Thursday, 6 October 2011

Pink Fir Apple, Disney style

I have harvested my last pot of Pink Fir Apple potatoes for this year. The ones I harvested a few weeks back were definitely "new" potatoes, whereas this last lot are more mature, and have a texture that is more towards the floury than the waxy end of the scale. After all, PFA is supposedly an "Early Main Crop" variety. These ones are bigger than their predecessors, and knobblier. Here they are alongside some "Delinel" French beans, and some "Kelvedon Wonder" peas, which I harvested at the same time.



Here is the trio in close-up. Some of the pea pods look a bit manky since the plants they came from are beginning to suffer from Downy Mildew, but the actual peas inside are fine, I can assure you - beautifully sweet and tender. I have not done too well with peas this year. The yield has been small - but the joy of having your own home-grown peas (especially in October) makes up for this.


The PFA potatoes often produce some really bizarre shapes. I think this one looks like a character from a Disney cartoon. What do you reckon? Mickey Mouse, but with a longer nose maybe??


Pink Fir Apple is a variety that I always grow nowadays, whatever else I choose. It has a certain rugged appeal that other potatoes don't have. Maybe it's the uncertainty of what shape they will appear in; or maybe it's just the wonderful "nutty" taste...

12 comments:

  1. Our peas have been rubbish too.

    I think Micky needs some eyes - made me think of a potato head kit I had when I was a child. It came with eyes, ears, noses, hair, hats, glasses, beards, moustaches, arms and legs. Each bit was fastened to a plastic spike that could be pierced into a potato to make different characters. I wonder whether that type of thing still exists or whether you would need to create it virtually nowadays!

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  2. As always Mark, I'm delightfully introduced to a new type of veggie when I swing by your blog. PFA does produce some interesting shapes :) Looks delicious too! Cheers, Jenni

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  3. Mmmm Mickey Mouse.

    I am curious, how you going to peel that? Or will you just eat it with the skin, esp. as its homegrown :)

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  4. Shaheen; I never peel new potatoes. For a start, it's too much effort, and also the skins provide a good amount of dietary fibre. I've heard that whole individual PFA tubers make good chips.

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  5. It reminds me of a clanger. I've never grown PFA before but I keep hearing how good they are. I might try a few next year. You've done well to be picking peas at this time of year, mine were finished ages ago but I've still got some in the freezer, it's not the same as fresh from the pod though.

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  6. My pink fir apple potatoes have just come up and I'm really looking forward to trying them - maybe even as chips...just a couple of months to go....

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  7. Your potatoes look beautiful. We grow a similar variety called Rose Finn Apple, I wonder if they are the same. Enjoy those spuds.

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  8. It gave me such a giggle hearing the word 'manky'....I often get blank stares when I use some of my home grown terms and phrases here in Aus. You'd think we didn't speak the same language!
    Those tatties just look so good and healthy. They've got to be the best freshly picked out of the garden. Yummy ;D
    Need to ask Mark...."What camera do you have"? Your photo's are always fantastic.

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  9. Neesie; My camera is an Olympus E450 DSLR. It says a lot for this piece of kit that I have only been seriously photographing for 15 months... The camera is great for a beginner because it has lots of pre-selected automatic settings, yet it also has all the features that a Pro would need. I'm very happy with it.

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  10. That sounds perfect for me Mark. So thanks for the info. I've been thinking about replacing my camera for so long but its just mind boggling how many there are out there.
    I think yours has all the optioned I'd need. Well, except the expertise but wow you've only been photographing seriously for 15 months! Your a natural ;D

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  11. Neesie; If you're going to get a new camera, I suggest you also buy a tripod. For a small extra financial outlay, it will make a big improvement to photo quality.

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