These potatoes are as good as gold

By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Potatoes come in a variety of shapes and colors - oblong, earth-colored russets, round, rosy reds and even knobby, deep purple - but the potato that has been turning heads lately is the sunny gold potato, specifically the Yukon gold, as Kelly Brant writes in Wednesday's Food section. These versatile tubers are distinguished by their buttery-colored flesh, not just their yellow-hued skin.

In 1966, Gary Johnston, a scientist at the Potato Research Program, Department of Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, set out to create what some would call the perfect potato. Johnston's goal was to "try to create a potato variety with normal size, shallow eyes, globular shape and yellow flesh." Fourteen years later the potato was licensed.

The result is a potato that is yellow-skinned, yellow-fleshed with a texture that falls between the fluffy, mealy russet and the firm, waxy red. Some would argue it is the ideal spud, possessing the best traits of both types.

The flavor can be described as sweet, earthy and slightly buttery. The rich yellow flesh of the potato often "fools" diners into thinking the potato has already been buttered.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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