New England’s potato harvest is strong this year: Tony’s Tips

In Rhode Island, one of our favorite potato farmers is Jason “Pete” Peckman of Ferolbink Farms in Tiverton.

Now 85, Peckman was in the fields, harvesting on his tractor, when we spoke with him recently about his love for potato farming.

“I started doing it when I was 5 years old,” he said. “It’s all I know. I enjoy it, turning the soil over. Every year you make a mistake and try to improve upon it.”

His family farm, founded in 1840, has 250 acres with several products, including butternut squash and strawberries. Of that, about 150 acres are dedicated to potatoes, many of which are used for potato chips. Peckman also grows an early variety of red potatoes available starting in late summer. He says it “has a good skin on it” and “stores well in the heat of the summer.” We recommend all of his potatoes.

The sixth-generation farmer said this year’s potato harvest is strong, thanks in part to consistent rain but not the flooding we’ve seen in recent years.

What Peckman enjoys most about farming is that he’s always learning.

“The thing about farming is, every year is different,” he said. “The weather, labor, every year is a different challenge.”

As a result of growing conditions and soil conditions, each potato region has its own unique flavor profile. Certain customers at our retail store in Watertown, for example, were especially enthusiastic about potatoes from Maine, where large baking potatoes are grown.

Jim Cipriano, 66, is an expert on potatoes. Through his decades of work in his family business, Arrowfarms, a packer and distributor of potatoes, Cipriano has seen millions of potatoes.

For many years, we bought produce from Cipriano and his family in the New England Produce Center in Chelsea. He has so much experience with potatoes that if he were at a restaurant eating a potato, he would be able to tell you where it was grown — Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or Maine — or anywhere.

“I don’t know if you could teach someone else how to tell the differences between potatoes but based on the sheer volume of them that I’ve seen in my lifetime, I can notice the difference between the look of them and the smell of them,” said Cipriano.

At this point in his career, Cipriano’s understanding of flavors comes instinctively, but he encourages the less experienced to notice the varied growing environments of potatoes, which lead to the distinguishing tastes.

“Different areas of the country have certain flavor that you can [determine] with your palate,” he said. ”You can start to sense a flavor difference because of the soil and climate.”

Few people have Cipriano’s skill level, us included, but we have an appreciation for excellent products. And some of the finest potatoes in New England are being harvested now by Szawlowski Potato Farms in Hatfield.

We recently visited the farm, which was founded in 1910 and now has 3,000 acres of potatoes under production.

Diane Szawlowski Mullins, 60, is a fourth-generation farmer who works with her family, including her sisters Melanie Wickles, 62, and Shelley Szawlowski, 64. Mullins kindly took us through her family’s operation during one of their busiest times of the year, where potatoes are picked, washed, sized, graded (plus graded again) and then packed.

Weather-permitting, the farm begins to plant potato varieties in late April and usually picks them through October. They grow several varieties including a beautiful dark red Norland potato and a Modec potato, which is a deeper red, plus white and yellow potatoes, including Superiors, Russets, and more.

Over the years, Mullins has noticed a change in consumers’ tastes.

“There was a time when all we grew was the white potato,” she said, noting that with demographic shifts in our population, so too have come changes with growing produce. Additional factors lead to changes in consumers’ potato penchants, as well.

“Trends start in the culinary world and people want to re-create them at home,” said Mullins. That replication in home kitchens likely influenced the popularity of red potatoes — an attractive addition to any meal — about 20 years, ago. As a result of changing preferences, farmers experiment with new crops.

“Every couple of years, we will try a new variety on a couple of acres,” she explained.

And if those new varieties grow well and taste good, they might expand. Lehigh, for example, is a yellow potato they now grow on 300 acres.

The Szawlowskis recently entered into a sales and marketing agreement with the Masser Family of Companies, a business with eight generations of potato growers. Based in Sacramento, Pa., the companies include packing, distribution, and production of potato products.

Dave Masser, 49, is the chief executive officer. He walked with us in the potato fields during harvest — as dirt was flying across the bright blue sky — and we discussed current enthusiasm for varieties of potatoes.

“Yellow potatoes are gaining in popularity because of their versatility and smooth texture,” Masser said. He added that yellow potatoes have a “natural, moist taste and a unique flavor. They have a smooth, buttery texture. The yellow flesh gives them the appearance of [being] already buttered.”

That buttery appearance is particularly appreciated by potato consumers, many of whom do not actually butter their potatoes. In reality, most of the potato growers and experts we know use a minimal amount of seasoning or sauces.

We love all varieties of potatoes and could never choose a favorite, of course, but will admit that yellow ones are particularly flavorful, requiring little more than salt and pepper for taste. No matter how you prepare your local potatoes, though, now is the time to enjoy them — and through the upcoming holiday season.