2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[Space Chick]

Didn't know whether to put this here or self sufficiency

 

This year we have grown Oca... Sometimes known as the New Zealand Yam. They are quite rare, so we thought we would take a punt as you can't buy them in the shops.

 

Some of you may know that I have an allergy to potatoes, so I am always looking for substitutes.... I have discovered sweet potatoes (which are yams not potatoes) are fab for chips, butter beans are great for mash, Jerusalem artichokes are great for roasting.... Etc etc.

 

Today, we harvested our Oca that have been growing since April. The recommendation was to boil them in their skins like a new potato. I did, they were bland and boring OH reckons they are a pretty good match to boiled potatoes, which lead me to the question... "why do people eat boiled potatoes?"

 

I can honestly say I was not a fan, and if this is what I have been missing out on the last 32 years then I really don't think I've missed out

[Lavenders_Blue]

The short answer is I don't tend to eat plain boiled potatoes for that very reason! Chipped, mashed, roasted, baked etc I love, but plain boiled - very dull indeed.

[bluekarin]

I too am not usually a fan of the plain boiled spud (my mum used to serve them all the time and I went off them) but certain varieties are really lovely plain boiled with a stew or with anything else you like (chops, salmon, chicken etc ). I can't think of one off the top of my head but they tend to have a yellower flesh and be the non floury types. I have never heard of Oca though - I actually thought you'd misspelt Ocra

 

Edit: just looked up Oca and the look like pink fir potato. I take it you salted the water when you cooked them? The foliage sounded tasty, did you try it?

[Purplemaniacs]

The short answer is I don't tend to eat plain boiled potatoes for that very reason! Chipped, mashed, roasted, baked etc I love, but plain boiled - very dull indeed.

 

I agree LB

 

I too am not usually a fan of the plain boiled spud (my mum used to serve them all the time and I went off them)

 

My mum too, mash sometimes and jacket potato or chips were a real treat.

 

I love a good mash, jacket potato or new potatoes with mint and butter but plain boiled no

 

Chrissie

[Daphne]

I've just been out and bought 2 7kg sacks of spuds for Christmas so we have a choice of reds or whites I love boiled new potatoes if you are lucky enough to find one with good flavour, but any spud is livened up by butter Like the others, I was given far too many boiled old potatoes in my childhood and now no longer eat them. Mostly my potatoes have to be disguised by roasting, slicing into discs and cooking in a little oil in the oven, or mashed with either whizzed up olives or mixed with chopped spring onion, garlic and yogurt. However, my alltime favourite thing is a baked potato, when I was a girl I'd eat a bigger potato than anybody else at the table, and sometimes have 2 My parents would always buy their spuds in sacks, store them in the garage and save the biggest red ones for me to bake, right up until I was in my 40s Now I have to ration them, but over the years I have noticed that my Mum's baked potatoes taste better than anybody elses, including mine!

 

I've never heard of oca either, and my NZ friends have never mentioned them - I'll ask about them next time I remember. Looking them up they do look like a pink fir apple.

[Space Chick]

I did salt the water.....As for the foliage, didnt find out you could eat it until after it started dying back

[chickencam]

Are they related to sweet potatoes?

[Space Chick]

I wouldn't be surprised if they were related to sweet potatoes. All members of the yam family. Sweet potatoes are lovely though.... These, even roasted, are a disappointment.

[sjp]

I've only grown them a couple of times but never got enough tubers or any of a good size to cook. I think they were a South American variety

Oca was still very rare in the UK at the time

[CatieB]

Sorry to side track but I've never heard of an allergy to potatoes. I'm interested. What causes the allergy, do you know? Is it an anaphylactic reaction ? Are there other related allergies?

[Space Chick]

No worries at all

 

There are around 100,000 people in the UK with an allergy to potatoes. Although some would call it a "severe intolerance" rather than an allergy as it doesn't cause anaphylactic shocks.

 

There is a poison in potatoes called Solanine, the majority of which is removed through cooking, hence why most people aren't affected. However, some people are hyper sensitive to this poison.

 

I get all the Lovely symptoms mentioned in the link below, but I also itch and come out in spots.

 

It only takes the tiniest amount for me to get a reaction, so anything that uses any potato byproduct in its production (most commonly potato starch) I can't have.... This is as wide range from stock cubes to chocolate puddings!!

 

I, therefore, make everything from scratch

 

I also have to be careful in restaurants too and even if I buy a sandwich out I need to check the ingredients

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanine

 

Interestingly though, I am fine with tomatoes, peppers etc, which are also part of the deadly nightshade family. They have put that down to a whole fruit v tuber difference