Have just harvested the first of two containers of Charlotte salad potatoes and am hugely disappointed with them.(First attempt to grow them). They fall apart with even minimum cooking and have a disappointing flavour & texture. Is this par for this variety? And can somebody suggest a flavoursome recipe for doing something interesting with them because the thought of eating our way through a second batch of them is nearly as awesome as consuming out courgette mountain.

Charlotte potatoes often come first in independent taste tests and are one of my favourites. Ate some tonight in a salad. Fabulous!!
They are waxy and certainly do not fall apart unless you are overcooking them.
I always micro wave mine to concentrate the taste.
It seems likely that your potatoes are not Charlotte but perhaps a floury type of potato.

Hello Primrose
This is very strange. I have grown Charlotte for many years - its our favourite salad potato - and have never ever had this problem. Quality and quantity has always been very reliable whatever the growing conditions.
Where did you get the seed from? Has there been a mix up with the varieties? Charlotte are easy to recognise as the tubers are smooth pale skinned, long oval shape and the flesh is a distinct yellow colour with a waxy texture.

John

I'm glad you've brought this up, Primrose, because my Charlottes this year have been the same. I became suspicious that maybe the seed potatoes I bought were mis-labelled when my plants actually flowered this year, which Charlottes do not normally do. The tubers are the right size and shape overall, but they're floury, with whitish flesh and do not cook well. The yield hasn't been up to much, either, whereas other varieties have been bountiful this season.

I can't help thinking that most of the nation's Charlotte seed potatoes have come from the same mis-labelled batch. More proof is needed that there's been a mixup, but it's very disappointing, especially since Charlotte is normally such an excellent variety.

I also grew Charlottes and mine also broke up when I boiled them, but I just thought I must have overcooked them. My Mam suggested that I try steaming them next time I cook them, but I haven't as yet tried it. When I've boiled bought charlottes I have had no bother with them breaking up.

I'll get the cook on the case tomorrow. Dug mine yesterday and today but we still have some Rocket and Maris Bard to use up. They look right, long and yellow, so I hope they are OK. I had this problem a few years ago but then I was suspicious as soon as I dug them up as the shape and colour weren't quite right,

Just a slight deviation - but does anyone know what it means to say a seed potato comes from certified stock? Is the production of seed potatoes rigorously controlled or is the term certified a little like the term organic and can be misleading?

Certified means what it says in that they are certified by DEFRA. They are grown under monitored conditions by registered seed potato growers, in regions designated for seed potato production selected according to specific criteria. Principally this is the north east of Scotland, which is why Scottish certified seed potatoes are generally considered to be the finest. More recently, seed potatoes are being imported from the continent, grown in the Low Countries. The same set of criteria for quality control applies to them. What isn't so clear is if the labelling of the variety is closely authenticated, which is where our putative Charlotte mixup may originate.

Your various comments have made me thoughtful now because I'm wondering whether there has indeed been a mix up. I bought three varieties, Charlotte, Anya and Pink Fir from a garden centre which had large tubs of them on open display where you picked your required quantity out for yourself. I'm not much of a potato expert so if some Charlotte and Anya potatoes had got mixed up together, I probably would not have realised although the Pink Fir are very distinctive. These potatos are not yellow or waxy but white and not floury like the red skinned varieties. They were cooked for about 8 minutes and the outer skin layer starting falling apart even after that cooking time. I will wait and see what the other containers produce, but if I have another attempt next year think I will buy from a source where they can't be mixed up. This has happened to me in the past buying hyacinth and gladioli bulbs from garden centres where the public just pick and mix. You think you're buying one colour or variety and end up with something entirely different.

Please remember that the amount of water available to your plants will have affected the amount of "dry matter" in the resulting tubers. If the water was low then the dry matter will be high and the spuds will be more likely to break up.

Hi Primrose, yes like yours, our Charlottes seem to be breaking up far more easily than those from previous years.

One difference for us is that I planted them slightly later and have only recently harvested them. With the extra growing time, most of mine have reached normal potato-size (as opposed to the delicate "salad potato" size I'd normally use Charlottes for).

I also wonder about Peter's comment above. In previous years I've watered mine. Because of the lack of steady warm sunny days, plus regular rain, I haven't bothered this year. I wonder if the end result reflects that?

I don't think you could mistake Anya for Charlotte, Primrose. I think they are a cross between Desiree and Pink Fir Apple and are always slightly elongated, usually with a pink tinge and stay very solid.

I only ever steam potatoes and our few Charlotte (just five grown in bags) cooked ok this year.

Could part of my disappointment come from growing them in commercial bagged compost rather than ordinary soil? The compost always seems to be so lightweight and unsubstantial, even though I included some chicken manure pellets in the container for extra nourishment. I certainly kept them well watered, so don't think last of moisture was a contributing factor in this case, as I noticed how quickly the compost dried out and gave them a good soaking virtually every day.

My husband had just found a way of rescuing these truly dreadful potatoes and turning them into something really tasty.

He whacked them with a rolling pin, until they were partly broken up, marinated them in a metal tray with olive oil, fresh rosemary, thyme and marjoram, salt & pepper for 30 minutes then roasted them for about 30 minutes in the oven at the hottest temperature. They were absolutely really delicious.

I'm now not so worried about what the next container of them will turn up. We now have a way of enjoying them, rather than eating our way through them as a penance.

Hi Primrose,

That does sound tasty, regardless of the state of your potatoes to start with I shall give that recipie a go.