Little golden nugget: Univ of Maine releases new gourmet potato variety

Sporting a unique and striking skin pattern, the newly released Pinto Gold potato has been in development for twelve years. Out of 50,000 individual varieties tested at Univ of Maine’s Aroostook Research Farm, the Pinto Gold was selected as the most promising. The potato isn’t destined for large scale chip or french fry manufacturing, but for local gardeners, restaurants, and home cooking. Gregory Porter, Professor of Agronomy at the University of Maine, says: “This is unusual material and the crosses were really done for that specialty market, and that’s why it has the striking skin patterns. It has very small tubers and wouldn’t be the type of variety that would be used by everybody in the potato industry. But it works really well for that specialty market, and because of the small tubers, it’s very easy to put into a roasted product to get a lot of that nice skin. You just quarter the little potatoes and get a nice size potato for roasting.” The Pinto Gold is described as having a smooth, creamy texture when cooked. Watch video