bitter new potatoes- advice?

[babyface]

This past couple of weeks I have boiled three batches of new potatoes (non-organic all, and not peeled)-red, white, and yukon gold?(yellow inside)- under the same conditions and had baffling results.  The white ones tasted great, the red and the yellow were each so bitter they were inedible and i had to throw them out. They were horribly bitter in the aftertaste! Awful! I have done a lot of cooking, but not with potatoes, since I came to Mexico. I have also cooked new potatoes many times in the past before I moved down here and never had this happen once. I did soak every batch of them in Albiosan disinfectant and water before cooking. Does anyone know a reason for this horrible bitter taste? 

[pappysmarket]

Just a guess but perhaps you are using a much stronger solution of albiosan than is called for on the bottle. We never soak things like potatoes that will be cooked. Let's see what other answers are forthcoming.

[zerbit]

How do you store potatoes? In the light? Or in a cool dark place? Did they have a sight green tinge to them, either on or under the skin?  Could be Solanine. It is a type of toxin that nightshades produce. Bitterness and green tint is usually an indication of solanine.

[babyface]

The potatoes all spent a few days in the fridge. I have since read that I shouldn't store potatoes in there!  Maybe there were greenish areas under the skin?? I did not see any green tinge on the outsides of the red or light brown with yellow interior potatoes that got bitter. I did everything the same, storage, soaking, and cooking, same water, same salt -and the small white potatoes tasted great, the other two no!! I guess maybe I shouldn't have soaked them in the antibac stuff- I'm not sure how long you have to cook things to kill the bacteria- is it more than 20 minutes? These little potatoes cook fast. 

[Yo1]

No need to treat veggies that you are going to cook--only if eaten raw.  If you got the potatoes at Super Lake, the little red ones are not red potatoes but some kind of white potato dyed to look red.  If the skin was a bit green that would account for the bitter taste as noted above.

[Wookie]

I found this same problem when we first moved here.  Very seldom did I ever find small new potatoes (white, red or yellow skin) that were not bitter.  I just quit purchasing them.  I did not leave them in the light (usually cooked them the same day they were purchased), I did not keep them in the fridge .... nor did I soak them.  I am pretty confident they were bitter when I bought them.  

[johnnyg]

Mexico does not allow the import of U.S. Potatoes. So we are stuck with the lousy Mexican potato.

http://www.rachellaudan.com/2010/09/mexican-potatoes-why-are-they-so-lousy.html

 

[ComputerGuy]

I often buy small potatos at Superlake and WalMart and have never noticed a bitter taste. They are just young versions of the regular potatos we get here, of course. And the "red" ones are often just dyed versions... put them in water and it changes colour rapidly.

[CHILLIN]

Broken record. You know you can grow potatoes from seed, not from chunks of raw potato (which will never be allowed across the Mexican border). Just have to find a way for the seed to be delivered without xrays killing them (surface mail). Still looking at bringing in a personal supply of Marie Piper potato seeds. The trouble with growing potatoes on a commercial scale is the harvesting, requiring specialty machinery, and controlling disease in a sub-tropical climate. I agree - Mexico is a potato deprived nation, unusual in Latin America. I know product from the U.S. is fiercely defended, but countries like Ecuador, I would think would be a much easier import. I guess capitalism has no imagination when it comes to potatoes

http://tatermaterseeds.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=25

[More Liana]

It's the Mexican potato growers association that won't allow fresh potatoes from the USA to come into Mexico; has nothing to do with whether the USA would like to sell them to Mexico.  The association says that there is a risk of disease from those.   Fried (potato chips) or frozen are allowed.   Here's a recent article about it:
https://www.debate.com.mx/losmochis/-No-se-recibira-papa-fresca-de-Estados-Unidos-20170112-0134.html

[CHILLIN]

I understand that the green potatoes have been exposed to the sun while growing. If so, it is a byproduct of sloppy farming practises more than anything else.

[babyface]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I won't soak, refrigerate, cook green ones, or buy red ones with dye- yuck! ( I wondered about that when the soaking water turned pinkish- and thought could they be dyed? And then I thought no way would anyone dye potatoes.) The little white ones? Maybe I'll give those another try. Or maybe the little potatoes have more problems with bitterness generally and iI should be buying big potatoes?? The local restaurant cooks must know something- they wouldn't want to serve a customer bitter potatoes that taste like poison!

[sm1mex]

We have bought the small red potatoes and when we washed them before cooking, the red dye came off on our hands.  Look closely at them, if they are a pick color, they are dyed.  You could rub one on the palm of your hand and see if pink comes off.  If it does, they are fake red potatoes.

[mudgirl]

I never buy big potatoes, I always buy the small white ones. Usually at Mega in Nuevo Vallarta. Have never encountered any that are bitter, in fact, they are always really good.

[jrm30655]

I've lived here 9 years and never had any real problems.  The only thing that I worry about is things I eat raw that grows close to the ground; strawberries, lettuce etc.  If you cook veggies, it will kill everything bad.

I caught Salmonella at one point and my old doctor told me to never eat anything raw in a restaurant.  Conditions in kitchens here vary greatly.  He said he just washes with water everything at home and has never had any problems.  

 

 

[camillenparadise]

Go to Rincon de Frida in Joco and order their potatoes......they are superb! Crispy and delicious. I think I know how they prepare them, by boiling them first and then cooking in a really hot skillet. Their salads are excellent too. One of the vendors has papas sucias that are close to Idahos, not in the Mercado, but across the street and in the next block.

[babyface]

Rincon de Frida- french fries, right? I think I have been there- tiny place on east side of ? with a couple of tables on the sidewalk in Joco? Do you have the address? I remember they were great. And a little tienda a couple doors away had The Best guajillo peppers! Anyway, I was at Walmart tonight and got some more little white potatoes. No refrigeration, and washed them in our plain osmosis water, and boiled them in same. Same salt. Tasted- good! Then I sauteed some garlic and shallots in olive oil- added some rosemary from the garden, stirred to coat, and they taste fantastic! I think I'll stay with the little white ones! Tonight I think we'll have them snuggled up to a salmon filet. Oh, and the herbed potatoes taste really good as an appetizer with french (picholine) green olives. A big thank you to all who chimed in on my potato dilemma!!!