[Lindeggs]

 

I have a couple of self-sown potato plants that grew out of my compost.  Today I decided to "tickle" a few from under the soil.  To my delight discovered they are a New Zealand heritage variety called "tutae kuri."

Here's a pic from a photo library: http://www.naturespic.com/newzealand/image.asp?id=40846

They are small and very dark purple on the outside.  The flesh is also purple and holds its colour when cooked.  They are a fantastic addition to a potato salad - the colour is really amazing when contrasted with white or yellow fleshed potatoes, chopped red peppers & green herbs.

P.S. tutae kuri, literally translated from Maori, means dog poo.  You can see why if you look at the photo, but still not a flattering name for a wonderful vegetable!

[needssomehelp]

 they do look like poo

[joyfull]

  , yes they certainly do   , albeit  smaller than Ollie my avatar would produce  

[JaK]

 :happy: :happy: :happy: that is very funny, a vegetable that my 6 year old son would brag about to his school friends no doubt!. :happy:
Not heard of them before now.

[strangerachael]

... from a dog that's been eating a lot of purple stuff

[arugula]

Well I just can't come into this thread now and say they look nice, can I?

[harry]

I hope they are potatoes and not dog poo

[Kleftiwallah]

They look like a cross between Pink Fir Apple and Salad Blue.  An interesting spud indeed.     Cheers,    Tony.

[Lindeggs]

Well I love the look of them!  And they taste great too!    I don't know if they are available in countries other than New Zealand - quite possibly they are, just with a different name. 

Somewhere on facebook there is a photo of my OH preparing some for dinner.  My sister has captioned it "David cooking dog poo for dinner."

Exactly the kind of thing a boy would love to have in his school lunchbox to show to his friends.

[Lindeggs]

They look like a cross between Pink Fir Apple and Salad Blue.  An interesting spud indeed.     Cheers,    Tony.

You're quite right, Tony.  I just googled those two varieties (neither of which I had ever heard of before) and they look like the shape of Pink Fir Apple and the colour of Salad Blue.

I only wish we could set up a tasting platter so we could compare the taste and texture of all of them.

Of course we also have the kumara, which is much bigger and comes in a variety of different colours and tastes.  http://www.tangatawhenua.com/images/3/21kumara.jpg

My favourite have the lovely crimson/purple skin and are gold inside - and they taste like a sweet chestnut.  My favourite root vegetable ever! 

[prakash_mib]

Well I just can't come into this thread now and say they look nice, can I?

argyllie!
who posted this?
you or your dog? 

[Kleftiwallah]

Any idea where to start looking for a supplier here in Blighty?  I'd love to grow a batch.  Are they known by any other name?   Cheers,   Tony.

[Lindeggs]

Tony, over here we only know them  by their Maori names - there are a few different names depending on the region but nothing that would help you, I'm afraid.

Do you have a heritage/rare seed supplier near you?  Maybe they could help you source some?

Here's a NZ website with a bit more info about some of our local spuds:
http://www.organik.co.nz/maori_spuds.html