Turners and Growers, Wilcox and Masters Produce are based in the Pukekohe region and all three do things a little differently. But for each of them producing top-quality potatoes that can be enjoyed all year round is their top priority. I experienced every step of the journey from paddock to plate. From watching the harvesting, pack-house tours, quick-guide to the machinery, quality control, cook-testing different varieties, right through to the packing process and delivery.

There is a lot more to learn about potatoes than you may think. Our website is packed full of information and provides everything you need to know about potatoes. So go and check it out! We have also been busy uploading some delicious new potato recipes, like this Cajun Style Steak and Chips!

Food Week’s  theme is  Just Cook. Just cook a family meal and sit down and enjoy with your family / whanau. The  Just Cook virtual kitchen gives you great ideas for economical family friendly meals using the ingredients from the Just Cook food list.

Just Cook runs a couple of competitions too  - so check out www.justcook.co.nz and see if you can get involved!

After 25 years working as a Chef, Simon has been Executive Chef at The Halo Restaurant at The Sebel Trinity Wharf in Tauranga for the last 18 months. His fondest potato memories were as a little boy enjoying Potato, ham and cheese croquettes hand made by his mum. Despite being a well-acclaimed Chef, he is still your typical kiwi, and loves to eat Fish and Chips from paper on Mount Maunganui Beach while watching the sun go down.

We agree with Simon that it is potatoes versatility that makes them so great. “They can be cooked virtually any way, and with so many different varieties.” Says Simon. He knows how important they are to have on a menu, due to being the most versatile of all the starch/carbohydrate ingredients. The Gratin Dauphinois is the most popular potato dish served at The Halo Restaurant, and is served with the Eye and Scotch Fillet Steaks. This specialty dish comes from the Dauphine region of France and consists of thinly sliced potatoes layered in a baking dish with cream/milk and a flavoursome cheese.

Simon has kindly shared the recipe for this delicious Potato Rosti which features on his Halo menu and in the image below. But he also has a handy-tip to share with us about preparing potatoes at home in the kitchen. “Thicken soups with diced potato not flour to keep them light and keep the flavour”.

We know that spuds are satisfying, value for money and full of nutrients, they even get the tick of approval from professionals! So no matter who you are and where you cook there is always a place for potatoes on your plate!

Despite the popularity and celebration about kumara being rich in nutrients and having a lower GI than their white counterparts. New Zealanders can rest easy knowing that our favourite vegetable holds it’s own next to the Big K.

However in the United States, it is the over-consumption of highly processed versions of Potatoes such as French fries and potato chips that have been linked with increased risk of diabetes and obesity. Not the potato itself! The reason the kumara has received so much praise is because they are generally eaten whole.

Science suggests that potatoes and kumara have complimentary nutritional differences, and that one isn’t necessarily better than the other. For example – kumara are found to have higher amounts of fibre and vitamin A. While potatoes are higher in essential minerals such as iron, magnesium and potassium.

Glycemic Index is another tool which has been used to compare the two. GI ranks carbohyrdrate foods based on the speed at which they enter the bloodstream, and measures the effect on blood sugar levels. The faster the response, the higher the GI. When measured alone, kumara appears lower on the scale, but these days foods are rarely eaten on their own. So by adding healthy toppings to your baked potato such as low-fat sour cream, cheese and yoghurt you are able to lower the glycemic index of the meal. The fact the Glycemic Index is affected by a number of factors means it is not a completely accurate measure for all individuals. Read more about GI here.

Basically, the most important thing with potatoes, is the form in which you eat it. So the more natural and the less processed you enjoy your spuds, the better!

Glenda Gourley, Potatoes New Zealand’s Marketing and Education Consultant, will address international delegates at the World Potato Congress in Edinburgh in May about the organisation’s successful campaigns encouraging young people to cook and eat healthily.

“We are doing some unique work in New Zealand and it has created considerable interest internationally,” said Glenda. “We get a lot of inquiries from around the world about how we engage and educate parents and children.”

Potatoes New Zealand has focused strongly on encouraging children to understand how a potato in its basic form is cheap, highly nutritious and can easily be turned into a delicious meal.

Campaigns have ranged from encouraging grandparents to teach children how to cook a simple, tasty baked potato to an upcoming interactive school holiday programme which harnesses the power of social media and shows teenagers, and parents, how to teach younger children to cook.

“Extensive international research has shown that children are increasingly disconnected from the sources of their food and do not know how it is grown,” said Glenda.

“Researchers refer to these children as “concrete kids”. A recent study of Australian children found that many don’t understand where food comes from or the value of farmers and farmland in society.

“The Year of Food and Farming research in the UK found that many children had never visited the countryside or even a farmers’ market and this lack of contact led to an indifference to anything beyond the superficial tastes of food.”

Glenda said that, with people living increasingly busy lifestyles, many parents found it easier to always cook dinner themselves, rather than passing on cooking skills to their children.

Potatoes New Zealand’s latest initiative is sponsoring, along with Bosch, the It’s My Turn To Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Program  This harnesses the power of role models and utilises the internet to engage kids to gain cooking and food skills. The programme runs April 16th – 20th in your home, using your food, with your kids cooking your dinner!

“Potatoes New Zealand’s message is that one of the greatest life skills you can pass on to your children is teaching them to cook – and encouraging them to prepare a meal for the family once a week,” said Glenda.

“We are breaking new ground in working with the teen market. Kids’ eating habits are influenced by their peers, so having an older role model leading them through some basics in the kitchen will go a long way and set them all in good stead for maintaining a balanced lifestyle as they grow up.

“We need to connect these “concrete kids” back to their food sources. Fresh potatoes are a great ingredient to start with because they have consistently been found to be New Zealand children’s favourite vegetable and can be used to make so many easy, delicious dishes.”

Ron Gall, Potatoes New Zealand Business Manager, said the initiative was the ideal format to get children cooking and eating fresh New Zealand produce: “This programme not only allows our children to learn lifelong skills, but supports our local growers – which is good for our economy.”

ENDS

For more information, visit www.potatoes.co.nz or www.foodsavvykids.com:

Research mentioned was taken from the National Survey of Children and Young People’s Physical Activity and Dietary Behaviours in New Zealand conducted by the Clinical Trial Research Unit 2008/2009; the Australian Council for Educational Research; and Agricultural Literacy. Giving concrete children food for thought by Dr Aric Sigman.

Website link to New Zealand report: http://www.ana.org.nz/documents/NZsurveyyoung.pdf

Stan Walker stars in his acting debut as Turei a young musician while Temuera Morrison (from the film ‘Once Were Warriors’) plays his father, the head contractor on the potato farm. The film is directed and written by Tearepa Kahi, who also made the movie ‘Taua’, an international short-film that won various awards. Both mentioned they were thoroughly enjoying their potato experience.

The local Franklin Country News have featured this great shot of the famous pair with a few local names that have been helping on set. Expert advice has been called upon by local growers in the area, in particular are these two members of the Reynolds family. Peter Reynolds has taken a hands-on approach to ensure everything in the film is realistic and authentic of how things worked during that time period. He also believes that it will be great for both Pukekohe and the potato industry.

Here is the link to a copy of the article from the Franklin Country News from Tuesday 20th March.

But we reckon Potatoes have celebrity status all on their own!

Potatoes NZ are proud to introduce the It’s My Turn To Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Program… It’s an online-based cooking program that helps teach your kids how to cook and prepare a meal for your family’s dinner! Created by Mother-Daughter duo of Glenda and Claire Gourley they are on a mission to help get children having fun in the kitchen and learning to cook!

The aim is to give children the tools and knowledge to make healthy choices and the skills and ability to prepare a healthy meal.

“In a nutshell, ‘It’s My Turn To Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Programme’ teaches big kids or parents to teach younger kids to cook,” says Glenda. “The outcomes are awesome…”

Basically everyone involved benefits. The student tutors who are chosen by the parents, learn new skills and gain valuable work experience. The children have fun hanging out with the older kids and learning to cook. While the parents get treated to a meal on the table and a clean kitchen when they return home from a hard day’s work!

The first five-day ‘It’s My Turn To Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Programme’ will run from 16-20 April 2012. Registrations open on the 5th March 2012

For more information and to register go to www.itsmyturntocooktonight.com

Potatoes New Zealand are proud to sponsor this exciting new program – with loads of the recipes set to include the humble potato!

Here’s a message to remember from Spuddy the Potato…

Did you watch TV One’s ‘Breakfast TV’ show this morning?

Check out the video footage here: Potatoes New Zealand appear on TVNZ!

Our Irish Star Jillian was helping to share the St. Patricks Day love with Potatoes! Here are the tasty green dishes that were served up. We revamped some old classics for you, and put a green spin on them so you can celebrate St Patrick’s Day in style. Enjoy!

Green Speckled Spud

A great way to add some ‘green’ to your traditional mashed potato.

Simply boil some frozen peas, then have some fun and smash and mash them in with the potato. Serve as part of your St Paddy’s feast. The kids will love it!

Potato Accordian

A musical addition to your table.

In the theme of green, simply cut slits through a large baking potato – allow 1 per-person and keep skin on.

Fill with any combination of tasty green ingredients, such as basil pesto or spinach and feta.

Bake in a hot oven at 200°C til inside is fluffy and skin is crispy.

Spinach, potato and feta frittata

An absolutely delicious green frittata especially for St Patricks Day. This uses a shortcut -by partially cooking the potatoes in the microwave you can get a head start while you are getting everything else ready…

Serves 4

3 medium potatoes

4 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 clove garlic or 1 tsp garlic paste

3 handfuls fresh spinach, very, finely chopped

100g feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Spray oil or oil for brushing

Microwave the potatoes on high power for five minutes. Place the eggs and milk in a bowl and beat well, add the garlic, spinach, feta and Parmesan cheese. Spray or brush a baking dish with oil. By now the potatoes will be ready, dice them into cubes and 1.5 cm square, don’t peel them. Place them in the baking dish and pour over the egg and spinach mixture.  Bake at 190°C for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the egg mixture sets.

But if you just can’t resist the taste of a good chip, then look for chunkier cuts or potato wedges with the skin on. These soak up less fat than shoe-string or crinkle-cut chips and by keeping the skin on they retain all their good nutrients. Some pre-made chip brands are better than others and can be relatively low in fat with only 3-5%, even lower when oven-baked instead of fried.

Straight from the paddock a potato is just about free of fat, so the idea is to choose a cooking method that keeps the fat content low. Baking is a good option. Spray the potatoes with only a little oil and you can get that same crunchy result as you would if frying. Also try to choose recipes that don’t add excess fat and where possible substitute full fat ingredients with lower fat options such as low fat sour cream or using milk instead of cream. Try these yummy Lime and Chilli Wedges with Lamb Koftas a go. For a meal that is lower in fat and tastier than the fish and chips from your typical takeaway store.