details: The Humble Potato Gets a Makeover

Of course, these boutique varieties don't come cheap. They cost about $3 a pound at farmers' markets -- twice as much as heirloom tomatoes, the last wave in designer veggies -- and as much as 15 times more than Idaho russets. They're all part of the recent boom in potato varieties, ac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Wall Street journal. Eastern edition
Main Author By Pooja Bhatia
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, N.Y Dow Jones & Company Inc 21.09.2001
EditionEastern edition
Subjects
Cooking
Linens
Potatoes
Restaurants
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Summary:Of course, these boutique varieties don't come cheap. They cost about $3 a pound at farmers' markets -- twice as much as heirloom tomatoes, the last wave in designer veggies -- and as much as 15 times more than Idaho russets. They're all part of the recent boom in potato varieties, according to the National Potato Promotion Board, which, faced with declining spud consumption nationwide, last fall "launched a campaign to reinvent the potato category." That meant stocking shelves with Red creamers, Peruvian purples and Red As -- sexier potatoes marketed in smaller quantities. "Most people just don't have the storage space" for old-fashioned bags of potatoes, says spokeswoman Wendy Jenkins.
ISSN:0099-9660