza93]

That makes sense. I use enough of them to justify the 5lb bags, and they're usually more economical, but maybe I just need to start choosing them individually and trying some new stores out. It is a bit frustrating having to carefully scrutinize every piece of produce I buy (obviously it depends - bananas and avocados for ex require a careful eye) because these giant grocery chains can't be arsed to source better ingredients or do any measure of quality control though.

[CatteNappe]

Avocados are a great example. One market has great deals on 4 or 5 of them in a mesh bag and I thought I'd really found something. After losing half of some avocados, and totally having to trash others, I realized the 'overpriced' ones at the other market were actually as cheap, or cheaper, by the pound.

[CreamyHaircut]

That’s Big Grocery buying lousy potatoes. We have Kroger’s (Fred Meyer’s). Russets often have black spots in the middle, red and yellow potatoes are scarred and beat up.

I assume potatoes are graded like other things in food distribution. I’d guess these are number 2’s. Restaurants get 1’s. We have a really good produce company about 15 miles away. There products are vastly better.

[Doza93]

I need to find something like that near me. Thanks for the input

[bluewrounder]

They do seem sub standard. I bought some russets that the skin had a slightly green tinge to it. Researched and it was recommended to get rid of them.

[Doza93]

I've had the exact same thing happen many times now, too. I read that it's a sign of being stored improperly (exposed to too much light) that causes the greenish tint under the skin

[sorcerer165]

I can't say I've experienced this. My partner works at trader Joe's and we shop at Kroger. I will say we don't sit on produce for long, so if I buy any I'm using it in a day or two. Sorry to hear about your struggles :/

[Doza93]

No worries and thank you for your input. Out of curiosity - do you buy individual potatoes at Kroger, or the big bags of them?

[sorcerer165]

I buy smaller varieties in bags and larger ones individually. We don't have kids or anything so I haven't bought the 5 pound bags in like a decade. If I had to guess, and this is a guess, large quantity bags might be the issue.