Well known fact: Potatoes are great with butter and sour cream.
Little known fact: Starving a spud of its water supply makes a tastier tuber.
Just ask David Little, an organic farmer in and around Tomales, California, who's been dry-farming potatoes for 12 years. Dry-farming is an age-old practice that eschews irrigation in favor of a method called disking the land to bring water into the top soil.
The downside of dry-farming is a smaller yield. But the upside is concentrated sugars that enhance the flavor of the potato.
With up to 26 varieties on offer in any given season, Little is the undisputed Potato King of the Bay Area. He sells heirloom tubers like the Ozette, a fingerling originally from Peru whose earthy, nutty insides are perfect for slow-roasting, or the Sieglinde, a German potato with thin skin and sweet flesh that's made for mustardy summer salads.
Little discovered one of his bestsellers via a chance encounter with a spud-loving Swede, who claimed that aged potatoes taste best of all. Intrigued, Little went home, aged and sprouted the Red Golds just-so, and took them to market. They became a cult hit among local customers and chefs, who prefer them mashed. With plenty of butter, of course.
Get your starch on at
www.cuesa.org